When Doctors Don't Have the Answers: Posthypoxic Myoclonus

My husband has been diagnosed with LAS. He was lucky to have gone to a Neurologist who recog nized the condition and prescribed Depacote which has helped but still suffers from essential tremors. He has recently started to be able to walk and continues to feel stronger. His Neurologist has recently retired so this has been quite a blow. Nobody else seemed to know what was wrong with him. The first Neurolgist he saw said there was nothing wrong with him and there was nothing she could do for him! My husband is 69 years old and began having symptoms of LAS in 2010. He suffered cardiac arrest in ER and one week later had triple bypass surgery. It is unknown if the LAS occurred during the cardiac arrest or the surgery. He remembers nothing from the time I took him to the hospital until sometime after the surgery. He spent nearly a month in the hospital and was then released to go home. At the hospital they did not mention anything was wrong except having the cardiac arrest and the bypass surgery. At home he tried to walk but would keep falling down. I could not get him up off the floor as I am 77 years old. I would have to call someone to get him up. I talked to his primary doctor and he suggested putting Ray in extended care at our local hospital. He spent 2 months there and then came out where he did a little better than when he was in extended care. His cardiac doctor had him go to his Neurologist who said he likely had LAS altho it was very rare. He prescribed Depakote and he has done much better on it. We are more or less at a stand still now that his Neurologist has retired.

I would like to correspond with someone about LAS if at all possible. All of Ray's doctors had little hope that he would live and certainly would never walk again but he has surprised them all by starting to walk. In the house he walks unaided but outside he takes his cane, for moral support more than anything. The snow and ice unnerves him and sometimes makes him anxious. He has not fallen for about one month so that is an improvement.

Sincerely,

JoAnne Davis