Wow, those are low percentages!

Great info once again, thanks

My neuro said the only way to know 100% where our lesions are is during an autopsy.

I don't know about you, but I am not ready for an autopsy yet.

We know from symptoms that I have a lesion on my spine but it hasn't shown up on MRI. I guess I should clarify that by saying that of the ones I have seen. Since I've been in this clinical trial, none of my MRIs since Jan of 2007 are available for review by the trial doc nor my neuro.

I was recently told I had peripheral neuropathy. I was told it was due to alcohol.

I can't argue. I do drink too much (~ a six pack a day).

Pain started in left foot April 2007. It is now in both feet. It wakes me up at night. I need to start taking something for it.

Tom

There are many causes of neuropathy, including:

"-Diabetes
-Shingles
-Vitamin deficiency, particularly B12 and folate
-Alcohol
-Autoimmune diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or Guillain-Barre syndrome
-AIDS, whether from the disease or its treatment, syphilis, and kidney failure
-Inherited disorders, such as amyloid polyneuropathy or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
-Exposure to toxins, such as heavy metals, gold compounds, lead, arsenic, mercury, and organophosphate pesticides
-Cancer therapy drugs such as vincristine (Oncovin, Vincasar), and other medications [for example antibiotics such as metronidazole (Flagyl), and isoniazid (Nydrazid, Laniazid)"

http://www.medicinenet.com/periphera...hy/article.htm

Do you know, Tom, whether quitting drinking at this point might stop the neurpathy . . . or is the damage done?

But . . . for those of us with MS, who do not have any of these alternative health factors, it is likely the MS itself causing this problem.

Cherie

Could we step back here and take a look at the big picture. There is a difference between "neuropathy" associated with MS patients and often referred to as neuropathic pain and "peripheral neuropathy," a disorder of the peripheral nervous system.

Peripheral neuropathy is NOT a form of MS. It affects the peripheral nervous system NOT the Central Nervous System and as LE44 has already pointed out has several different causes.

Unforunately, I have researched this extensively due to an ignorant family member and there is no cause and effect between MS and PN, according to the research that I have done. They are completely different dx. You can have one without the other or you can have both. Just because you have one does not mean you will contract the other.

However, a lot of people with MS do have some form of neuropathy, but not necessarily peripheral neuropathy.

Tom, sorry to hear what your doc said, and that's what my family member was also told. This family member heard what she wanted to hear not what the doctor told her. She chose to hear something completely different. She would have been better off with the PN dx, not the one she chose to accept!

Ok you're getting me confused now!

PN is different from neuropathy from MS, but how do we tell the difference exactly? Is it based on MRI? Symptoms?

I knew this was going to come up again, because I remember the long conversation we had about your relative, Cheryl. Since then, I've been trying to piece together an explanation that will make sense, in case we ever have to describe it again. I'll dig that up and see how far I got with it . . .

Basically:

"The nerve cells and other nervous structures in the body outside of the CNS are known as the peripheral nervous system (peripheral means outside). These nerves receive information from body tissues and the outside world and pass it along to the brain and spinal cord. These nerves also carry the signals from the CNS to make body parts move or function."

From what I recall, for us the damage is to the nerves that are serviced by the CNS, which include most of the 12 Cranial (brainstem) nerves, and the 31 Spinal cord nerves. The peripheral nerves are not damaged . . . the ones feeding them are.

I'll try to describe this in more detail when I find that Word document I was trying to prepare.

Do you have the link to the prior convo, Cheryl?

Cherie

Yes, Cherie, you are correct. I am sure it's here (at NT) somewhere. I am so brain dead tired right now, I will have to look for it later.

It's been a very long day.

It's based on symptoms and testing. Not MRI. The two nervous systems are separate.

Think of it as periphery (outside) and central (inside) and that's about as basic as you can get.

And with that, I will quit. I am too tired to make any more sense out of this without screwing it up!

I found it . . . now go nap tired one.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ral+neuropathy

Cherie

That's it. and Thanks! Fatigue is such a wonderful thing! NOT!

It's supposed to be 20 degrees cooler tomorrow. Yeah!