Do I Actually have CIDP?

Alright. I had both my knees replaced about a year and a half ago. Came out of it with flying colors (if there can be any such thing). Six months later I noticed that my lower calf muscle on both legs was very stiff and my PT and started working on that with not much luck. Six months after that I had an EMG and it was found that my nerves in that area did not respond. Well I was not in pain but I had a problem with walking with drop-foot. The analysis came up with the terms Autoimmune and Demyelinating Polyneuropathy. on July 8th, 9th, and 10th I had my first infusions with Grammaked. Then on July 29th I had my first booster.
Except for improved walking for just the first 24 hours afterword, nothing forward has happened. I've experienced the expected aches and pains of 'waking' nerves.

Big Question: What should be expecting? And does it seem I even have CIDP? Remember I don't have much pain, and my walking is just compromised.

If the infusions work then you have CIDP. It is a long process after that to balance you to the IgG amounts and intervals. The improved walking in first 24 hours is a great sign. If the CIDP is not advanced your muscles may revert to normal, or close to normal.

CIDP means you have a chronic, lifelong condition where, due to mutations in lymphocytes, antibodies attack the myelin sheath around axons. The P in CIDP can refer to Polyneuropathy or Polyradicuneuropathy,... this horrible misspelled word with the "rad" in means the T-Cell, macrophage and other renagade's attack is focused on nerve roots.

The mutation is on our IgG antibody, on a light-chain protein that pokes out as receptor at the bottom of the 'Y' shaped IgG molecule.

Good luck.

IvIG does wonder for me, however I recently suffered fecal compaction and spent 5 days in the hospital with my gut torn agart (not related to CIDP)

My question is based on the fact that I don't have much pain to begin with. All the people that I have spoken with have a lot of pain and the IVIG provides much of that relief. So now what improvement should I see? (If at all I have CIDP?)

PS. I hope you are feeling better.



estaban said:

If the infusions work then you have CIDP. It is a long process after that to balance you to the IgG amounts and intervals. The improved walking in first 24 hours is a great sign. If the CIDP is not advanced your muscles may revert to normal, or close to normal.

CIDP means you have a chronic, lifelong condition where, due to mutations in lymphocytes, antibodies attack the myelin sheath around axons. The P in CIDP can refer to Polyneuropathy or Polyradicuneuropathy,... this horrible misspelled word with the "rad" in means the T-Cell, macrophage and other renagade's attack is focused on nerve roots.

The mutation is on our IgG antibody, on a light-chain protein that pokes out as receptor at the bottom of the 'Y' shaped IgG molecule.

Good luck.

IvIG does wonder for me, however I recently suffered fecal compaction and spent 5 days in the hospital with my gut torn agart (not related to CIDP)

CIDP- you may not feel pain because CIDP is caused by myelin being stripped away from MOTOR axions, which changes the membrane(s) electrical capacitance. Strip sensory axions and you will howl all night long!!! BTW- motor signals travel down the spine, sensory signals travel up to the brain.

Think of a residential neighborhood's electrical network (your PNS), all those lines obscuring great views and telephone poles every mile or so with those big capacitors up on the pole that blow and catch fire to entertain the neighborhood. The electrical line is the axion, the plastic that covers the line the myelin, the capacitor the Node of Ravainer, the Schawan Cell is the line man. Pay your bill, all is fine most of the time, However, a brown-out may cause you pain, as muscle fiber bundles may lack enough collective potential to activate connected muscle groups... why we fall down.

Axions must carry a voltage potential (a +20mV sparking against a -70mV outside of the perfectly myelin-covered axion) to activate the work of moving even the smallest muscle

I suffered muscle stiffness that made walk around like a corpse on LSD. This, I believe, was caused by reduced motor neuron signals (sent from the anterior horn of my spinal column over my bad telephone lines at the time).

BTW- I've dumped my land-line and am now 101% digital.

BigMike said:

My question is based on the fact that I don't have much pain to begin with. All the people that I have spoken with have a lot of pain and the IVIG provides much of that relief. So now what improvement should I see? (If at all I have CIDP?)

PS. I hope you are feeling better.