Quote:
Originally Posted by Starburst
I have to admit that my knowledge of neuro stuff is incredibly limited, I suspect you know more than me. I only know the basics, mostly about the common diseases that I come across at work; MS and MND.
All I was saying is that AN can be conclusively tested for, so it's something that your neurologist can rule in or out. Also, that there won't be one overall treatment, it is symptom management e.g. laxatives for constipation. It's not like other more complex conditions like SLE where diagnosis can be long and erm, what's the term, subject to change and according to opinion. You know what I mean; in that some rheums say seronegative SLE cannot exist, some disagree.
I hope you find the answers you are looking for with new neurologist.
 |
Actually, in many conditions that cause AN, there can be one treatment vs symptom mgmt. Take diabetes for example...which happens to be the most common cause of AN. In some patients (all depending on how long their condition when untreated and the severity), if they get their blood sugar under control by treating the diabetes, then AN symptoms resolve. This is also true for some other causes. I have Sjogren's and found that IVIG has not only helped my immune deficiency and peripheral neuropathy caused by this (to some extent), but some of my cardiac aspects of AN have improved as well.
I'm not saying that it works in all cases, but there certainly can be one overall treatment in some situations. You are correct that symptom mgmt is the most common, but if people get Dx early and the root cause is known, then chances for treating the overall condition greatly improve with success.