info for a newbie

    • Anonymous
      April 23, 2011 at 12:03 am

      I was diagnosed with CIDP in late February this year. Treatment of IVIG has apparently stopped the progression, but I have questions about what is progress and what symptoms should I be calling my Dr. about.
      I am switching to a big city neurologist (an hour or so away) from my nearly retired Dr. who has only seen 5 cases in his career.
      If some of the tingling in my feet and hand increases is that improvement or plateau or moving backwards? The Dr. who has had 5 cases says that means the treatment is not working like we want it to. What are the signs of nerve of regeneration? Is it only only better tactile sensation and control? Is there anything else to watch for to indicate improvement?
      Thanks for anything you can share.

    • Anonymous
      April 23, 2011 at 12:28 am

      First off, there are the sensory nerves & then those that send the signals to the muscles to make them work. If one loses function in the sensory nerves, it will involve loss of feeling. The motor nerves (as I call them) will involve the actual loss of motor functioning, such as weakness in the limbs so common in CIDP. Hard to tell if the tingling is actual nerve regeneration, the only way to tell is if one feels stronger, or has feeling in an area where one didn’t have it before. If you can do more with your hands than you were able to before, obviously the nerves have seen some repair or improvement. If you can walk up steps easier than you could before, obvious motor functioning has gotten better. The other way to gage improvement is by having EMGs or NCSs done by one’s doctor, & then compare them to the last tests done. Hopefully I made this simple enough…