Wild wrote:I know there is a lot of info on this here already but I need to know if anyone else experiences it like I do. More and more lately if I forget to take my meds on time I have a really strong sign. It is not just the tingling pulling sensation anymore. I has recently been dropping me to the ground. Once this starts I need to walk with my head perfectly straight. When I tilt my head my legs collapse. I have also had a couple times where when checking (meaning I look down and back to see how I am doing) I have almost passed out, fortunately the "back" motion was already in motion as it happened.
Hi Wild, and welcome! Yes, that sounds like the same way I experienced Lhermittes years ago - my left leg would collapse out from under me. Pretty scary when trying to cross a street or parking lot in front of a driver who assumes you're moving at a
normal pace! I got so I'd barely lift that leg in order to keep it under me; I'd kinda drag it along, keeping it close to the ground.
However, I'm not sure if mine is even from MS, which I posted about recently. I'll add what I reported about Lhermittes in another thread to avoid retelling it. (I find myself telling the same stories dozens of times in answer to questions, so I try to give a thoughtful heads up to oldtimers so they can go on to other threads.
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Mine lasted for weeks, but I thought I got rid of it myself (see my explanation below). What meds are you referring to? I assume they're for symptoms, since the DMDs don't address specific complaints like Lhermittes. I haven't heard of what might be used for it.
Good luck to you! Here's
my story from another thread:
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/introduct ... 18499.html
I had a severe case of it [Lhermittes] for at least several weeks about 25 + years ago. Since it was so obvious to me it was a spinal issue, though, I assumed it was due to childhood whiplash incidents, and didn't even go to a doctor. Lhermitte's is the reason I developed my diet/exercise routine, paying special attention to my neck, lost weight, and it worked (or I assumed it did). It soon calmed down to a mild twinge only when I bent my neck WAY down. It has continued gradually going away for the last 25 years, until in the last year I've stopped noticing it at all.
But I have no idea where mine comes from. My C-Spine MRI 8 yrs ago showed NO spinal lesions, but only cervical spondylosis, which can also cause Lhermitte's sign.
Here's a quick Wikipedia definition:
Lhermitte's sign, sometimes called the Barber Chair phenomenon, is an electrical sensation that runs down the back and into the limbs. In many patients, it is elicited by bending the head forward. It can also be evoked when a practitioner pounds on the posterior cervical spine while the neck is flexed; this is caused by involvement of the posterior columns. Lhermitte's sign is named for Jacques Jean Lhermitte, a French neurologist and neuropsychiatrist. Thus it is incorrect to spell the term as "L'hermitte's sign".
Associated conditions
The sign suggests a lesion of the dorsal columns of the cervical cord or of the caudal medulla. Although often considered a classic finding in multiple sclerosis, it can be caused by a number of conditions, including transverse myelitis, Behçet's disease, trauma, radiation myelopathy, vitamin B12 deficiency (subacute combined degeneration), and compression of the spinal cord in the neck from any cause such as cervical spondylosis, disc herniation, tumor, and Arnold-Chiari malformation. Lhermitte's Sign may also appear during or following high dose chemotherapy.