Re: Myelitis or TM?

JHarper33(AT)aol.com
Sun, 3 Jan 1999 22:13:51 EST

In a message dated 1/3/99 4:51:04 PM EST, hawkinsfamily(AT)clara.co.uk writes:

> My diagnosis was myelitis but nobody has ever mentioned the transverse part!
> I was told that the inflammation was right down the spinal cord and so
> assume that this must be why. One doctor did call it longitudinal. Has
> anybody else experienced this?

I was told that the "transverse" means a cross-section of the spine; since
your inflammation was down the spine, it was longitudinal rather than
transverse.
I forget the statistics from the TMA survey last year, but many of us don't
have lesions.

>Also, if the damage was so extensive, why am I mainly affected in lower legs
>and feet only?(I am not complaining!)

As Ann said, what symptoms you have depend on where on the spine the damage
occurred. As I understand it, the further up the spine the inflammation, the
more loss of function there is.

Barbara H.