Moneek - Weird Manifestations of SCI, ie Sparkiness

There are things you never think about your spinal cord controlling, such as your heart's ability to maintain adequate blood pressure, or your skin's ability to continue to sweat. I do not have total loss of anything, but I do have diminished senses in my legs and trunk. I'm no longer ticklish (I used to be SO ticklish!) though my feet seem to be picking that up again. Bruises don't hurt like they used to and walking in the dark is a little more difficult because of my lack of proprioception in my ankle - but it's actually improving too!

By far the weirdest thing for me I call getting "sparky." Not  taking baclofen won't kill me, but if I don't then my sympathetic nervous system over- reacts, or at least that's how I interpret it. See, you have basically 2 types of autonomic nervous systems, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Parasympathetic controls your "mundane" processes, such as regulation of internal organs and glands, and everything you do at rest. I've also heard "feed and breed" or "rest and digest". Your sympathetic nervous system is "fight or flight" and is responsible for your reaction to noxious stimuli. Anything that requires a quick response.  For example, your pupils dilate, your heart beats faster, you jump and say "AAAHHH!" That's sympathetic. Wikipedia describes it as sympathetic being the police responders and parasympathetic being the court system.
MY sympathetic system over-reacts sometimes if I forget the baclofen. Nothing dangerous just kind of funny. So any loud noise, even if I cognitively know it's not dangerous, I'll jump at. Something even slightly painful, such as scratching an itch on my arm, can make me snatch away that limb.That's why I call it "sparky", because my body seems to jump at everything! I can totally feel it coming on, so it's not unavoidable, but it IS pretty annoying! But also, laughable. Sheesh! The stuff ya never think about..;)