Posted by gardenergirl on June 24, 2008, at 10:38:36
In reply to Re: Passed out, twitching, jerking, nystagmus???, posted by Sigismund on June 20, 2008, at 17:45:57
> The tingly feeling in your diaphragm is interesting.
Yep. I'm glad I finally found a good way to describe it clearly. I used to just say I felt dizzy, and that would throw off the docs. My mom told me that my dad used to have similar, though not exactly the same type spells when he was about my age. He was first diagnosed as diabetic, and then they changed it to epilepsy. Neither were right. He now thinks it's an allergy of some kind. But anyway, apparently he used to get tingly in his balls before the spells came on. :) I'm still not entirely sure I wanted to know that. Hope it's not TMI for everyone else, lol.
>
> The diaphragm is an unusual muscle, both in shape and the voluntary/autonomic thingo.Yep. It's cool how it works to change the gas pressure in the chest for respiration.
>
> Nothing to do with Nardil?It's possible, at least I think it is, that the twitching could be related to Nardil. I get myoclonic jerks a lot more since I've been on it, and I'm also hyper-reflexive now. Perhaps the fainting thing is the same thing that happened when I was a teen, but the added twitching and jerking is due to Nardil? My GP wouldn't really speculate about that. I'll leave it to the neuro.
>
> So what's a cranial nerve? Like a nerve from the neck?Basically. They are nerves that originate from the brain and come out of the skull where the skull and the spine meet. They are responsible for sensation and movement of mostly the head, neck, and upper internal organs, if I remember correctly. I think that the diaphragm is innervated by the vagus nerve, one of the last if not the lowest cranial nerves. Nerves that come off the spinal cord are called spinal nerves in general, btw.
> I suppose those people who are paralysed and need ventilators after breaking their necks have damaged such a nerve that controls the diaphragm.
Yep. It has to be pretty high up on the spine, as you said, high in the neck area for respiration to be affected.
>
> This hardly bears thinking about. I hope my contribution doesn't make you more apprehensive.Nah. I'm actually not hugely worried about this. If it's a seizure, I'll worry, but it seems so much like the fainting before. I'm more curious about what's going and why it's back. I love anatomy and neurology stuff, and I'm ultra curious about my own nervous system, so I'm actually looking forward to monopolizing the neurologist's time. :D
My husband, on the other hand, is rather upset and freaked by this whole thing. He got the up close and personal view of it all, including seeing my eyes start going rapidly back forth before they closed (nystagmus). He's never seen my or anyone else faint before. And unfortunately, I broke or at least severely bruised his toe when I was on my way down and he was trying to catch me. :(
Hmmm, I wonder if I should ask him if he wants to come along tomorrow?
Thanks,
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:835617
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20080428/msgs/836191.html