This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

I respect all of you. The members I was referring to are ones who have followed the thread from the start. TiMS is a terrific site and whatever works best for the benefit of all the members works fine for me. I look forward to seeing your post Euphonnia. From what I gather reading your tag, you have an interesting case. I am heading out for a 3-4 mile jog. Fortunately for me, so far my leg is still holding up for many months now.

thank you nhe!! thank you dr. flanagan!!

uprightdoc,

I went to chiropractor board and thought where did he go? where did he go? no offence but I was glad to see the back of you.

Now you are back where you belong, I actually cheered out loud, luckily Brad is out.

Check out general, about Neuros not knowing about balance probs, the floodgates re UCC will now be open.

Sunnee

p.s. a very happy day

civickiller wrote:

uprightdoc wrote:Civic,
How old were you when you fell off the ladder and hit the back of your head, and how old were you when you were doing handstands and fell onto the top of your head?

it was a fall from a tree but anyways my mom today said it happened when i was 10, i thought 12. the fall from the handstands happened when i was 24, my first big MS symptoms, leg weakness.

i already had tinnitus and shocks with neck bending forward.

Civic,
Your head and neck injuries are no doubt the cause of your significant upper cervical misalignment and MS. You should read the following links carefully as they apply to you. There is a good possibility you damaged your upper cervical ligaments and may have atlantoaxial instability. Among other things atlatoaxial instability can cause you to misalign more easily but it can also causes cranial settling and functional Chiari malformations.

http://www.upright-health.com/tonsillar-ectopia.html
http://www.upright-health.com/upper-cervical-angle.html

As an aside, for all you lurking souvlaki afficianados out there, my brother is visiting so I am heading out to the kitchen to make an Irish Stew for dinner in my unglazzed Romertopff clay pot. I make it with two layers of thin sliced onions, carrots and potatoes seasoned and covered with fresh thyme and rosemary. The stew gets cooked for three hours. The last 30 minutes the top layer of potatoes are brushed with a little olive oil mixed with some butter to brown them. There's something special about braising in an unglazzed clay pot. The stew is so tender and tasty that even a well seasoned authentic Greek souvlaki afficianado and critic like Costumenational would be sucking down some Guiness and singing Danny Boy after just a few bites.

dr. flanagan, with the mri and x-rays i sent you can you tell if i have myelomalacia? reason for asking-one place near phila. said that they could treat my spurs stenosis and disc. but i would need to be examined there first and if there was myelomalacia they would not do surgery i would need a neurosurgeon and reg. back surgery. they did not get my mri only the written report. the place i had the mri done was supposed to send both. i wanted to send them an mri copy but they want me there. i finally did tell the guy i had been told i have probable ms-but i also have the spurs and stenosi etc. that are giving me trouble and i would like them fixed.i am still trying to get in with someone closer.

from what i read on myelomalacia better to treat early of course "and there again can screw with the flow of veins etc." but sure is no picnic. will the mri's i sent you tell this and as always your opinion is valued.

myelomalcia was never mentioned in the past by neuro.'s but then again when trying at that time to have the spurs etc. brought into some of my symptoms it was poo pooed. "the mind set of med. did not go there and still needs a lot of convinceing."

Blossom,
Myelomalacia isn't a very specific term. It simply means that the cord is affected. It can be due to different causes such as injuries and aging. The cause of your problems is spondylosis (degeneration) and curvature problems.

I don't know all the particulars of your neuro exams but you certainly have signs and symptoms that suggest cord involvement. The most likely cause is the cervical spine. The combination of curves, bones spurs and degenerated cartilage is obstructing the contents of the spinal canal in the lower neck. The bones spurs and disc are definitely compressing the vertebral veins. Compression of the vertebral veins puts back pressure against arterial circulation and oxygen flow to the cord, but I doubt that it is completely cutting off supply. Nonetheless, over time, chronic decreased arterial flow to the cord can do permanent damage. I discuss it all in my book. The three villians are chornic edema, ischemia and decreased CSF flow. Your neck is most likely affecting all three to one degree or another.

Removing the spurs and protruding discs can only improve arterial and venous flow through the area, as well as CSF flow which would be beneficial to the cord. How much you regain in strength and improve in symptoms depends on the extent of damage. Unfortunately, regardless of whether they do open or endoscopic surgery there is no way to determine the outcome before hand and surgeons claim to have less success with cord compression, called myelopathy. As far as I am concerned, unless it can't be done, it would be far less risky and much better for you to have endoscopic surgery. It will cause far fewer problems.

Do you have a neuro report on the strength of your legs, feet; arms, hands and fingers; muscle reflexes; sensation; pathological signs such as: hyperreflexia or areflexia, Babinski, Hoffman, Lehermitte etc.

I wouldn't say no for a souvlaki anyway so it doesn't count man...
Even though all this sounds...interesting.

dr. flanagan, the way i'm understanding and trying to get done is the endroscopic surgery to the spurs, stenosis and disc.which is causing narrowing and pressure on this vital cervical area.

even if there would be something going on with the cord why could they not do this first? i may be jumping the gun because these guys only read the report- where you have read the report and looked at the mri and x-rays. florida got both the report and the mri and seems there would be no problem doing the endroscopic-i know they do some of their own testing but they did not mention this spinal cord stuff.

i understand completely that there is no way of knowing for sure how much if any improvement there will be.

no, i have no neurologist reports about my strengths.

i have to have the ammunition yet try not to lock horns with them as you say.

Hello CN,
It's nice to hear from you.

Always nice to hear from you too mister!
It has been 3 months since my last adjustment can you believe it? And it doesn't feel like I am gonna need one soon either.
Lately, I noticed that my legs dont get numb after walking middle distances as they ALWAYS used to. How something like that may happen? I mean, even though I started care with Michael, my legs were always getting numb from the waste down after walking say...100 meters. Well, it was mostly a pins and needles thing and it would go away after a few seconds but it was most noticeable.
Doesn't happen any more. How come? Anyway, this along with other minor improvements (many casual symptoms have dissapeared for good) indicates that there will be a very slow but steady course towards improvement.
Other than that, I found a job as a senior software developer in Melbourne Australia but when mom heard it she almost died...
On the other hand, Greece is sinking. Big time.
Anyway, no complaints whatsoever Michael. Thanks to you bud...

That's amazing news, S. Hope you Mum can see with your eyes.
Australia's is not such a bad place, my two children live there, bit of a league of Nations, people looking for a better life.
Dr. F I have a burning question, what is the 'cause or better put the actual mechanism' of the cracking or popping noises when I move my neck. Fluid or 'air' ? It happens up or down, side to side and will happen repeatedly, and will happen soon after expressing the ? with repeated movements to squeeze it out?
I am interested to know what is the physical and the chemical 'thing' that happens as it has been with me for a life time and for some reason I tend to link it to my neck issues which are more pronounced lately (weeks). Neck movement causes various sensory expressions, a tingle or sometimes twitches or spasms, arms and legs, sometimes torso. I assume that there is a connection, or is it possibly just the movement affecting the lesion and therefore affecting nerve conduction?

I don't know Nigel...I don't see it happening. She told me that if I leave she will die. What a mess...
Anyway, Greece is a league of Nations also but without the better life part. It's getting worse every day. We are heading towards third world situations. Full throttle.
I got these cracking noises also sometimes so I ll curious what dr F has to say.

Damaged, misaligned and strained joints in the spine are under abnormal mechanical loads. The cracking noises are caused by dry damaged connective tissues and joints, as well as gas bubbles. When compressed sufficiently gases cavitate and pop like a balloon.

I am sorry to hear of your plight CN. My heart is with the Greeks and your mother.