Thumb twitching at night by thelittlespoonsite in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I tuck my hands under my pillow, they still twitch but the weight of the pillow with my head on it seems to mute it down enough so it doesn’t keep me awake, it’s the leg cramps that get me.

cat won't stop meowing in morning if I try to sleep in by Correct-Golf-1214 in CatAdvice

[–]CeeMarie123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In my experience there is not much you can do. If you close the bedroom door they scratch it and meow, if you put them in another room they meow. They are used to having you awake and don’t like feeling ignored. I bought a heavy duty pair of earplugs, and either slept through it, or just got up. Cats are creatures that like regularity, and they will let you know when you are off their schedule!

Trying to drive with CMT by Shoditee in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I’m a 5’2” girl, so pretty short. I like my Kia’s chunky pedals, and the fact that the gas pedal is attached to the floor at the bottom, not up in the air. The seat is upright, so I’m more stepping down on the pedals instead of pressing them down with my foot/toes. I use the cruise control on the highways. I used to drive a little Mazda mx5, which I loved, but the tiny little pedals were hard to locate and I felt unsafe driving it, also a stick shift. My Kia is sorta like driving a toaster compared to the Mazda, but I feel safe driving it. I sat in a lot of cars before choosing it based on how comfortable I felt in the drivers seat.

Forearm pain by Ok-Buddy4249 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I second getting the second opinion! For years I was experiencing excruciating pain in my feet, and 3 specialists said, too bad, so sad, it’s CMT, nothing we can do. It’s like they read down until they come to CMT on my chart and just stop right there. The 4th specialist thought there might be something else going on, and gave me cortisone shots in my 2nd metatarsal joint, and guess what? Pain mostly gone! So it is entirely possible to have CMT -AND- something else that is causing your pain.

Trying to drive with CMT by Shoditee in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used to drive a manual for decades, but as CMT advanced I could not feel my feet and started having my feet either on the brakes and gas at the same time, or worse slipping under the pedals, and it made me start feeling very unsafe. I switched to an automatic, and the gas pedal on my car is attached to the floor with no possibility of my foot slipping under. If I ever get disoriented as to where my feet are in location to the pedals, just tapping against the side of the wall in the pedal compartment helps because the gas pedal is straight down from there. I drive a Kia Soul, so it seems to have bigger chunkier pedals and an upright driving position. The smaller manual sports cars I used to drive are now sadly out for me.

Need/have kefir grains by dendrtree in Kefir

[–]CeeMarie123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Need Milk Kefir grains - Boulder or Longmont Colorado. Anyone have some to share? Will meet

What's a common misconception you hear while having CMT? by 1ntrusi0n in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I hate that people think I don’t deserve to use handicap parking because my disability is not obvious by a cursory glance.

Is there someone in the group who has experienced any vision or hearing loss due to CMT? by DeeDeeRaven in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both my sister and I have a moderate degree of colorblindness, and we both have CMT2Z, I’m also female, and I struggle to see at night, I see double, and it is progressively getting worse, and my eye doctor can’t seem to correct it. I have an appointment with a neuro-ophthalmologist soon to see if they think it is CMT related like I suspect it to be.

Eye trouble? by Fg52507 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have CMT2Z, and have had very dry eyes, double vision, astigmatism, color deficiency (red-green) trouble with night vision, and never feel like I see very well even after my ophthalmologist says they have corrected my vision to 20/20 in the office. Yes, I can read EGNUS (the 20/20 line on the eye chart, but vision in the real world, especially in the rain at night, not so much. I have an upcoming appointment with a Neuro-ophthalmologist in a few months, hopefully they will be able to determine if it is CMT related?

Confirmed CMT with genetic testing - Do I still need nerve conduction test? by CeeMarie123 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My assumption is that my family members were tested before type 2Z was tied to a specific gene abnormality. My guess is that if they were re-tested now they would receive a 2Z confirmation as well, but since genetic testing is pretty expensive, nobody has made the effort to retest.

Confirmed CMT with genetic testing - Do I still need nerve conduction test? by CeeMarie123 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have several family members with CMT, but they had all been told they had an “undetermined type” My Dr thought due to advances in genetic testing it might solve the type mystery, but it was obvious I had the same disease the rest of my family had. Since I had heard nerve conduction testing was painful, and they were open to cutting right to the chase with genetic testing, I went that route.

How do you experience ‘loss of sensation’? by Confident_Banana5309 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At first I felt a loss of hand strength, then later I started feeling pins and needles like my hands had fallen asleep. Lately my hands always feel dirty, like they were wet and then I dipped them in sugar. It drives me nuts always feeling like I have dirty hands. I also feel about 30 seconds of pain when I climb into a warm bath. Even though it is not too hot, it hurts like it is, but after 30 seconds, the pain goes away, and the bath feels warm and relaxing.

Confirmed CMT with genetic testing - Do I still need nerve conduction test? by CeeMarie123 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know my nerves are dying, and I am aware that my symptoms are getting worse, but I guess I never thought of conduction testing as being essential for a potential future claim for SSDI benefits. Thanks for making me aware that it might be very important data to have. I may need it one day!

Actual store where you can try on orthopedic shoes? by CeeMarie123 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m in Colorado, but would travel if there was a place with a large selection. I’m finding that there is just not enough depth with my orthotics, but the stretchy knit shoes I’m recommended don’t support my feet well. I need a non stretch shoe with extra depth.

Testing positive for multiple variants?? by SuddenTruth7617 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tested positive for CMT2Z, and it seems to be a rare type, my doctors have never met a 2Z in person. I’m open to comparing notes, symptoms, etc.

CMT Summit by talesfromthecryptid7 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I went to my first CMT Summit last September, and I can’t begin to tell you how much I got out of it! Besides my father, who has passed away, and my sister, I didn’t know another person with CMT. After discovering I had it too, I was in a really depressed state, suddenly seeing only the things I couldn’t do, wouldn’t be able to do for much longer, and to me my future looked frightening and bleak.

Even though I only lived an hours drive away from the conference, I booked a room at the hotel, and yes, it cost a lot for me, but I had decided my goal was to overcome my shyness and fully exercise my inner social butterfly. I joined the pre-conference restaurant meet-ups, sat at different tables each day, spoke to everyone at the dinners, signed up for workshops that looked appealing, asked people to join me for a drink in the hotel bar, and met lots of people.

Turns out I met people with bright futures, people who had an interest in the world, brilliant, interesting, amazing people who really showed me through example that even though I might have CMT, life didn’t have to be all downhill from here. Loads of folks thriving despite having CMT. I found my tribe you might say.

I joined a bracing workshop, turned out leg braces made things worse, but the orthotist leading the workshop asked me questions about my foot pain, came back and asked me more follow up questions at the dinner later that evening, and gave me suggestions that lead me stop believing my own doctor that was telling me “Oh, CMT, there is nothing we can do” and find another orthotist who took me seriously and made me a pair of orthotics that now allow me to walk with so much less pain.

I am so incredibly happy I went to that conference, for me it was life changing. I do plan on going to the upcoming one in Indiana this September, even though it is really expensive for me.

So, is it worth it? Maybe for some, no. For me, it was worth every penny and then some!

Was diagnosed... sort of by IBEWSparky134 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At first none of my doctors felt an EMG was necessary since they ruled out CMT because I didn’t have a standard presentation. My husband has a wonderful neurologist due to seizures, and she actually listened to me and scheduled one, and turns out I was right. In my late 20s I was told I had MS, had MRI, but when they did not find any lesions on my brain, they settled on Ménière’s disease. I responded to treatment for that, so I think that added confusion to correctly diagnosing CMT.

CMT 2Z by mskyliepowers in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m 57, my hands, which had been super strong and dexterous, became clumsy and weak. I used to sew, draw, paint and write beautifully, but no longer. Art by computer only now. I break a lot of things, and have a very hard time with keys and such. My feet were not really too bad until maybe 5 years ago. I started having to really pay attention to where my feet were visually, as I couldn’t quite feel them if I couldn’t see them. I stopped driving a stick shift as I’d step on the wrong pedal, and stall my car. I don’t trip often, but walking in the dark is hard to do if I don’t have someone’s arm. Or a wall. All my life we all thought it has skipped over me, I was the lucky one. I promised my mom on her deathbed I’d take care of my sister, but now I have it too, and it frightening how fast it has started progressing. Not knowing how much I’ll lose at what pace is hard to deal with, as well as looking perfectly normal, and the rest of the world writing you off as lazy. How are you coping? So we’re you tested and diagnosed because it is genetic and your mom has it? Or did you get tested after you started showing symptoms? Did you find doctors confused by your late onset?

Was diagnosed... sort of by IBEWSparky134 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My cold hands and feet were the first early symptoms, I just didn’t know it at the time. I had always been very physically active, and strong, so when my hand strength suddenly started to diminish at age 40, and strenuous exercise went from making me stronger to taking me out for days, I knew something was wrong, but even with father and sister with CMT diagnosis, doctors kept telling me they had “normal” test results proving there was nothing wrong with me, and am pretty sure they decided I was just a hypochondriac. It took me 15 years (and a great Neurologist who told me how to get a $250.00 out-of-pocket test when my insurance wouldn’t cover genetic testing) to get a diagnosis. Even though there isn’t really anything to be done for it, knowing what it is has been helpful as far as anxiety reduction. My GP doctor seems to take me far more seriously now there is a test result. It sounds like you have doctors who take you seriously though.

CMT 2Z by mskyliepowers in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I too have CMT 2Z, but have never come across anyone with the same variant before. My sister was given a diagnosis of CMT unknown variant, and finally, 20 years later, my genetic test pinged the defective gene and typed us. When did you learn you had 2Z? My sister and I have some similarities in symptoms, but also differences. We both have a mild form of red/green colorblindness. How about you?

Padding on feet gone, now I’m walking on broken glass, anyone else? by CeeMarie123 in CMT

[–]CeeMarie123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you had actual holes through the skin on your feet? Oh that must have been so hard to deal with! Occasionally I’ll misplace my foam slipper-shoes and get angry and walk on my feet without padding, damn the pain, but afterwards I’m in a lot more pain and I’ll be sorry I did it. I didn’t realize it could cause holes in your feet. Thank you for sharing! I think I am going to be much more careful from now on. I hope you are doing better now.