Re: Paresthesia
David C. Jones (jones(AT)tdl.com)
Sat, 08 Mar 1997 23:37:10 -0800
Bryan Kessler wrote:
>
> Gary wrote
>
> >To be honest I am not even sure if I am spelling this correctly, but I'm told
> >this is the definition of part of my experience in the first two days of my
> >TM onset. Within hours I had become completely paralyzed from the waist
> >down. Although I had no real definitive feeling, I had pain...especially on
> >my legs themselves. It seem as if just having them covered with a hospital
> >sheet was sending sheets of needles stabbing at me. Luckily this feeling
> >subsided gradually within a day or two. Following this I began the slow
> >climb back with small movements on the toes of one of my feet.
> >
> >Has anyone else started their attack with this feeling. From what I have
> >been reading alot of people had a much slower progression at first so their
> >experiences are somewhat different. What about other people who had the same
> >kind of immediate progression as me...within a matter of two hours with no
> >previous symptoms, I was completely paralyzed and the parastesis began.
> >
> >Regards to all,
> >
> >Gary K.
>
> Gary, as you may have seen elsewhere, my attack came on VERY
> suddenly. I had virtually no neurological symptoms but after going to bed
> in one piece I awoke an hour and a half later with no leg movement.
>
> For the first few days in hospital, despite roughly 180 mgm of
> morphine per day I would almost go crazy if anyone even touched a hair on my
> chest --not rubbing my chest but just rubbing the hair!!! That feeling
> moved down to parallel my "lesion" (t6 to t12) for about the next eight
> months --now with no analgesia of any sort (except maybe Zoloft--it really
> does seem to have got better since I started it) I have none of these
> feelings above about L1 --now my legs feel like they are "asleep" --pretty
> annoying when it's 24 hours a day --but hey,, feeling is better than no
> feeling --or is it? As long as maybe some functional movement can follow I
> can tolerate this. --most of the time,,,
>
> Bryan
Yes feeling is better than not feeling at all. Even pain is a good
sign, and would be welcome in absence of any feeling at all. In rehab I
conplained of pain and my doc said that was good. There was 24 beds in
that ward and meeting those in them thought me he was right. Bryan I
think that you can learn to use any feeling. Your legs feeling asleep
sounds like a good thing. In my opinion. God bless//dave