>Thanks for the response, Sandy. So glad to know that I'm not alone with this
>short-term memory loss and concentration stuff. I too thought it might be my
>age -- 53. However it did seem strange that on 12/1/96 I was able to read a
>book and work a jigsaw puzzle.
>
>On 12/2/96 "IT" struck. the symptoms got worse. But on 12/10 my neurologist
>gave "IT" a name: TM; assured me it WASN'T fatal, prescribed meds, and told me
>to return in two weeks. I went home relieved, expecting to return to work
soon.
>
>Despite this relatively "good" news, I found I was totally unable to focus on
>even a phone-book or TV-Guide listing, let alone read a book.
>A favorite pastime, jigsaw puzzles, had become impossible. Oh, my hands, arms
>and fingers worked just dandy, but my brain had gone on strike. I have had
some
>slow improvement the last month or two, however.
>
>Mary Woods
Frequently, an encephalitis accompanies myelitis -- after all it's all
the same organ in reality -- that is to say the brain and it's "appendages"
-- like the spinal cord. What puzzles me is how a diagnosis of TM can be
made when all the spinal cord functions work -- or have you recovered them?
Despite the fact that I had no signs of encephalitis, when it came time to
reclaim my driver's license, I had to go through a mini "neuropsyche"
battery. This was partially initiated by my rehab doctor who was suprised at
how "out of it" I seemed when she first saw me -- the fact that I was on 180
mgm of MS Contin a day didn't seem to phase her (?).
Anyway, here is another of those cases that I wonder about -- that is
to say -- is the proper diagnosis being made? -- just a thought -- although
it may not be an encouraging one -- but if you know what you really have I
think it helps.
Bryan