>Hello, my name is Jennifer & I was recently diagnosed with transverse
>myelitis. This is all still new to me, so I may sound like I am rambling.
My
>life since the start of 99' has been quite hectic. I worked full time &
>attended school full time. To say the very least, by March I was very run
>down. On March 8, I came down with a horrible stomach virus. I left for
>Florida on March 11 & was sick for my 4 day stay. When I returned home I
felt
>fine. For the next 4 days I suffered from horrible headaches. By Saturday,
>March 19, I woke up with a horrible pain in my neck and back. As the day
>progressed, I started to experience numbess & weakness in my torso and
legs.
>By that night, I was so terrified I went to the ER. After numerous CT's of
my
>brain and back, they found nothing & sent me home. The next day, I was
>rapidly getting weaker and was incontinent. I went to my PCP who admitted
me
>to the hospital. This was March 22. I stayed there until April 1 when they
>moved me to Kessler Institute(This is the best place for rehab!!!!!) During
>my hospital stay, I went through numerous MRI's, bloodwork & 2 spinal taps.
>They found nothing! They were treating me with VERY high doses of
steroids(to
>date, I am still tapering them), & treating me for Herpes & Lyme - it took
3
>weeks for them to get the results that they were negative & treated me as a
>precaution. When I was admitted to Kessler, I was only able to wiggle my
>toes. I had strange sensation in from T12 down. At Kessler, I made progress
>daily. Due to insurance reasons, I was discharged on April 30 with
Loftstrand
>crutches. Right now, I am undergoing physical therapy 3x's a week &
currently
>walk without anything( I look funny because I have not regained all of my
>balance). Currently, I am seeing quite a few doctors. I have regained bowel
>control - with the help of Colace. I was able to urinate, but the sensation
>was not "normal" & I was going to the bathroom every hour. Since this is no
>way to live life, I was put on Ditripan. I am now back to cathing every 4-6
>hours. I have my first urology appt this week. I have very strange
sensation
>on my back and legs. I am going for my second series of MRI's this week
(the
>1st set showed a herniated disk at T12). I am concerned that this could
>eventually be diagnosed as MS. My psyiatrist has tried numerous times to
>convince me that the chances are slim, I am still not convinced. I still
can
>not tell temperature on my legs & water makes them go nuts! I have pain in
my
>middle & lower back which the doctors attribute to my "learning how to walk
>all over again". It has not been 2 full months since I got sick, but it
>feels like an eternity. I am currently waiting to see if my reflexes have
>returned to drive again & I wish I could pee on my own! I feel very lucky
>compared to some of the stories I have read. I am very sorry that I have
>rambled on & on. If anyone has any advice, it is greatly appreciated!
>
>Thank You All for you stories( I feel much better)
>Jen
>