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On Mon 06 Dec, Dennis Greene wrote: > Greg Sterling wrote: > > "A "charlie horse" is nothing more than a muscle cramp and is not associated > with the CNS. Give me 100 "charlie horses" to avoid one bout of dystonia!" > > and in a different posting: > > "Here's how to tell the difference between the two. If you have trouble > brushing your teeth because you can't move your arms, that's rigidity. If > your feet are so distorted and your calf muscles are so cramped and you're > in excruciating pain to the point you could care less if you even have > teeth, that's dystonia." > > As some one who has suffered from both dystonia and conventional muscle > cramps I can vouch for the truth of the first statement. Conventional muscle > cramps, painful and disabling as they are, cannot possibly be confused with > or compared to a dystonic episode. Quite simply - a cramp is static whilst > a dystonic episode is dynamic. > > By this I mean that a cramp occurs at a given intensity and stays at that > intensity until relieved (either by pulling the muscle against the direction > of the cramp or by restoring the body's natural salt levels), though once > the cramp is relieved there may be some degree of stiffness or soreness. > > Dystonia on the other hand is extremly active - the intensity of the pull > increases throughout the episode and the longer the episode lasts the > greater the area of the body it seems to affect. Dystonia cannot be relieved > by pulling the muscles in the opposite direction - in fact good luck > trying - when my dystonia really gets going there is no possibility of > pulling the muscles in any direction other than the one they're going. > (Note: Cramps tend to affect one muscle at a time whilst dystonia affects > groups of muscles). > > > I fully agree with your comments Dennis. I have only suffered mild Dystonia compared to you, but I can say with confidence that if you have to ask about it, you haven't got it, and if you do get it, you will KMOW, with utter certainty that you have got it! Since I wrote about a month ago, when I had just sufferred my first attack, I have found out how to prevent it (For me at least) :- you have to get your drugs (Sinemet + Agonist) in just the right proportions, to produce that elusive 'how it felt before PD' feeling. If you have followed my writings, where I drone on about taking a minimum dose etc will perhaps understand if i look a bit smug, but I can honestly say that I have not had an attack for a week now. HOWEVER it is early days, and my drug balancing act gets harder, so I am once again like the Engineer who fell off the sky-scraper: As he passed the second-floor window he was heard to say 'So far, I seem to be coping quite well' By the way Dennis, could your Dynamic Dystonia be your meds drifting away and then back to the optimum setting? -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]> (59/39/34)