Recently diagnosed with PMA

[optimistic4]

Hello,

My name is Melissa and I have recently been diagnosed with PMA. I am 28 years young and in complete shock. I used to be a professional and college basketball player and to find out that I can not be active and my life is being threatened has put me into great disbelief. My nuero is sending me to get a second opinion and I am seeking the help of natural path doctors. Has anyone tried the natural way? With what percentage can the doc's be sure that this is the disease for me?

My symtoms are for the most part in my legs...lots of twitching, aching, fatigue and huge strength loss. I have had a couple twitches in my hand, which is scaring me but so far no strength loss in those areas.

Any advice will be well taken.

melissa

[CindyM]

Hi Melissa. I am sorry you are ill. I think you will find that this forum is a great place for information, support and encouragement. I am new here myself and still learning but I wanted to let you know you re not alone. Welcome and stay in touch!

[Al]

Hi Melissa. Welcome to our forum. Are you getting a second opinion at an ALS clinic or at least by someone well versed in the Motor Neuron Diseases? Be wary of the naturopathic remedies. Look up scamwatch on the front page of the site. There are a lot of people selling false hope out there. Be aware. AL.

[Peg B]

Hi Melissa,

I am new to this today. Please tell me what PMA stands for. I could not find it on the internet and have not heard of it. Thanks, Peg

[Al]

Hi Peg. Welcome to the forum. PMA is Progressive Muscular Atrophy and there is a section for it on the page before this one. AL.

[Patrick Lee]

Hi Al,


My dad has the lower motor neuron signs for two years. Now, it is gradually affecting his speech, and has trouble to move his jaw. No babinski, no stiffness. Doc has not diagnosed him yet when all tests ( MRI, EMG , blood tests were normal as at Sept 2006 ) turned out negative.


There is a section on this page for PMA definition. One is called " patchy distribution type". Do you know what it really menas by that ? Or anyone in this forum knows ? Please input .


thanks,
Pat

[Patrick Lee]

I am new in the forum.
can you tell me how to start a new theread ?

thanks,

[hboyajian]

To start a new thread, go to the top of this page, click on ALS/MND Support Group Forums. Then scroll down to get the list of different forums (ie. General discussion, etc.). Click on one of the forum choices. There will be a button for New Thread available there.
Hope this helps.

[Edwin]

Dear Melissa,

Welcome to the forum and please know that I am so sorry to hear about your illness. I just want to reinforce what Al had to say about getting a second opinion from someone specialized in MND, being wary of naturopathic remedies, and others that seem to offer a “magical cure”.

Many blessings,
Edwin

[CBowman]

Hello,

My name is Melissa and I have recently been diagnosed with PMA. I am 28 years young and in complete shock. I used to be a professional and college basketball player and to find out that I can not be active and my life is being threatened has put me into great disbelief. My nuero is sending me to get a second opinion and I am seeking the help of natural path doctors. Has anyone tried the natural way? With what percentage can the doc's be sure that this is the disease for me?

My symtoms are for the most part in my legs...lots of twitching, aching, fatigue and huge strength loss. I have had a couple twitches in my hand, which is scaring me but so far no strength loss in those areas.

Any advice will be well taken.

melissa

Melissa,

I am Chad, I am 34 years old and have similar problems. My left leg is extremly week (foot drop, hamstring, quad, and hip), my right leg has minimal weakness and I have overall body twitching. This has all occured in 4 months. My MRI (brain and spine) show to be normal. I saw my Nero doctor yesterday and he said the progession of my leg is faster than typical ALS but I have a brisk knee reflex which he is concerned about (hypo reflexes are tyical of ALS). They think I have either MMN (multi focal motor neuopothy) or ALS. I am booking my flight to the Mayo clinic today. Best of luck to you (I need some luck to).

[manfred]

Hi melissa,From what you say,and the fact that there are numerous forms of M.N.D.'S out there ,you definitely need to get a second(and/or a third ) opinion on your situation.You should see a neurologist that has definite experience in motor neuron degenerative diseases...possibly someone dealing with a.l.s...not to scare you but someone with this expertise probably knows more about it( P.M.A.)than just a neurologist.My daughter was missdiagnosed twice..undergoing two needless operations to finally be told that she actually had P.M.A.......this is still a motor neuron disease ,but there are things that can be done to deal with the eventual outcomes. There are supplements (not cures),exercises and above all positive outlook and attitude that can be very helpfull.It is important though that the neurologist that you see specializes in M.N.D.'s.Sorry to hear about your situation,stay hopefull,stay positive and research whatever it is you finally are diagnosed with, understanding what your 're dealing with makes it much easier to fight back . Manfred

[CindyM]

Welcome Manfred. I see this is your first post. Glad you decided to join us! Sorry to hear about your daughter. Hope she is doing well. Cindy

[manfred]

Hi Cindy,Thanks for the welcome.I just spent the weekend with my daughter and she seems to be doing fine..She is looking much better.Last weekend we were in Toronto and we spent the whole day at the zoo with the grandchildren and our friends and their kids..the entire day was spent walking and she was fine,we spent the rest of the evening at our cousins place and that too did not seem to fatigue her.As a rule we all try not to overdo..and if she should get tired she'll let us know..So she has been without any measureable changes with regards to her p.m.a.She still maintains her meds,supps and exercise and it helps that she has a strong spirit!Everyone is praying and pulling for her to "control " this conditionfor as long as it takes to find a cure! Be strong,be positive and keep fighting back!Manfred

[CindyM]

Glad to hear it Manfred! Let's hope this continues for a good long time! Cindy

[disneygirl]

Hello Melissa, My Name Is Lisa Im 34 Years Old, I Was Recently Diagnosed 2 Years Ago At The Mda
Clinic By David A Simpson, My Symptoms Were Twitching (alot) Weakness In The Legs And Arms,falling Alot, So I Know What You Are Going Through And The Others, But Keeping Fighting.i Hope We Can Talk Now And Then...ps: Were Not Alone Out There. Disneygirl.

[CindyM]

Hi Melissa- welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear about your DX. write and tell us more when you feel like it! Cindy

[mamaoftwo]

She posted this original message in 2006 and has not been heard from since as far as I can tell. Anyone know how she is doing?

[juliesmile]

My husband has PMA, and sounds a lot like your daughter. He can still walk, but tires so much faster than he use to. He is a farmer and does a lot of walking. Use to be able to walk a horse into the ground, now he wears a brace for foot drop and walking is the most difficult thing he has to do. But he is still working and basically the same. He has a positive attitude, we cried for a couple weeks, but since then he has moved on. I, on the other hand still spend a great deal of time trying to figure out what's to come. Is your daughter on this forum? I would love to speak to her. If she wants to talk she can private message me.

Julie