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If one were to experience the lhermitte's sign, when they put their head to their chest does it take a few seconds and then you can start feeling it to set in and just becomes more and more intense while the head is to the chest, or, is it just when the head is put down to the chest (OR what ever else sets off the lhermitte's sign) is it just a quick zap like that kind of burns (possible to go from back of head down to the next?)

and.. how often would one experience the lhermitte's sign if they had it? like do you have 'attacks' of it? just like a one time deal, and just happens whenever?

I have searched and read many things online about the lhermitte's sign but thats still a littler unclear to me at this point. Thanks.

l'hermitte's was a zap for me. it would happen every single time i moved my head in a certain way. it was happening before i got diagnosed, but i haven't had it since. my case is likely to be a little different than the average ms patient however. my spinal lesions were classic b12 deficiency lesion pattern and i'm not b vitamin deficient any more.

l'hermitte's for me is similar to what Jimmylegs experienced...it happens to me when i move my head certain ways...mostly chin down to chest. I too had this before being diagnosed. The sensation feels like electricity going down my back and right leg. i went to a chiro thinking pinched nerve for 2 yrs before going to neuro...my ms effects my right side but as it progreses now it's rt side and lower half of body and the l'hermitte's sensation stops about 1/2 way down the back. hope this helps

Interesting, Thanks so much! Greatly appreciated!

--So, as far as the Zaps go; Is there any feeling that you could reference it to? zap like socket outlet, zap like funny bone feeling, burning, after the initial "Zap" do you continue to feel reminisce of it afterward? like..." whoa, that kinda burns now after that zap." or something lol - your description

did it start small and progress into a more intense zap starting with just your neck, then all the way down to your feet after days,months,years or the sign?

does it go all the way up to the back of ones head? like ear or so level in the back of the head on down? (Can it be as that high?)

i don't think it has to be the same for everyone. all it means is that there is a lesion in your neck, and when you bend, you aggravate the signals going through your cervical spine to your body. it would probably be different for each patient depending where exactly in the neck they had the lesion, how fast it developed, whether they were able to make it go away quickly or slowly, etc etc etc.

in my experience it wouldn't drag on unless i were to keep repeating a trigger movement for some masochistic reason. and it wasn't painful. uncomfortable. mine has not returned since i got rid of it in early/mid 2006.

HTH,
JL

The first time I had this feeling was long before my diagnosis while I was driving. I put my head down for something, and there was a vibrating feeling in my neck and back. What? I did it again. Head down- vibration, head up, nothing. Head down, vibration, head up, nothing. If anyone was paying attention, they probably thought I was a human bobblehead. It didn't hurt at all and I was quite entertained by it. So, over and over I did it. Little did I know what was coming! It is an unmistakable feeliing. If you have it, you'll recognize it.

Mine goes from my head to arches of feet, and it's a buzz, disconcerting but not painful.
In retrospect, I've had it for years..
I got mugged in late 2001 whioe ending my shift feeding the Firefighters and Cops after 9/11. No good deed goes unpunished?
I had 4 broken ribs. I spent alot of time with very restricted movement, and my Chiro at the time said that the prolonged bedrest contributed to a shrinking of the spinal cord dura, and through stretching and manipulations, it would get back to size.
Do ya think I can get my money back?

I had a quite weak lhermitte's sign for some weeks in 2006, always when I put my head to the chest. It was like a vibration in my lower back and my behind and not painful (lucky me!) and it stopped after a few seconds - until i moved my head again.

jeeez, msm, what a tale!

I had a very strong vibrating that travelled down into my lower back and legs when I had a relapse (and the formation of a lesion in my cervical spine). (It was triggered everytime a looked down). I figure that the inflammation surrounding that lesion has gone down as the L'hermittes has now thankfully gone.

Can L'Hermittes sign occur when there is no lesion in the neck?

Mine is like electric shock goin all the way down the back half of my body, it's when I put my head to my chest. It's worse for the first second n eases the longer I keep my head down....it completely bugs the hell out of me!!

my understanding is that l'hermitte's sign is indicative of an active lesion.

mine is much like Kirsty's. It goes away after a few seconds, down my less-than-perfect left leg only.
In my case, this is not indicative of an active lesion as JL says. Coincidentally, I had an MRI w/ contrast during a spell of l'hermitte's with no hot lesions detected. Right now I associate it with a minor flare in symptoms but not necessarily a full fledged relapse.

An d for the record, I hate this feeling.

interesting, absentee.