Hyperreflexive with Clonus

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polygonplex

Member
well....

just got back from my second neuro exam. my first at the cleveland clinic i had a normanl phy. exam. i had a normal one at the ER last week and a normal one in Greece 2 months ago. so i went again today just for "piece of mind" and finally had an "abnormal" exam.

the doctor said i'm "hyperreflexive" not brisk, but hyperreflexive. he mentioned clonus. i asked about ALS and he said ALS is HYPOreflexive. isn't that wrong??? he said its not ALS or a brain tumor but MS is a possibility. he doesn't think its MS, but they're scheduleing a brain and spine MRI.

i'm a mess now. this was my 4th neuro exam and the second by a neurologist. i had a nueromuscular doc at the CLEVELAND CLINIC give me a normal exam. my reflexes did seem strong today as did the jerking. doc said anxiety shouldn't cause hyperreflexes. can anyone help me out here? twitching with clonus is not good.

thanks,
steve
 
Have you thought about getting a second opinion about your reflexes? Can you resechedule an exam at the Cleaveland Clinic with the same neuro-muscular specialist? That's what I would do if I were in your shoes.

I have heard that being anxious can cause your reflexes to be brisk...and I too beleived that hyperreflexes were a sign of ALS, as was clonus. But I am not a doctor. Hang in there! Just concentrate on the other clean exams.

Jen
 
Steve,
From what you say in your post this is your fourth neuro exam and the only abnormal one. You have already been evaluated at one of the best neuromuscular facilities in the world (Cleveland Clinic) with a clean bill of health. It sounds like you are not going to be happy until someone tells you that something is wrong.
If I had to decide whether the first 3 docs were wrong or the last one was, it would be a no brainer.
And yes you are correct, ALS is associated with hyperreflexia not hyporeflexia! I tell you that not to scare you but to further question the credibility of the last doc you saw. If he truly does not know which abnormal reflex is associated with what disease, can we be sure that he can even correctly distinguish between hypo and hyper reflexes.
That said, I see no problem with an MRI of the brain and spinal cord to rule out MS (unless you have already had one, I can't remember). MS can be associated with clonus, but again I would be somewhat skeptical of the last docs exam for the reasons already mentioned.
Is it possible that the first 3 docs were wrong and the fourth one is right, yes, but not likely.
I wish you good luck!
 
Hi Steve

Don't worry. If your last neuro told you that a hallmark of als are HYPOreflexes (what is not true - you can check it in EVERY medical portal or book) he also may be not able to see a differnce between brisk and hyper reflexes.
If you check braintalk archives you will see many people with brisk reflexes and all of them are still OK.

regards
Marcin
 
thanks for the responses everyone.

my neuro at the CC just called me back because of my concerns. he told me again that i don't have ALS and he didn't think my "brisk reflexes" and 2 beats of clonus were pathological. so he didn't recommend any testing.

i suppose that different neuros can interpret relexes and clonus beats differently. if you're looking to hear something's wrong with you eventually you'll hear it, i suppose. "Brisk reflexes" may be "hyper" to someone else. 2 beats of clonus may be normal or abnormal. dunno.

anyone else remember their clonus beats? can anyone differentiate "hyper" from "brisk"? the call made me feel better but i'm still worried.

thanks,
steve
 
You have an answer from your neuro - everything is OK. What more would you like to hear?

Check braintalk.org archives (on neuromuscular forum) - you will see many people with clonus and no serious disease.

regards
Marcin
 
Hey there,
Do not sweat this stuff just yet. I had a government physical that I went for, I was sooooooooooooooo nervous and had not taken xanax in three days, because I did not want it to show in my blood, and well the guys hits my knees and says WOW they are brisk. I wanted to cry, they were more brisk than ever. I went for my neuro check up 2 months laters they just slightly moved, like I mean ever so slightly.

I told my neuro what happended he laughed and said was he a neurologist, I said no. He also said that young be should have slightly brisk reflexes, and he said mine were fine.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO, pick a neuro you like, stick with him, because he also said that a person can not determine normal brisk reflexes from slightly pathological in just one visit. He did say that nerves will cause brisk reflexes, because of your adrenaline, it should not cause your leg to kick out straight, but will cause briskness.

I did not log in like a fool

TheTrex
 

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