Reply To: Excessive Physical Exertion Takes a Toll

I realize you are still working so how much you cannot do, that is, limits on your performance, seem a little out of your control.

If you have sensory involvement it’s expected you would feel that damage and the corresponding recovery and relapses.

There are probably several things going on simultaneously with your neuromuscular situation. First of all is the damage to the nerves themselves. This may take the form of simple myelin damage, or it may progress to include axonal damage and, sadly, axonal loss. I think of it as rats chewing on the wires to my motors. In the sections where the rats ate all the way through, my motor is not going run.

Secondly, I do not mean that p/t is not useful rather it has similarities to a spinal cord victim. The signal will not go through. That section of muscle is not going to respond because the signal is gone, at best, not correct. Imagine the muscle fibers with good nerve conduction still working trying to do what it is you could do before. Not gonna happen because not all the muscle fibers are firing correctly yet.

Thirdly, You’ll self-discover your limits. Keep track of them and try not to exceed them. Whenever I did I paid a bad, severe cramping and increased fasiculation price. From finger cramps to leg cramps to muscle failure your body will yell at you when you’ve done too much.

Recovery is time and treatment dependent to the extent there is not irreversible axonal loss. Myelin and axonal recovery takes time. It occurs sequentially from your core out, not concurrently everywhere at the same time.

Same as Jim-La I have a list of things I was previously unable to do. Turn a key in the ignition, pull zippers, do buttons, hold chopsticks, open a water bottle, hold a pencil, open those stupid little packs of pretzels or peanuts on the airplane and on and on.

I am able to do most of those things now. As Jim stated, little by little over at least 3 years. And, same as Jim, I have areas of loss that will never recover.