You wrote:
Julienne,
Just curious, what was the time frame between your first recovery and your
relapse. I was also a star recovery case and after 4 months in a wheel
chair I got back to where I was playing all the sports I played prior to
the TM attack. I do not seem to suffer any of the fatigue that seems common
and feel as fit and healthy as I always was. Of course as you can
understand I am always worried about a relapse and I have not found any
real hard evidence that points one way or the other about the chances of
relapse. You are actually the first person I have seen on the list that has
claimed have had good recovery (at least initially) but that is probably
statistical since people who recover probably do not contribute to the list
???. Anyhow any info you can give me will be appreciated and keep up the
positive attitude.
I had my first attack in Nov., 1996 and my second in late Feb. 1997. From
what I understand, relapses occur in only 5% of TM cases, and only one time.
There is no documented case of a third relapse. It gets kind of tricky,
though, because as we all know, we go through good days and bad. Also a UTI
or some undiagnosed bug may put us down for days, even weeks. It's hard not
to confuse that with a relapse. In my case I grew gradually weaker over about
10 days, then returned to full paraysis, waist-down. At the same time I went
from full urinary retention to no control at all - diaper city. That sucks,
big time. I'd never appreciated the joys of self-cathing until I couldn't do
it! After the chemo and steroid treatment I'm still coming back strong - my
neuro yesterday tested me and the muscles have all advanced half a point in
strength, and I can bend my knees when I walk with a walker! Little stuff
means a lot. Best of luck to you, Jerry, and to all.
Love,
Julienne