Your doctor did the right thing by giving you the high-dosage steroid
therapy. That is what it is for, to shrink swelling. Please look up the
following address regarding steroid treatment:
<http://www.ninds.nih.gov/WHATSNEW/PRESSWHN/1997/ninds-27.htm>
Also, TM itself is not fatal. Research has shown that spinal cord
injuries/illnesses do not affect the length of life (maybe changes lifestyle)
whatsoever.
My neurologist did tell me that it is possible to have flare ups, and many
people on this list will tell you that they have had flare ups, but your
doctor is right, that possibility IS more rare than TM itself. You should be
more concerned about what can cause a flare up, which I am sure your doctor
told you. Avoid stress, anxiety, and fatigue, those things can cause what
might SEEM like a relapse, but once you get plenty of rest, you improve back
to what you were before the stress.
Are you comfortable with your neurologist, and is he giving you thorough
answers to all your questions? That is most important. If he ever shrugs
his shoulders and says, "I don't know" to any of your concerns, then maybe
you would want to look for another doctor. There are others in the group
that live in Texas and are more familiar with the doctors there. They can
probably
give you suggestions on which doctors you might consider.
I remember Lubbock. We used to send our engineers out there to work on our
prototype pump counters that we attached to the oil wells. That was years
ago. Anyway, keep your spirits up.
Debbie
dcapen(AT)ivic.net