Anyway, I was told that the spinal tap is performed to rule out any other
causes for the symptoms that I was having. I know that if it is cloudy, then
they know what the problem is, or they can at least narrow it down. We never
got any further than that on that topic, because mine came back clear. I was
told that "normal" spinal fluid is clear, ruling out a lot of the theories
that they were coming up with that could be my problem. They also did a
protein count, and I know that my protein level was normal, ruling out even
more possibilities. They do these different procedures as a part of "ruling
out" and narrowing down all other causes of the symptoms. Because they
"ruled out" other possibilities, that is how they came up with the diagnosis
of Transverse Myelitis in my case. Of course, all cases are treated
individually, so mine may or may not be "the norm."
Debbie
dcapen(AT)ivic.net