positive hoffmans

Hi,

I have been suffering from depression, anxiety, muscle pains, poor memory, concentration and fatigue for the past few months. I am a type 1 diabetic. after loads of blood tests, which came back fine my GP sent me to a Diabectic specialist. I have just received a letter today which has been sent to my GP as well and wondered if somebody could translate the follwoing paragraph into something meaningful:


"His refelexes were generally brisk with positive hoffman's and inverted supinator jerks bilaterally.There was unsustained clonus of the ankle."

Naturally I Googled "Hoffman's" and it kinda relates to MS links, which is why I posted here.

I have muscle pains and stiffness from both calves down, right hand,arm and elbow. I also have stomach pains, which my doctor thinks is IBS.

I get very irratible when asked questions that require any thought. I constantly slurr and mix up my words and feel very tired all the time. I am very restless and cant even concentrate enough to read a paper.

Up until this letter my GP and I have put all of these symptons down to tension and depression. I have been off work for 2 months now as I could not cope in my capacity as IT network manger.

Could anybody throw any light on this while i wait for my GP to contact me?

Thanks

John

[Heather3418]

For those who do not know what Hoffman's sign may be:

A test which may reveal the presence of a lesion in the upper motor neuron in the spinal cord. A positive sign occurs when there is a reflexive response in the thumb to tapping the nail of the third or fourth finger. Normally, there should be no reaction from the muscles in the thumb.

A positive Hoffman's test may be associated with a lack of grip in the affected hand.

There are a number of neurological conditions which may elicit the Hoffman's response which include: cervical spondylitis, spinal cord compression, upper motor neuron disease