Re: New to TM
Steve Cappelson (scappelson(AT)ntwrks.com)
Wed, 19 Feb 1997 16:40:11 -0600
James Lubin wrote:
>
> At 09:32 PM 2/15/97 -0800, you wrote:
> >
> >I keep thinking that I will get better quickly. That one day I will wake up
> >and I won't be numb anymore, that my good (not numb) knee won't give out all
> >the time, and that my energy will come back. Anyone ever have this happen?
> >Or should I probably expect to be numb for a while - and how long? Do some
> >people with tm recover inside a year?? Somedays I feel quite good, not too
> >much pain, so I guess that is the days I think that I will get better. I
> >can walk, drive and mostly do things, so I am very lucky to be able to do
> >these things. If I run a finger lightly down my numb arm, I can feel my
> >finger on my arm, but I don't feel hot or cold or a pinch. Does the fact
> >that I can feel a light touch mean I may be getting better? Do others
> >experience the same thing? Also, half of my foot and the two smallest
> >toes hurt alot,or are even more numb. Does pain mean I may be getting
> >better? Are there things that I will go through that will be a sign that I
> >am recovering? I would love to have some kind of sign that mean that this
> >may soon be over. To anyone who has gotten better - are there any signs
> >that mean recovery is near?
>
> I was diagnosed with TM in 1989. Since it was at the C2 level it affected
> me more serverly. I'm paralyzed from the neck down and totally dependent on
> a ventilator to breathe. At first, I had no feeling below my neck but was
> in extreme pain (I was getting iv morphine shots for the pain while in
> ICU). I remember feeling like my whole body was sunburned.
>
> After about the 2nd month I started getting feeling back on my left side. I
> was also giving a new trach tube so I was able to speak a few words between
> breathes. It made it much easier to commuicate! :)
>
> A few months later, I started getting feeling back on my right side, but
> not as normal feeling as my left side. I also started feeling temperature
> on my right leg. I could not feel my right arm.
>
> A couple years later (around 1991), I started being able to feel when my
> bladder was full.
>
> Today, nearly 8 years later, I am still paralyzed from the neck down;
> although I am able to move my head a bit more than before. I'm still
> dependent on a repirator to breathe. I have nearly normal feeling on the
> whole left side of my body, less feeling on my right side and can't feel my
> right arm. I can only feel temperature on my right leg, but feel cold most
> of the time. I very rarely have any pain at all.
>
> My neurolgist orginally said that if I ever did get any significan return
> of function that he wouldn't expect it to be for 7 to 10 years. So if it's
> God's will, I'll get better. If I don't get better, I know He has other
> plans for me. One thing my condition has done is allowed me time to be able
> to help others (such as creating this list and a few others), and for that
> I'm thankful.
>
> Well excuse my rambling...
> Jim
>
> ----
> Jim Lubin jlubin(AT)eskimo.com
> Bothell, WA, USA <http://www.eskimo.com/~jlubin>
> disAbility Resources: <http://www.eskimo.com/~jlubin/disabled>
Jim
Thanks for adding me to the subscriber list. I did not send the message
you responded to. I'm a t-5 recovering slowly from the effects of my
1/5/97 attack. I've been diagnosed with TM however the neurologist has
not been able to rule out MS yet. Is it common to reserve a diagnosis
of multiple sclerosis initially in cases of TM?
Thanks again
Steve Cappelson scappelson(AT)ntwrks.com