The book is called "Multiple Sclerosis Fact Book", second edition, by Richard
Lechtenberg, MD. I have been reading it from cover to cover, and find it
very informative. It tells how doctors come up with the diagnosis of MS,
that they are very cautious with a diagnosis, sometimes it takes a few years
to diagnose it.
Also, in the absence of certain obvious symptoms, they will diagnose another
nervous system disorder first. The book describes what happens when
demyelinating is occurring, and how it affects other parts of our bodies.
Has a good description of how the spinal cord works, or doesn't work.
Also gives description in detail of all the medications that have been
mentioned here over the last several months.(except Neurontin)
The questions on the front of the book are -What is MS, How can I be sure I
have it, What will happen to me, How can I make my life better, Is a cure
coming soon?
The book is for people and relatives of people with MS, but I found it very
helpful for TM. It answered a LOT of questions for me. Even discusses
sexual problems, bowel/bladder problems, just about everything. It describes
steroid treatments, when they are used, what benefit they are, etc.
The book was $22.00, but to me, it was well worth it. I realized the
similarities there are between TM, MS, and other spinal cord disorders, and
they are almost identical. That there is a very fine line between many of
the disorders, and it is very possible that one diagnosis could easily change
into a different diagnosis if there is an appearance of different symptoms,
but that it is not necessarily bad news, since the treatments for all of them
are basically the same.
Debbie
dcapen(AT)earthlink.net