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Posted 2/20/2008 9:14 PM (GMT 0)
 

I do have a question about flair ups - might be kinda dumb, but i would like some info on this.

I read where people have been good for awhile, and then hjave a relapse.  What do you actually mean by this. when you have an attack, what happens. The reason I ask this is...

I was dx with MS in December, I started copaxone right away.  I get stiff necks, and neck aches, some headaches from time to time, and some lower back aches. My fingers are numb and tingly sometimes, and sometimes not. this can change back and forth several times in the same day. It is noticeable in the morning and before I go to bed, bt my hands can be symptom free all day ong. It almost seems to be posture related Same with the shock feeling I get when I bend my head forward. Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it is not. It seems to follow about the same pattern as my hands. It seems to be more noticable during the evening than during the day.

I guess what I am saying, is that I stay pretty much the same day after day, with little to no change, except for the changes that happen throughout the day. When I am feeling the symptoms thru the day - is this a flair up. And if not, why would my hands feel good one minute, and not the next.

Aslo I note that I have no problems with my legs at all. It seems to be isolated to my hands, except when I bend my head forward, then my feet tingle, but then again, not all the time.

I have been reading lots of things on Lyme disease, and I sure hope that I have been dx correctly. Note two years ago I had a bulls eye rash, with other rashes over the last two years that have come and gone, etc...mmmmmm?

thanks,

Gary

Posted 2/20/2008 10:50 PM (GMT 0)

If indeed you had the bulls-eye rash, you could well have Lyme Disease. Presumably you've told your doctor about that?  The "usual test" for Lymes, sort of a "first response" test, isn't real accurate, and you might need to get more extensive testing done.

An MS-related flare, or exacerbation, is defined as NEW symptoms, coming and lasting for at least 24 hours, or a serious intensity of OLD symptoms, lasting at least 24 hours, usually for several days, and subsiding back to what it was..or nearly what it was like before the flare occurred.

What you're describing is what I call "residual symptoms": you've had an exacerbation (or flare), damage has been done to your nervous system, and while the flare has subsided, the damage continues to make itself known through the sort of stuff you describe -- numbness, tingling, sometimes tingling that comes and goes through the day, sometimes spasms, cramping,that sort of thing. I find the symptoms I experience seem worse at night, for two reasons: when I'm busy with stuff during the day I don't notice them all the time..I'm distracted with other stuff.  But at night, either when I'm vegging out in front of the TV, or getting ready for bed, the distractions are considerably less, so I notice the twinges and zaps and stuff more.  The second reason is that by evening I'm way more tired than I was earlier in the day..and fatigue seems to make the symptoms worse.

But again, if you indeed have had a bulls eye rash, and continuing to have rashes...get to a doctor and have that checked out. Lyme Disease left untreated can cause all sorts of problems!

Posted 2/21/2008 3:10 PM (GMT 0)

Thank you very much for your post - it was most helpful.

Hae a nice day

Gary

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