Time to open up. Please take time to read. Many of you know that I see a neurologist every 3 months and currently receive botox injections at those appointments. You also probably know that I have not been having luck with any of the treatments we have been trying. My last appointment was the Friday of Labor Day weekend. My neurologist spent some time visiting with me about how things have been since my previous appointment and looking over notes from prior visits. It was then that he decided that, in addition to my chronic migraines, I have been slowly developing Cervical Dystonia. I didnt know what to think as I left his office: 1. I had never heard of Cervical Dystonia 2. I now have 2 neurological disorders instead of one 3. At least that might explain why things hadnt been working as expected. When I got home I sat down at the computer and researched the disease and my heart dropped more. Like chronic migraine, CD is also an incurable disease that you treat by treating the symptoms. This has been a rough journey for me through the constant pain but I am not sharing this for sympathy. Im sharing this for awareness. Many people know what a migraine is, but if they have never had one they tend to not understand how debilitating it is, especially chronic migraine. They also tend to not understand what it can do to the life of the person suffering from it. As for CD, many people I know have never heard of it so I am attaching a post from a CD support forum to tell more about it. It is another invisible illness that causes constant pain which changes a persons life completely. Spasmodic Torticollis (ST), and/or cervical dystonia, is a neurological condition thought to originate in the basal ganglia portion of the brain. A disturbance in the balance of chemicals produced in the brain may be responsible. One of these chemicals known as Acetylcholine may be affected. The neurotransmitters or chemical messengers are secreted from the basal ganglia and travel through nerve pathways to certain muscles of the neck. The increased nerve signals cause spasms to occur which cause the head to be pulled pulled per the renderings to the left. What are the symptoms and progression of ST? Following is a brief summary of What is ST?. It provides a generalization, but a good one, and, hopefully, one that others can understand. (See our Treatment Center for full details.) The pain may become worse and, in many cases, severe. Trying to do any or all of the common (taken for granted) everyday things such as sitting, standing, walking, or eating become very difficult. For years many physicians thought of ST as being psychological. IT IS NOT. Nor is it Parkinsons disease, nor Wry Neck, nor Cerebral Palsy nor Muscular Dystrophy. This confusion is why ST is often misdiagnosed and/or undiagnosed. Symptoms will generally settle on one side of the neck; a shoulder may be higher; pain, numbness or tingling sensations may be felt in the arm or hand. If tremors are present, they will generally be in the head.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 23:21:19 +0000
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