I don't really have any answers that will make you cheer, but I have been diagnosed with TM based on history/symptoms alone. While TM typically has a more or less sudden onset, my symptoms have been slow and gradually increasing over 10 years. I was initially diagnosed with peripheral neuroapthy, based on EMG/NCV tests and the fact that I was on flagyll for almost a year with colitis/crohn's and 4 surgeries. But then I started having new symptoms (vertigo, spasticity, the "hug," unrelenting pain) and made an appointment at an MS clinic. One thought is that the TM could have been triggered by the near-fatal inflammation I had in my colon that led to having it removed . . . totally removed. Life without a colon is tricky enough . . . but them TM . . .

As for treatments, so far it seems they are very similar if not the same litany of Rx meds on a try this/try that basis. Unfortunately for me all the meds I have tried so far mess us my Crohn's terribly, and if I lose that battle I lose the last vestiges of any quality of life I might cling to now. I take Imuran/azathioprene for both TM and Crohn's as it is supposed to depress the immune system to back off the inflammation . . . don't know if it is helping, but like any other meds, afraid if I quit I will flare terribly.

Arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can, ask questions, and keep pushing.

Transverse Myelitis

Transverse Myelitis Association