Wednesday, January 28, 2009

This is what I have.

I have Ataxia. At least that is what the doctors are telling me. Ataxia (although past doctors thought I had Cerbal Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinsons Disease) is my diagnosis right now, specifically Cerebellar Ataxia or more technically SpinoCerebellar Ataxia eventhough it is really a symptom, as in something is causing it along with along the other symptoms I have.

The defininition of Ataxia is:

Ataxia is not a specific disease or a diagnosis, it is just a word used to describe certain, similar, types of symptom. Ataxia will mainly involve clumsiness and loss of coordination. Ataxia may affect the fingers and hands, the arms or legs, the body, speech or eye movements - it is a description of physical problems. Ataxia symptoms may included staggered gait (unsteady walking), problems with balance, poor limb control (co-ordination), slurred speech, choking problems, irregular eye movements and loss of reflexes.


A great resource that I have been using lately is Cerebellar Ataxia Information. There is just so much information out and that page just has everything in one place, but I admit that I am still confused about my condition and still clueless about this.



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have this. I have an SCA type unknown even though my family has been tested. Yes in my case its genetic, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. You may also want to check out ataxia.org the national ataxia foundation. Hope this might help. I'll bookmark this page if you have any questions or more info, I'll try to help.

Unknown said...

No one in my family has shown any signs of Ataxia and the doctors believe that I got two bad genes from both of my parents, meaning they were both carriers, at least that is how I understand it.

So, in the meantime I will just have to be happy knowing it is Ataxia, at least I have a name.

Anonymous said...

U can get ataxia from parents if each one carries a recessive gene, which it sounds like is what ur doc thinks. But good luck, i will keep checking back.

Anonymous said...

There are a list of spinocerebellar ataxias which are known and your specific one could be diagnosed with a DNA test. Many are autosomal dominant and some are recessive. This would be clear if you have your family history as well.