Your story sounds very familiar to me, except that I went from
intense back pain as the only symptom to paralysis from t6 down in 1 1/2
hours! It's 10 months today for me and i can now sit straight enough to put
on my own under arm deodorant --for me this is a BIG step since it also
implies that i can take my own shower, (sitting down of course). Return of
bladdder and bowel function? --now THAt would be something -- i just
realized i have done self catheterization 1800 times now! ( Then i get to
read about people who can only walk for a couple of hours in the mall before
they get numbness? -- there that's my anger release for today;-) But it
does sound very positive even if it has taken you a long time to get to
where you now are. Many people seem to be relating stories of recovery
after "long" periods of time. I have now truly ignored the "advise" of the
urologist doing my urodynamics that it's all over after one year! I had
basically no change from about month two to seven and then things have
started to happen "very" slowly.
Wishing you more recovery
Bryan
>HI ALL, i am so glad to find this group. my tm attacked in 1994 i was
>driving a 38ton truck on the motorway when my back and arms began to
>hurt. i drove for as long as i could , but the pain just got worse so
>stopped at a service park and got in to my bunk and tried to sleep it
>off. i slept for about four hours but the pain and numbness was still
>there,when i tried to get out of bed i found i could not move my
>legs,igot my cellphone and called 999. i was taken to hospital but they
>could find nothing wrong, i had a mri lumber puncture ekg but all were
>clear. by this time i was numb and could not move from the chest
>down,and had lost both bladder and bowel function. i was put on a large
>dose of steroids and spent the next six months in hospital then in rehab
>to learn self care and wheelchair skills, i was sent home early in 1995
>and had no change for six months. then i managed to fall out of my chair
>and break my right leg, ( so much for my wheelchair skills):-) so back
>to hospital, i could not feel any pain from the leg until they tried to
>reset it. spent next six months in hospital in plaster with the pain
>getting worse every day, but with some movement and feeling returning in
>my right toes and left leg and also at my hips. my neuro thinks that the
>shock of breaking my leg triggered off some return.in the last twelve
>months my bladder and bowel fuction has returned and with intense
>physiotherapy i can stand in a frame and walk in the parallel bars.i
>have stopped taking most of my drugs except for one pain killer. which
>helps with the strange numbness and hot and cold feelings, it has no
>codeine in it so does not affect the bowels, any way it works for me.i
>hope and pray for some more improvement, and hope all other people with
>ATM have some luck. best wishes bob :-) my e-mail is
>bob(AT)dragon7.demon.co.uk
>--
>robert e parker
>
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