Im seeing alot of people saying their ataxia was hereditary has anyone got it from an illness? Last October my body went into septic shock they never thought id live. I was put in a coma and stayed that way for two months. When i woke up i had brain damage i could talk couldnt walk and had an intentional tremor (Ataxia). At first not only sid my arms shake but so did my head the nurses weren’t sure if I was saying yes or no loool. They put me on anti-epilepsy meds and my head shakes completely stopped amd my hands now just struggle with fiddly things im so grateful. I can even feed myself now. Its hard for people to truly understand which is why im here. Id love to know what things have you got better at and id love to make friends who understands what im going through.
It’s quite possible you have a type of Acquired Ataxia…due to septic shock.
There are several causes for Acquired Ataxia…trauma/illness/surgery can be linked.
Symptoms can be very similar to other types of ataxia….but progression can be different. Depending on the exact cause, it’s possible symptoms will improve given time.
Your Neurologist will be able to advise you.
My own diagnosis is Idiopathic Cerebellar Ataxia, no family history…and Whole Genome Sequencing has failed to find a genetic link.
Scroll down this link to Acquired Ataxia
No i know what Ataxia i have i was just wondering if someone else had also got theirs fromm illness as me
Type Acquired Ataxia in the searchbox…scroll down links, it’s likely there will be posts you can relate to.
A friend in my local ataxia support group…has Acquired Ataxia after a stroke in her Cerebellum….and has since been diagnosed with Gluten Ataxia.
Her stroke was in 2013…and she was fortunate to have access to extensive physiotherapy afterwards. She regained mobility but needed to use aids for safety……and continued to have some general ataxia symptoms. Physiotherapy continued, and within the last 2yrs she was also diagnosed with Gluten Ataxia.
Extensive progress has been made via physiotherapy, and she follows a strict Gluten Free Diet.
At our last support group meeting…she walked in without using any aids.
Progress/improvement will vary for anybody diagnosed with an Acquired Ataxia, no matter what the cause …but this does give hope
Hi
I have epilepsy- well controlled with drugs. I don’t think this caused the Ataxia but maybe the drugs I’ve taken to control it over many years might have some bearing? Perhaps we’ll never know!
Take care 
Around 15yrs before my diagnosis of Cerebellar Ataxia…I was diagnosed with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (I was in my late 30s). Thinking back…I recall odd incidents during childhood that could be linked, and I’d had a blow to my forehead in a car accident previously.
Who knows exactly what caused these issues, and even whether the diagnosis is correct. Testing failed to provoke seizure activity, and various Epilepsy medications failed to stop DeJa Vu episodes.
I had a serious eye condition (Iritis) after taking Carbamazaphine Retard…and I was left with longterm eye problems relating to Iritis.
I stopped medication…and had to be a year free of seizure activity in order to drive.
Recently…I’ve had some DeJa Vu combined with ‘drop attacks’…I’ve discussed this with my Neurologist and am waiting for a reply.
Take care x…and Merry Christmas 