Has Anyone Been Given The Diagnosis Of Multlple System Atrophy Along With Parkinson's Or Instead Of P's After First Thinking It Was That?
Has Anyone Been Given The Diagnosis Of Multlple System Atrophy Along With Parkinson's Or Instead Of P's After First Thinking It Was That?
How did your neurologist differentiate between the 2? I know this isn't an entirely Parkinson's question, but I would like to know if anyone else has been told it might be MSA.
Have you sought another opinion?Putting comments on a chart would be unacceptable to me. As my husband reminds me, I am little short (4’8” ))and puny( 92 lbs) but I AM LOUD! Be your own best advocate.
🌈TheaD
A DATscan won’t diagnose; but it will tell them if you are losing dopamine, which makes it Parkinsonism; if it shows your dopamine is intact then it is not Parkinsonism. When they diagnose Parkinsons with a DATscan, then you develop symptoms not found in PD, they look at those symptoms and try to determine which Parkinsonism you have; then the best answer you can honestly get is likely, the next best is possibly. Only after they autopsy a brain can there be a definite answer, and often they got it wrong, which isn’t to say you didn’t have Parkinsonism, it means you didn’t have the one they thought.
Teresa
I have also, and I think that is correct. There arent many people who have MSA, so we should keep in touch. there isn't an answer to your question, per se....MSA is a type of parkinsonism. it isn't parkinsons in the traditional sense. For instance, I don't shake, not at all. However I also can no longer walk at all, so it's not really better or worse than parkinsons, just different, and its diagnosed with a nuclear brain scan.
All those diseases which fall under parkinsonism are related to the loss of dopamine. The answer comes from where is the brain being damaged. However, @A MyParkinsonsTeam Member, Idiopathic Parkinsons Disease is the only parkinsonism which does not automatically have a fatal outcome. All the rest do. It sounds like you have the cerebral form of MSA; that’s what I have, except i do have a mixed tremor though nowhere near as bad as it was even 30 years ago. Now it’s controlled, but I fall a lot more and my autonomic system is basically collapsing. I’ve lost 73 lbs since Christmas, and my heart doesn’t work right, my kidneys are failing, I have developed restricted lung disease, and even with a pacemaker I have bouts with tachycardia which require emergency treatment. I’ve had cognitive changes, I use oxygen at night, and sometimes during the day, plus the PT has told me she thinks I’ll be wheelchair bound before long. Of course then I can go to Hobby Lobby next door…maybe.
🧐. I sleep a lot and it’s hard to awaken me. Other than that I still laugh an awful lot - and cry.
Teresa
A MyParki...
My husband's neurologist told us that soldiers that were exposed to Agent Orange have been diagnosed with MSA. He has several patients with MSA which is service related.
