URGENT HELP NEEDED

Siobhan, All I have is people's stories, but I think that mito triggered by a trauma is fairly common. Particularly in adults. I've heard a couple people say that their mito "arrived" after the flu, another after surgery,and I think someone else said that a certain medicine either kick started mito or that it made their mito worse. I'm sorry I can't give you a more scientific answer.

Hi Sioban, I am not sure that this article directly states Trauma, but i do hope it gives you some insight. Stress does make mito worse,a trauma would cause stress. My brother with MELAS has had 3 "stroke-like episodes" all brought on by stress right before. Hope this helps, jan *During infections, the patient’s baseline clinical symptoms may become more severe. An exacerbation of myalgias, headaches or migraine, and/or sensory symptoms can occur. Gut motility may worsen, and a reduction in calories and fluids under these conditions can further aggravate the patient’s fatigue or trigger those symptoms commonly associated with poor intake (e.g., headaches, dizziness). The reduced ability to tolerate fluids or food enterally may necessitate intravenous fluid therapy. A reduced urine output may be due either to dehydration or urinary retention, a complication of bladder dysfunction. Other autonomic features may also become more prominent during infections. Body temperature can become more fluctuant with wide swings. Pallor or flushing or skin mottling is common. Patients may feel chilled or very hot, but their skin (to touch) doesn’t corroborate their perception. Inappropriate sweating, i.e., not sweating with fever or in hot environments, or profuse sweating in otherwise comfortable temperatures. Finally, brady- and tachycardia can occur, along with dizziness which might reflect orthostatic hypotension; these features can become apparent during an acute illness. These symptoms are not unique to the mitochondrial patient but their intensity is impressive and duration more long-lasting. Most patients with mitochondrial disease have no underlying immunological issues and can fight off infections appropriately. However, the process is associated with a significant degree of fatigue with or without lethargy. Furthermore, while the symptoms of the infection itself improve within a reasonable period of time, the fatigue can often last much longer, perhaps days or even weeks, before the patient recovers to his/her baseline level of energy and/or mental function. With severe infections (like influenza), profound muscle weakness may lead to obstructive apnea and even respiratory failure. In general, one can expect that once the infection clears and the post-infection weakness clears, the patient will return to his baseline level of functioning. However, a particularly severe stress, a prolonged period of infection, or several recurring infections could produce a situation in which a patient does not fully recover and a new (lower) baseline is established. Since even patients treated aggressively for infection can expect a prolonged period of recovery, whether or not a patient recovers to his baseline cannot be accurately predicted. Finally, new clinical features of the underlying energy disorder may emerge with the stress of the infection. For example, hyperglycemia requiring insulin therapy may develop, only to recede as the infection wanes. However, the appearance of a new but transient symptom should raise concern that this feature might re-appear later as a permanent symptom. Print Copyright 2008 M. Klehm, M. Korson, MitoAction; All rights

Girls cant thank you enough for your help & info. I so appreciate this. Reason behind my question is I had a car accident in 2003 in which I broke my neck......very lucky girl broke one side of C1 and not the other!. Before accident I was a healthy woman who did not even have a regular doctor because did not need one ...... happy healthy & living a full life, after accident.........all of that changed big time and things could not be more different. I have been diagnosed with Mito and have been told verbally it looks like my Mito was dormant and was triggered by trauma of accident but trying to pin anyone down on backing that up is not happening and as you all know because Mito is still very much in the discovering stage and these things are still being researched I have decided to ask the EXPERTS....THE MITO sufferers, it is from this site that I have gained most of my knowledge so thank you again to anyone who can contribute any input, knowledge, help for me.

Siobhan, Now that i think of it, my brothers mito( aside from deafness in his 20's) started with a car accident. He was 46 at the time. Most likely he had a stroke-like symptom while driving, when they did the M.R.I. there was the white patch on his brain. That was the beggining of a diagnosis of MELAS or mito for him.

Thanks you so much Janice for contributing even more for me. I was 40 when I had my accident, no stroke-like symptoms or any symptons and no one in my family showing any Mito. As I mentioned in earlier post I was healthy, fit etc ..... car accident......and now I am far from fit, healthy or well. SCIENCE not helping with connection but I am 100% sure of trigger.

Hey Siobhan. My name is Lori Studdard. I have noticed that after trauma, my Mito symptoms have always gotten worse. From muscle aches, to heart tachycardia, to anything really. TRhe best thing to do is take it one day at a time. :) I hope I helped.

Hi Lori, many thanks, much appreciated. All info and help gratefully accepted :)