Hyperreflexia without clonus?

[FlyersGuy2015]

I'm having problems with involuntary twitching, shaking, balance issues and some decreased sense of touch, last week I went to my PCP to talk about these problems to try and get an appointment with a neurologist because I'm concerned it might be MS. She said that she wanted to run a mini neuro exam on me and that she didn't expect anything to be wrong, she did the normal stuff finger to nose test, following her finger, etc. She tested my knee reflexes above and below my kneecap (the only reflex she tested), my leg shot out and kicked her in the leg on both legs, above the kneecap and below it both times. She seemed quite surprised with that response, then she put her hand on the bottom of my foot and pushed up checking for clonus, I didn't have any (my sneakers were on so I don't know if that's accurate) and asked me if I had a history of neuro diseases in my family, I said I don't think so. She then ordered me to get a couple blood tests done to rule out Lyme disease, b12 deficiency, electrolyte imbalance, etc. all came back normal. I have an appointment with a neuro next Wednesday where they said he'll probably order an MRI. Now I know that hyperreflexia is a common symptom in MS but I don't know if people have clonus or not, so I'm wondering if since I didn't have clonus is it not MS or is it still a possibility?

TL;DR: Can you still have MS if you have hyperreflexia without clonus?

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

Clonus is 'basically' hyperreflexia at its extreme, the list is extremely long for what can cause bilateral hyperreflexia eg medication-rec drugs, spinal injury's or degeneration, mental health, viral to neurological conditions, congenital etc etc Clonus on the other hand is much more specific clinical sign of neurological abnormality, without clonus your hyperreflexia could be caused by many different things.

May be the question you should probably be asking is...can you have bilateral hyperreflexia and it not be MS? (yes)

I would recommend you try not to focus on any one medical condition, you honestly might not have a neurological condition, once you see a neurologist and have a full neurological assessment, any require tests etc you will have a better idea on what 'might' be going on.....

Cheers........JJ

[GBOver]

Hi!

My son has clonus in both feet. do you know of any reasons other than MS for that? I am positive for the gene MTHR that blocks absorption of vitamin B ...

Thanks!

[FlyersGuy2015]

Thanks for the reply ess! I know I shouldn't worry but I'm going away in a week so I probably won't be able to have the MRI until the second week of August and the need to know what's wrong with me is driving me nuts :).

[essdipity]

Absolutely. Clonus is only one of tthe many possible problems with MS, with or without hyper reflexes. This is a complex disease, best left up to a good neuro to investigate. That's what your gp is doing. Don't get ahead of yourself, but don't worry either. Lots of territory needs to be covered before any diagnosis can be made, and there are many neurological diseases, if that's even what you have. Good luck.

ess