Besides the complaints of musle aches and charlies, my doctor looked at my skinny legs and used the term increased tone...He actually looked at my legs and could see spasticity....Also, I can't walk heel to toe...This was when I was first admitted in the hospital...He immediately got me on baclefon and gabapentin even though I wasn't diagnosed at the time..Since some of my tests weren't back yet...
Michael
I read your serious notes then couldn't help my self laughing with Mary, then laughing at my self when i had to reread it because my brain lost what i was going to post, life is a bit of a hicup.
I am loosing my brain, lol i use to be a public speaker, training video's, computer progaming, write books lol I did once know how to spell and blast now i loose control of my tongue the more I talk, so i cant even talk the hind leg off a donkey anymore. I'd love to stuff the genie back into the bottle but err what was i talking about? Do you have my car keys? No? Spasticity thats it ahhhh back on topic lol
"spasticity is the resistance of muscles to being moved. That resistance can be seen as weakness, clumsiness, stiffness and even speech problesm. Spasticity is caused by upper motor neuron lesions and isn’t exclusive to MS - spasticity is also seen in stroke patients, head injuries, and cerebral palsy."
I think one key point is 'Adult onset' because you can have all or some of those issues from childhood. ahhh i still dont quite know how spasticity is determined, anyone got the details of what constitutes spasticity?
Cheers......JJ
I am learning what this feels like in my body now. I have some spasticity that has shown up in my shoulder. I can tell it's not injured. I find resistance in moving it and it doesn't want to allow me to move my arm above my head; whereas the other arm I'm not having any trouble. There isn't any trobbing pain. It's just an uncomfortable resistance to a normal movement of mine.
I have stiffness in my right hand, right leg and now my right shoulder. Hmmm ~
Thanks Lu,
that was very interesting and I need to read it again. I really appreciate that you write in small paragraphs otherwise I just can't read ..
I have signed up for teleconferences and have forgot them even at the last minute. Its frustrating and I even have alerts on my computer..
hugs meg
Thank you for taking notes, Lulu! I always learn from your posts :-)
~Jess
Oh yes the recorded presentations are wonderful (especially since you can sneak away to prepare a snack when you get to the caller who turns a question into a virtual visit - seems there's one at almost every presentation).
The sad part is, once I've saved them I tend to put off listening to them day after day in favor of whatever has my attention for the moment. My queue got pretty big before my mega computer crash last year. Sadly, I lost my entire What's What in Mary's Computer Catalogue.
I turned down all requests to use my sad story to spike sales of data backup software. It was a good choice as I ended up using that time to quick start a new queue. I presently have nearly enough volume to engage me throughout retirement (assuming retirement at age 66, a normal life expectancy, nothing else distracts me before then and this computer doesn't follow its predecessor’s example). I still have unprotected que. I wonder if I could have gotten free backup software in exchange for telling my tale.
I've had a nightmare or two suggesting I already possess some of the answers I've searched for. I fear they patiently await discovery in a file eerily reminiscent of a retirement bucket.
Sorry. Did I fall asleep at the keyboard again? That why my mother cancelled my accordion lessons as a kid. Some things never change.
Nope, not on steroids anymore! I really have no idea what’s gotten into me here. This is an important topic Lu and you know where I stand on our need to educate ourselves regarding MS. Guess my brain censors went on vacation this afternoon.
(name withheld at request of author)
Mary,
one of my favorite sayings is....
of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
My first professional job was in journalism - I worked as a stringer for the local paper, and even landed a front page story once. Big stuff when I was only 17. I can still note take and do the who, what, when, where, why and how of the story.
I'm glad you found the notes useful.
L
PS - I really like the ones that are recorded and you can listen to them at your convenience. I have a bunch of those stacking up in my que.
Thanks Lulu. I had this one on my calendar last night and one about emerging therapies on Wednesday. I thought I would get to listen to plenty of tele-conferences this month while I was on vacation. Unfortunately, my brain has been shutting down after about six in the evening and I completely forgot about both of these until it was too late. How's the saying go? A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Oh yeah.
Thanks for the great info. Ever think of a career in journalism?
Mary