Lhermitte's Sign

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ian1511
ian1511 Member Posts: 42
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
After meeting with my radiation oncologist today, he enlightened me on the numbness and tingling down both arms, as well as the occipital neuralgia I had been experiencing over the last 3 weeks. It is subsiding. He told me that it was radiation induced Lhermitte's sign. A brief autoimmune syndrome precipitated by radiation therapy. I include a brief abstract from an article that can be found at

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2902147/

I post this just in case anyone else runs into similar symptoms. I found it disturbing and quite unfomfortable and was glad I brought it up during my follow up today. I hope this info will be helpful to anyone who might experience similar symptoms in the future.

"Background. Lhermitte's sign (LS) is a benign form of myelopathy with neck flexion producing an unpleasant electric-shock sensation radiating down the extremities. Although rare, it can occur after head and neck radiotherapy. Results. We report a case of Lhermitte's developing after curative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for a patient with locoregionally advanced oropharyngeal cancer. IMRT delivers a conformal dose of radiation in head and neck cancer resulting in a gradient of radiation dose throughout the spinal cord. Using IMRT, more dose is delivered to the anterior spinal cord than the posterior cord. Conclusions. Lhermitte's sign can develop after IMRT for head and neck cancer. We propose an anterior spinal cord structure, the spinothalamic tract to be the target of IMRT-caused LS."

Comments

  • jim and i
    jim and i Member Posts: 1,788 Member
    #2
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    Thanks for the info Ian. It
    Thanks for the info Ian. It will be helpful if those side effects maifest themselves to know it will go away.

    Blessings
  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    #3
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    I STILL HAVE THE "L"
    I first noticed the effect in February. I was then 3-4 months post treatment. I still have it now, and it seems to aggrivate me more when I am walking and or cycling. I do not seem to have it much when I am at the gym lifting weights.

    I hear this can last for 6 months to a couple of years.

    Anyone out there still having it for more than 6 months??

    Mike
  • ian1511
    ian1511 Member Posts: 42
    #4
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    Sorry for not reading the
    Sorry for not reading the post on Lhermitte's. Did not know that this was common knowledge here.

    I'm kind of bumbed out to hear that it can end up being a chronic problem. I hope that my myelin heals....Going golfing today. Will not think about it!

    Darren
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #5
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    ian1511 said:

    Sorry for not reading the
    Sorry for not reading the post on Lhermitte's. Did not know that this was common knowledge here.

    I'm kind of bumbed out to hear that it can end up being a chronic problem. I hope that my myelin heals....Going golfing today. Will not think about it!

    Darren

    Usually Not
    I didn't mean to sound like I was meaning that you could have researched it here...I just meant that it's been discussed on here several times. Usually in the past, I don't think I've ever heard of a MD knowing it was related to the H&N Radiation.

    From most on here it usually is very minimal if not completely gone within a year or so..

    Good luck with your game today, and have a great week-end.

    Best,
    John
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #6
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    Lhermitte's Sign
    OMG, wonders never cease....an actual MD that knows that H&N radiation induces Lhermitte's Sign...

    Darren, that has got to be a first on here....progress...

    I'm only teasing because of the fact that if you search and I'm sure that Dawn's SuperThread has the specifcs....it's been discussed here many times in the past.

    But this is something that we have known about for a few years now...most MD's that have been talked to from forum members here are unaware.

    Usually after a few weeks from radiation is when it starts...you bend your head down, chin resting or touching your chest..zappp, a shooting electric or numbing sensation going down your spine, through your arms or legs...LOL...kinda fun after awhile.

    Also, the infamous Turky Neck...you'll usually become a member of that Club for awhile also. Where the lymphatic fluid builds up under your chin, puffing your neck and throat out kinda like a buck in rut.

    This too will eventually reduce or go away as the lymph glands re-establish new drainage paths allowing the fluid to gravity drain again naturally.

    Some on here MarineE5 for one has some massage techniques that might help short term also.

    I think that DelNative (Jim) was one of the first to find the actual condition and name (Lhermitte's Sign). The majority of us that had radiation went through it..usually lasts 9 - 12 months.

    Here's a link for your link;


    Lhermitte's Sign

    Best,
    John
  • Greend
    Greend Member Posts: 678
    #7
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    ian1511 said:

    Sorry for not reading the
    Sorry for not reading the post on Lhermitte's. Did not know that this was common knowledge here.

    I'm kind of bumbed out to hear that it can end up being a chronic problem. I hope that my myelin heals....Going golfing today. Will not think about it!

    Darren

    Same here
    I've been off and on this board for years and recently I had a "Eureka" moment when I learned I had dysphagia (long term after affect). I posted a book on it and then happened to read a link in the Super Thread and there it was. So much for my discovery moment :>)

    I will say that the issues I have are different in many ways from what's decscribed but it is the same problems.

    I think all newbies should read it but I also know that when you are in "cancer shock" you just want answers and don't want to search through a lot of verbiage.

    Good luck on the course.

    Denny
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #8
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    Lhermitte's sign... again I resemble these remarks
    I had this pretty bad for a while. If I was sitting at the table and happened to glance downward, I'd get such a jolt I'd twitch and squeak. The kids found it pretty entertaining. We did get the giggles about it a few times. I'm 15 months out now, and haven't noticed it for a while. I kind of miss the giggles.

    Deb
  • kgasmart
    kgasmart Member Posts: 61 Member
    edited September 2018 #9
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    Wow

    Wow, just found this thread now after posting another thread about it... I'm 6 months out of treatment but about 2 weeks ago I started getting the electric "buzz" in my lower back/base of spine, particularly when I look down/put my chin on my chest, and it's been freaking me out as apparently it can be an early warning sign of MS. But apparently it's a fairly common thing for people in "our situation" ... which makes me feel much better, even as the "buzzing" makes me feel weird!

  • kmadlom
    kmadlom Member Posts: 20
    #10
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    kgasmart said:

    Wow

    Wow, just found this thread now after posting another thread about it... I'm 6 months out of treatment but about 2 weeks ago I started getting the electric "buzz" in my lower back/base of spine, particularly when I look down/put my chin on my chest, and it's been freaking me out as apparently it can be an early warning sign of MS. But apparently it's a fairly common thing for people in "our situation" ... which makes me feel much better, even as the "buzzing" makes me feel weird!

    Subsiding

    I am writing this under kmadlom because I can't remember my password, but she is my spouse and caretaker and I am the one who has beat the dreaded C. I completed radiation May 4, and started having Lehrmitte's around the end of June. It isn't common after radiation, but obviously it occurs often enough to be identified. It was signficant initally, but has gradually subsided so that I don't have it every time I lower my chin, and when I do feel it, it isn't as jolting. I am hopeful it will go away completely soon. I mentioned it to my oncologist when I went for my all-clear report in August (yay!), and he said that I was only the second of his long line of patients who had mentioned having this. The more active I am, the less I seem to have it.

     

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