Not quite L'hermittes, sooo....what is this?

[Jifr]

Hello All....

I am glad they have this back up and running. I was around before as amberkytti but now I'm a newbie again. Joy! :)

Question:

I've had L'hermittes before; it felt like bubbles running up and down my spine. Right now.....I don't have the "bubbles up and down the spine" sensation but rather.....whenever I move my head a certain way I will get almost an electrical shock feeling that runs the length of my left leg starting about mid thigh. I seem to lose control/feeling in that time.

My Neuro says she knows I have spinal lesions - there's nothing she can do. She wrote me a script for a walker. But ::scratching head:: I'm confuzzled. Does this technically qualify as L'hermittes? If no...what does it qualify as?

Has anyone had this before? It's been going on 3 weeks to a month now.

[Cat Dancer]

What you're experiencing now sounds to me to be more typically L'hermittes, more typical than the "bubbles" sensation you described. For me it usually starts in the neck, and works into the shoulder, sometimes down the back into my leg, but not always. But always is an "electrical shocK' sensation.

[Matt]

Has anyone had this before? It's been going on 3 weeks to a month now.

Yep. I didn't understand it that well though. I knew that there was a connection between walking and getting the electric shocks down my spine. That was probably or at least could have been related to changing head position.

[euphoniaa]

I have to chime in here and say I agree with Cat completely. I'm not sure what the "bubbling" is, but the electric shock is typical L'hermittes. I had a pretty severe case of it for a long time, but it gradually went away when I started my exercise program several years ago.

I don't know if that was the reason or if it was coincidental, but I started doing a lot of floor stuff with a towel under my neck thinking it was a chiropractic problem. The L'hermittes diminished to only an occasional twinge with the exercise.

Although L'hermittes is common in MS patients, it's not exclusive to the disease. Mine may have been from a couple of whiplash incidents in my childhood and not from the MS at all.

Good luck to you!

[Jakaloke]

I have to chime in here and say I agree with Cat completely. I'm not sure what the "bubbling" is, but the electric shock is typical L'hermittes. I had a pretty severe case of it for a long time, but it gradually went away when I started my exercise program several years ago.

What she said (except for the excercise part).

Scott

[Jifr]

:-/ Thanks guys.

Whatever it is - it is going on in tandem with these other painful neuralgia "zaps" in random areas of my body.

I wish there was a way to make it stop.

[Matt]

:-/ Thanks guys.

Whatever it is - it is going on in tandem with these other painful neuralgia "zaps" in random areas of my body.

I wish there was a way to make it stop.

Mine did that too when I had it. I could trace all different nerves in my body.

[Matt]

I was really suprized to find that there were two nerves going vertically on each side of my belly. The ones in my arms and legs were less suprizing.

I never asked the name of the symptom, only the names of the nerves, which I don't remember now.

[Nancy T]

A number of peole have described Lhermitte's just from moving the head sideways. I have had that too, and once I got it just from taking a deep breath or tightening the muscles in my neck.

I know it was Lhermitte's because those actions made the knee buzz in exactly the same way and place as bending my head down. But that only happened once--otherwise it's almost exclusively from bending the head down.

Also, it doesn't have to run down your spine at all. It can be felt just somewhere in a leg or elsewhere. My most "popular" spots are various areas in my thighs, ankles, feet and rear end or adjacent areas! :eek:

Nancy

[elizabeth]

Wow, bubbles sounds a whole lot more pleasant than what I would classify as classic l'Hermitte's sign! :eek: The shock sensation is much more typical of what you'd expect, though I've not heard of it limited to one leg. My guess is that you have a spinal lesion that, when you move in a particular way, cause irritation that "shocks" that area.

Classic l'Hermitte's is the same type of reaction, though it tends to be a whole body phenomenon -- when one moves the head/neck the rub on the spinal cord causes a feeling like an electrical shock to course through out the body. I have this quite often when my MS is really bad -- sometimes as often as every few minutes. For me, it is incredibly tiring, and it makes it nearly impossible to walk, write, etc. in any normal way. Fortunately, many days are closer to "normal," and it only happens a half dozen or so times a day!

Treating your MS should help. Also, some people have had improvement with things like neurontin, tegretol, etc. (anti-seizure meds) designed to help control pain related to MS. Some people have said these meds also reduce the zaps of l'Hermitte's. I have not had that experience, as I have not had good luck with the drugs for pain control either! Oh well...

I hope your situation gets better. If nothing else, this might be one of those things that improves with time -- MS being one of those unpredictable things. I'll hope so for your sake!

Best of everything to you... :)

[Jakaloke]

Wow, bubbles sounds a whole lot more pleasant than what I would classify as classic l'Hermitte's sign! :eek: The shock sensation is much more typical of what you'd expect, though I've not heard of it limited to one leg. My guess is that you have a spinal lesion that, when you move in a particular way, cause irritation that "shocks" that area.

That's exactly what L'Hermitte's is, and it can affect any part of the body below the lesion. Initially mine was restricted to my left leg, but it ended up affecting my whole lower body. It gradually eased, and after a few months it went away completely (coinciding with the end of a bad relapse).

Scott