what are your experiences with hyperreflexia?

[Sammantha]

Thanks for all the responses... i do have clonus...... My new co workers and i get along great because i laugh so much, especially if i am tired.........but this gets in the way of disciplining my children. They will do innappropriate things and will laugh as i tell them how bad it was and my litte one laughs right along! The only time in my life my sense of smell was this stong was when i was pregnant and i am definetly not pregnant. The worst was when we had unthawed steaks that were particularly bloody in the fridge. The blood did not spill but all i could smell for weeks was the blood smell..even long after the meat was taken out. Even cans and bottles had the lingering smell!! My husband thinks it is funny how jumpy i am......Luckily i can laugh at myself and about most of it! Thanks all, Sam

[planningguy]

April,

Yes, tinnitus is the term for a type of chronic ear ringing.

Take care,

Robert

[ktmj]

I saw a website yesterday that explained the differences in hyperflexia brisk reflexes and spasticity in common language. Will try to find it later.

[awieleba]

Sam~

I am glad to hear the job is working out, all things considered.

I am confused on what you are calling hyperflexia/reflexes etc. It sounds like what you are saying with your personality changes are emtional liabilty? And reflex issue's would be the jumping at noises? I dont know, maybe it is one thing.

I get the startled thing alot. Not so much from noises but more from someone walking up behind me. My husband told me today that I am so jumpy latley. I did not tell him that it is yet one more sign of Mnd....

I hope you had a good christmas.

[wright]

Sam

Upper motor neurons do not control any of the senses that you have indicated . . . and in fact . . . don't control any of the senses in the body. All of our senses are controlled in part by sensory neurons located in various regions of the cerebral cortex. If those sensory neurons were damaged, senses would be diminished and not heightened.

Damage to upper motor neurons, which then causes hyper-reflexia, do so because those upper motor neurons no longer have their normal inhibiting influences on the reflex arcs.

[ptich]

write, it looks like hypersensitivity to light / noise / touch etc is connected to the UMN damage. These are different symptoms, caused by different mechanisms, but, more often than not, they come together.

[wright]

Ptich

I was referring to Sam's heightened senses of smell and hearing. The other stimuli you are referring to can certainly cause someone to be more "startled" in that sudden movements because of them (sound for example) can manifest in a hyper response due to the brisk reflexes. The upper motor neurons do not in any way innervate any of the sense organs directly or indirectly, I can assure you of that.

[CindyM]

Wright: I notice my heightened startle reflex happens more frequently when I am tired. (This is the same for a lot of my symptoms.) Do you know how over work or lack of sleep fits in with all this? Just wondering...

[crystalkk]

Sam,

I have the same thing with the loud noises, smells, and startle reflexes.
I agree that it does feel like when I was pregnant with the smells.

I'm happy to here that the new job is working for you.

How was your appointment with the new nuero?
Is he sending you for any other tests?

Laughing is better than crying, ( I have been crying alot).

hang in there,

[Sammantha]

Hey Crystal, Awielba and everyone,, that appointment went bad and good..... Once he tested my reflexes and knew i was there because of muscle weakness he knew i had been to neurologist's before because doc's usually dont send someone to a neurologist for a pulmonary disorder.... So i had to go into my whole to do, and got the same result with him... Lets see what happens.....(He called Duke the big dogs!) The pulmonary rehab classes are three days a week for three months, and right in the middle of the work day! (So i have not started) This job i am doing now i have Friday's off and the only troubles i do have, i can keep hidden...... My hands are weak when holding objects, when i pour liquid into flasks i have a hard time. My legs and feet twitch constantly now that i am on them all day, by the end of the day i am dragging my left leg. I am not bending or hunched over all day, i sit in grown up furniture AND i get a lunch break!! Physically i have been able to keep up, not at home though, but my husband has stepped up.... My co worker noticed the scar on my hand from my muscle biopsy and i said it was from a cyst... I do not want them knowing any of my weakness's.... My breathing issues only come into play when i am real physical and this job does not cause that.....I must say God answered my prayers with this job, i hope i can keep it up for a long time..... My boss keeps saying it takes two years to learn the job, and i cant help but think what my health will be like in two years!! Whatever i have it is progressing, but very slowly and that makes all the difference! Having this job diverts my thoughts and gives me a break from the unknown... When my muscles twitch at work or I drop something or trip, i only think about it for a moment because i am too busy to dwell......

Having experienced brisk reflexes then hyperreflexia for a long time i must say it can come in handy, too bad i did not have it when i played sports. Most of the time it is a very uncomfortable feeling..now when they test a reflex i can feel an uneasy shakiness in my other arm or leg, like the hee bee jeebee's.... I dont know whats up with this whole sensory thing, the smell thing was recent and still persists and the noise and bright flashing lights has been a startler for awhile.... I went to the movies tonight and kept jumping because of the loud noise and flashing screen then i settled down and got used to it and everything felt so lively!! Sometimes nothing can cause my forearm to jerk, i was in the grocery store standing in line very bored and my arms where at an angle and my elbow jerked...i was like, i hope noone saw that!! I get so excited, happy and tearful in a whim!! It's definetly not dull! I hope i find everyone in good spirits tonight and still pray for all on here, Sammantha

[Sammantha]

April, when my reflexes are tested my leg jumps almost completely out, they sometimes hold my elbow to my body when testing that and it causes not only it to jump but it causes an all over movement for example my jaw cheek will visibly vibrate. When they jerk my ankle it will get into a rythym of moving back up and down and they hold it to stop it, they call it clonus.

Wright thanks for the response, i have come to learn that experiencing things and reading about them are two different things.... and i feel it quite odd that noise bothers me and i can smell (like wicked.) It is nice to know that i am not the only one that this has happened to!

[CB1977]

Is clonus an ALS symtom?

[CindyM]

It is a symptom of a lot of diseases. Somewhere on You-tube there is a movie of a person with MS who has colonus. Wright can explain better.

[jennibf]

I have clonus and I do not have ALS.

jennifer

________________

probable MS dx

[hopingforcure]

Clonus is hyperflexia, to a pathological extent. Unsastained is when the shaking does not stop, like Sam explained. Clonus is seen in MS, ALS, for sure. The startle reflex does make movies a experience, saw a couple good new movies this Weekend at the theatre, love movies.