Treatment for transverse militis

chaiken · Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 20

My husband was diagnosed with transverse militis 3 weeks ago. One day he started complaining about back pain in the lower back area, started having strange sensations in his legs and toes, he then gradually lost bowel movement and urination control. When we went to the doctor they said that there is nothing or little they can do and that the disease has to go away by itself, when it does they will know what damage was caused. What exactly is transverse militis and is there really no cure for it?

myranda · Silver Member Joined: 02 Dec 2001 Posts: 291

Transverse militis is a disease that affects the spinal cord. It is called transverse because it affects both sides of one or more segments of the spinal cord. It is caused by inflammation of the segments of the spinal cord which causes the damage to the neural pathways that are found in the spinal cord thus damaging the functions of the parts of the body which are dependant on the particular segment and those segments that are underneath the affected segment. There are many types of transverse militis, acute, subacute or chronic, and there are idiopathic TM – TM whose cause is unknown, and transverse militis which is secondary to some other disease like a bacterial or viral infection. In some cases transverse militis is caused by autoimmune response that destroys the nerve tissue. Because the nerves don’t regenerate like most of other cells in the body the damage caused to them is irepairable. There can be a certain degree of return of functions but total recovery almost never happens. In case of this disease there is no treatment for the disease itself, the doctors can only try to alleviate and control the symptoms until the inflammation is over. The sufferers are often left with a permanent physical disability. The inflammation should pass within 2 – 12 weeks and total recovery could take up to 2 years. If there is no improvement within first 3 – 6 months there is little chance for any kind of a recovery. I hope your husband will recover fully. Good luck.

Guest · Guest

I have been diagnosed with a combination of transverse militis, spinal meningitis, and brain encephalitis twice in my life, when i was 5 before my 6th birthday, and also again before i turned 11. The doctors said that i would never get this again, and that it was a billion to 1 chance that it would happen, but i did. When i got it, they said i would never walk again, that i would be paralyzed from the waist down, but again, i did. They clai m that i am 1 of only two cases in recorded medical history to survive this. I know what your husband is going through, and, if you are still reading this board, i want you to know that my heart goes out to him and you. I remember waking up every night seeing my mother crying, so i know what you are going through, or were going through. This is like a viral infection, and you can only treat the symptoms. The best thing you can do is be there for him. That helped me better than anything.

Treatment for transverse militis

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