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Sorry if I was unclear saying PALS Nikki but I only posted this is in a PLS forum section where the problem is UMN. I totally agree about the LMN involvement meaning no matter what may be happening in the brain the LMN are gone.
 
Fiona, don't know how good your insurance or your means are but there is a test called a PET-CT Scan. It takes a couple hours. Might ask your neuro about it.
 
Hi Al-
The only one I'm aware of in the area around me is the one used by the Cancer Agency. Not sure if the use of it by non oncology related testing is a thing- and there are no privately owned Pet scan machines unless I cross the border. My extended insurance would not cover it, as it piggy backs on our publicly funded medical system and only covers such things as medically necessary equipment (except diabetic blood glucose home monitoring, for some reason) and some pre-approved medications, limited massage therapy, etc. So, while my medical care is "free", it's a bit limited- and I've definitely used my fair share over the past year and a bit.

Fiona
 
Hey Fiona, oops... forgot you're in Canada. I read your first post here concerning your gait and someone really didn't see anything abnormal. I don't do this often but here's my experience with spasticity... (this'll open a flurry) sometimes I have muscles that want to, as I call it... stall. As this has moved up into my shoulders and arms I have had a couple of episodes where my right arm won't come down. Figure that one out! I went to bring down a container of coffee from the kitchen cabinet and it was like I had to force my arm to put it on the counter. It didn't want to come down. (?) Similar episodes with my thighs and calves trying to go down stairs. Up too. The muscles work but it's like they want to stall for a moment. As written before, I am so fortunate that I have no side effects from Baclofen. Can't imagine where I'd be without it... (30MGs three times a day). But... the Charlie Horses and cramps are beginning to come back so really don't know what's next. Don't know if this was a good explanation of spasticity (for me) or not. :)
 
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Thanks, AL. My leg was like that to begin with. I'd take a step, my leg would...wait, I'd add a bit more oomph to the movement, and then my leg would fling forward with twice the power- then I'd try to catch it half way so I didn't end up looking like the poster child for Ministry of Silly Walks. I fell up stairs frequently- usually when I was impatient with slow people on their phones and all my big sighs and clicking tongue didn't get them to hurry up. I don't have that dramatic catch any more- just a weird wobble like my hips are independent from my top and bottom (not even remotely like Elvis though), and a weird foot slap (which I attributed to breaking in brand new fancy Doc Martens, till I started doing it while barefoot too). I call my way of walking "glumping". I like to blame all the drugs that doctors want to throw at me these days.

Let's give it a day and see what sort of descriptions start to turn up, eh?
 
With spasticity it is like there is a lot of static on the line.
So the brain is telling one muscle to contract, and one to extend, to allow the limb to move up or down. But both muscles are having trouble hearing the command because of the static so both are trying to contract or extend at the same time ... so there is a freeze, or pause. Imagine extending your hand forward - the bicep has to extend and the tricep contract. If both try to do the same thing, or there is so much static they can't figure what to do, everything stops.

Then in a rush, messages get through and the limb is going in some direction or other suddenly.

Baclofen reduces the static on the line.

Much of the cramping is caused by muscles hearing all this static and trying to make sense of them by contracting when they shouldn't be.

That's my very lay person's simple explanation of a much more complex issue, that you have both described well in what it does to you.
 
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