That's right, Batbite. It's all about the money!

I was at the monkey temple in Katmandu, Nepal. There was no signs/warnings around about the monkeys. But as I approached the temple, I noticed they were stalking me because I had a banana. They were so aggressive that one pounced to grab the banana and within seconds I noticed some bleeding. Shocked and in a panic, I ran down to ask a policewoman about the monkeys and she told me they had rabies. Though there was some dispute about this at one of the local hospitals I went to, whereas doctors at the other said that they not only had rabies, but other deadly viruses too...they also had 2000($) reasons to convince me to get the HRIG.

The monkey looked healthy...I'm not a simian expert by any means, but by contrast to the small and cute ones I encountered in South America, the monkeys in South Asia are much larger and more hostile.

That's quite an adventure story! Reminds me of my globe trotting adventurous middle child...scuba diving blue holes in the Carribbean, feeding wolf eels in the Pacific Northwest, traveling Europe...South America...gives me gray hair and wrinkles, but then I have to remind myself that that is how I raised the kids...to grab opportunities and go for it.

I too wonder why I wasn't offered steroids as an option to the myoclonus, but now that it seems to be tapering off on its own, that's kind of a moot point. Hope your spinal tap is uneventful, but productive of useful information.

After a relatively uneventful two months and 10 days, I've had problems again. Seems I pushed myself too hard with the housework, and last night I had a bout of insomnia and a siezure. Couldn't sleep so around 1:30 A.M. I went downstairs and ate a little protein and a small amount of pomegranate juice. Fell asleep around 1:45 A.M. Woke up at 2:20 A.M. with my whole body vibrating strongly and a tight feeling in my throat. Waited for the siezure to stop, gave in and reluctantly took a sleep aid and fell asleep. Had some myoclonus as I awoke this morning. So odd...if I have an incident, the timeline is always pretty much identical. O.K. this morning, just feeling tired and washed out. We always host Thanksgiving for the family. I've thought of backing out this year, but hubby really loves the holiday. I just told him I'll need a LOT more help this year. This setback is discouraging, but I don't feel as defeated and shaken up as with past incidents. As always, you wonder how long these problems are going to persist.

I'm sorry to hear that, Batbite! I think it's important to try to get back to being active and keeping yourself busy. But it's even more important to look after yourself and your own health. If you want to continue doing things like hosting the family for Thanksgiving, then no one is stopping you. Just be prepared for the possible consequences. Is your husband concerned about your issues as well? Make sure you communicate with him if you aren't up for it.

I've been dealing with a few issues myself. In the past 2 weeks, I've been dealing with tingling sensations in my neck and throat. Of course, I'm also still experiencing occasional nerve pain/tingling in my lucky index finger (site of bite/shots). It's more annnoying than anything else. It doesn't throw me into panic attacks like it used to.

Anyway, I hope you and monkeyman are doing well otherwise!

Sorry to hear that batbite! When you say seizures, do you mean hypnic jerks (a sudden jolt/muscle jerk as you're falling asleep) or is it more like an epileptic fit?

I had a bad reoccurrence of hypnic jerks after taking diphenhydramine (nyquil type sleep aid). Definitely extremely sensitive to even OTC/herbal remedies. What type of sleep aids do you take? Klonopin is the only sure way I've found to stop this type of myoclonus, but taking it on a regular basis is a slipperly slope...the alternative has been months of insomnia. My neurologist reckons all these fasciculations/hypnic jerks are perfectly normal and harmless...I think he forgot to add; 'except if you're a healthy human being.'

I opted out of the spinal tap, after he mentioned that there might only be a 5-20% (lower than the chance of side effects) of finding the inflammation he was looking for, in order to justify the steroid treatment.

Monkeyman, the siezures are more like epileptic fits, very different than the hypnic jerks or myoclonus that occur as I'm entering or leaving a state of sleep. I have a prescription of Atarax for my allergies which I only take as needed, but it is also anti anxiety and does help me fall asleep. I haven't noticed any benefit from it preventing the muscle jerks. Because of my MTHFR gene variant, a little goes a long way when it comes to medications of any kind. I have to be very careful and all dosages are very small as my body does not process and eliminate toxins well. I think you came to a wise risk/benefit decision on the spinal tap. Most times everything goes well, but if the puncture does not re-seal well the results are devastating. My neurologist also did not seem at all concerned about the myoclonus and nocturnal siezures, but as you said, these events are far from normal in a healthy human being. Since my last post I've been fine again. I can ride the stationary bike 2-3 miles every day and do a few tasks, but if I tackle cleaning the whole house thoroughly and into all the corners all in one day, I have problems. Very frustrating. Gives a whole new perspective to, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

Sorry for the late reply, and sorry to hear it's that bad. I'm surprised they haven't prescribed anti seizure meds.

Do you know anyone that's had a spinal tap gone wrong? I'm pretty much stuck between getting that test with possible discovery/treatment, or living with these challenging symptoms indefinitely. It's interesting how some of us (you and I, Albertakewl etc.) seem to have similar symptoms and haven't gotten better...

Thank you for the response, monkeyman. My recovery such as it is seems to be following an up and down course with very slow forward progress. The siezures and myoclonus are all but gone. There was one stressful event (storm water damage to a rental property of mine) that caused a return of the hypnic jerks for a night or two. The nerve pain in my left leg comes and goes, but when I have it, it's pretty severe. The biggest quality of life issue I have now is lack of energy...that is an every day thing...not enough energy to really do the things I want to.

As for the spinal tap information, no, I do not personally know anyone with a spinal tap gone wrong. There was recently an article in the health section of our newspaper about a young mother whose spinal puncture did not seal, and it has ruined her life. She is basically bed bound, in constant pain, can only sit up or stand for very brief periods before having to lie down again, the family has had to hire child care, housekeeping and cooking help, and she can't go out to do anything. Several members of her family are physicians and even with resources like that they have not been able to find any solutions for her.