This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

it would be a guess
i will make an educated guess that the incidence of recurrence with azygos will be higher than dr z reported in his study. I cannot see why azygos woulod act much differently from jugular veins that are stretched and dilated.



it is a plausible explanation.



i think that outcomes will be different based upon the type of abnormality or the combinations of abnormalities that are present. but also on anticoagulation profile, the level of disability present, etc

Dr. Sclafani,

Since your symposium, have the physicians who participated started to fall in line around a common treatment protocol? Balloon sizes? Order of treatment? It sounds as if there are many doctors performing the treatments; are most sharing information between each other - or are most people practicing in silos?

Thanks

venous insufficiency is a problem of flow, valve function and reflux. it leads to inflammation of the downstream (in legs) or upstream (in brain) tissue. in other words the veins are insufficient to manage and regulate the flow in the veins back to the heart.


i would diagnose stenosis unless they had symptoms and had the stenosis for a long time



i would treat the reaon for the reflux if i could.

there is a case report of a man who had a high flow venous graft for dialysis. because his valves were insufficient, he developed transient global amnesia. He was treated by closing the Arteriovenous graft used for dialysis surgically. his symptoms developed within days

probably not but coagulation could be a problem, but your doctor will assess whether you can be treated and whether you need more or longer anticoagulationanticoagulation.

Dear Dr Sclafani, thanks for being around even if not really being there - hope you still managed to relax a bit during some well-deserved hols this summer
In fact I was wondering about MTS symptoms - since understand MT is stenosis in left iliac: could this cause only symptoms in the left leg - or could MT cause symptoms in both left and right legs/feet?

And if you mention swollen legs, have a question about perceived and real(+perceived) swelling:

Could MTS or other stenosed lumbar area veins also cause a symptom such as numbness only with the SENSATION of swelling accompanied by pins&needles (without however a visible swelling of feet/legs)? Thanks a lot for getting a clearer idea on this.

Dear Dr. Sclafani,

Anti-histimines are often given to MS patients for treatment of nerve pain as well as allergies.

I have both allergies & MS nerve pain and don't want to take drugs like Neurontin.

Since histimines open the veins, but cause terrible symptoms (I experience shingles-like pain), and anti-histimines negate the symptoms but also restrict the veins, my question is,

Is it harmful for people with CCSVI to take anti-histimines? Does this cause even more back up of blood flow?

I take two anti-histimines per day (Zyretec & Allegra) and my pain is still about a level 7 on some days.

I can't do without the drugs, but I'm worried it's causing an even worsening of the blood back-up into my brain?

Can you clarify if my concerns are valid or are these drugs safe for people with CCSVI?

Thank you, Selkie

*****

Dr. S,

Would blocked or very narrowed veins be the potential cause of high blood pressure? If so, how would someone have normal blood pressure but also have substantially blocked veins? Thanks!

Renae

Hello DrS, I finally got my stent unblock (candy wrap stenosis) AND:
70% left jug stenosis: balloon twice 8/10X40mm
50% right jug: balloon 3X (8/10/12X40 mm)
both in the area of prior radiation+ curietherapy and neck dissection from previous tongue cancer. He ALSO found a kink/irregularity in my Azygos 8X40mm (not checked in Poland)
It cracked - it poped - it hurt. (He also check MT and lombar =fine)

I was this doc 1st, he was pretty thorough (2 1/2hr) and he felt he did an aggressive job. Nice, competent, entousiast IR.

I was sure this time I was Fully Liberated but NO! Nothing:Pain -fatigue- brain fog are the same. headache increase.

What eludes me is my stent is now clear, how come I don't have the previous improvements I had for 6 weeks (bladder, saliva, bowel, no headache, sleep)? During the 1st procedure they only found a faulty valva.

What should be my next step? Is it possible that the veins did not hold their new shape? How about balloon size? lenght? Would it be a good time to use cutting balloon because those veins must be hardened by radiation?
I am not ready to give up yet! help!
Thank you

_________________
Happy mother'93, cancer survivor'95, angry ms'er'00 and... neuro daughter'63

Welcome back Dr.S!! Saw a quick mention of a Zego machine on the show The Doctors. They said that Columbia Presb. has one and it is the latest 3D IMAGING FOR VASCULAR PROCEDURES. Seems that this would be the perfect machine for CCSVI imaging? Is this something new or just TV hype?

Does anyone remember what page Dr S. discusses extremities, like cold feet, and the brain having a "thermostat" that sort of, heats the blood after pumping thru the heart?? It was a while ago, and I've been looking.This thread has become the "Sclafani MS Encyclopedia"

Welcome back Doc!!!

Welcome back!! It is very, very good to have you back.

The issue of restenosis has been much discussed, and I was wondering, are restenosis issues much different in arteries and veins? Coronary Arteries, for instance, do not collapse, but apparently the jugulars collapse in the prone positition. does the contact between the sides of the veins present a problem if the veins have been stretched and expanded by ballooning? Would sleeping fairly upright for a time period be helprful?

Again welcome back. You must clue us in on the mystery of the serious matter you were discussing in the Adiroondacks.

hi dr. sclafani, i am still in awe that you have been gracious and kind enough to donate your knowledge and time to this site. thank you.

i was treated aug.3. from what i know they ballooned both juglars - the azygous was supposed to be ok but they said they worked on it a little. ? no may thurner. i'm a little in limbo. i was out cold and things were pretty brief.

immediately after recovery my left leg and foot was numb. "this is my better side". it has remained numb since. i am ppms with considerable disability, but numbness was not one of them anywhere. i did have some very small improvements for about 10 days but sadly they are gone.

actually i have more pain in my legs and feel worse in many ways along with the darn numbness. i called the treating doctor and she said that maybe where they went in it hit a nerve otherwise she would not know.

i had communicated with someone else that developed numbness and they found she had gotten a bad clot in her stent. i have no stent but could i possibly have a clot? i am on plavix and 325mg. asparin. the asparin has been standard for me as i have mthfr which is a genetic thing that makes me more suscepitle to heart attack, stroke and blood clots. i did tell the treating dr. about that.

the treatment facility is about a 11 hr. drive and my follow up 3 mo. do you think i should be concerned about this possibility? what do you suggest? did this ever happen to anyone you treated or have you heard of cases that numbness developed immediately and persisted? thank you.

That was awhile back and I'm not sure if Dr. Sclafani weighed in on it much; it was more my theory that slowed perfusion was affecting the hypothalamus's ability to regulate body temperature. It also harkens back to mrhodes and what she'd found on 'emissary veins.' A competing theory is that the impaired thyroid could be affecting thermoregulation. I checked the index but no luck....

Here's what DrS had to say about cold feet back in March:

Hello Dr. Sclafani,

Hope you got a chance to rest and enjoy your holiday.

My daughter went to Albany last week for an MRV only as we live in NY(she is on your waiting list and we live in hopes) and was told that her jugulars looked fine and that her azygos seemed OK although he could not see it completely. He also said she may well have reflux but he did not know what could be done about that. She was also treated by a chiropractor for gentle neck realignment (he is an Atlas Orthogonist)about 2 weeks prior for neck pain and he said he was pretty sure she would not have a problem with blood flow as he had just readjusted her neck.

Was it foolish to just have an MRV? Could the chiropractor be right? If there is reflux doesn't that mean there is stenosis?

Thank you for taking time to answer our questions even though you have only had a short break - i just hope you know how much we appreciate it.


Drury

sorry to butt in Drury, this is normally Cece job, but I just finished watching Dr Zamboni presentation in Sardaigne and he repeated a few times that MRV is NOT an appropriate test for CCSVI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9fn3tbD ... r_embedded
Got it from another tread that just started.