Hi Carol,Marilee gave you some really good info, and Botox is successful for many Writer's Cramp cases. Leon Fleischer being the most publicized one currently.
I posted information about my (evidently) "remitted case" of WC on this bulletin board awhile back - in the Dilbert thread. A "Find" should pull it up. The "Dilbert author" (who I used to work with at Pacific Bell years ago, and who has been gracious and forth-coming lately in sharing his dystonia story in the media) also has WC.
Well over 20 years ago, as a junior exec in Corp America, I suddenly couldn't sign my name or use my right hand in cursive or small printing, and it was quite terrifying. At the time, I was the sole support of my family of four, so all the checks and documents of any kind (both at home and work) were signed by me. And, there was no explanation from the doctors for the condition. Except, "nervous."
Fortunately, lately, an explanation of "nervous" for suddenly not being able to use your hand or your voice doesn't fly anymore. We've made alot of progress since my WC started in the 70's.
It was many years later (several years after I got SD and had done a ton of research into Movement Disorders in my family neurology and remembered my hand not working), that I finally made a connection between the two conditions. Both my WC and SD occurred years before the Internet and well before "dystonia" was part of my daily vocabulary.
To this day, when signing a Master Card receipt, it takes me back many years. Instant flash-back. I wonder if my signature will look OK or if my right hand will start unexplainably spasming yet again. The hand spasms stopped in the early 80's but having to sign my name these days (anywhere) still brings back those scary memories. It's like hearing music from the era you were raised in. It takes you instantly back. Fortunately, my signature looks just fine lately, and has for 20+ years. I feel for people going through WC now though. It's really bad.
I'm one of the lucky ones --- in that "The Hand Spasms" remitted. Too bad "The Voice Spasms" didn't. WC started in the late 70's. SD started in 1990 - went into severe quickly, and never remitted.
For those of us who are interested in various focal dystonias ("adult onset"), and whatever relationship the focal dystonias might have to each other, thanks for also posting this information in the SD forum, as well as the DMRF site.
--Lynne (AD-SD; RLN; PVFM; Northern California)
