hi guys. I had optic neuritis back in May which led to my MS Diagnosis. I had a brain scan and had 3 new lesions one of which was HUUUUUGE! My fatigue since then has been awful i mean now its better than it was i.e befre i had to lie down in the middle of the day everyday, now it is only when i go out for a meal or socialising so your brain is obviously more active. My question is. Do these lesions ever heal and the fatigue go away? I am stting up my own business and physically do not have the strength to do anything! I am so scared that this is my life now.
Hi Beccy, the size or amount of lesions do not seem to have much to do with how bad fatigue is. Some people with very few lesions showing have very bad fatigue, others who have a big amount of lesions don’t suffer from fatigue.
Personally I have fatigue all of the time, less fatigue on some days and more on others. I’m not too sure how it works with rrms as I’m ppms… but I think it’s pretty similar, can go up and down.
It’s really a case of managing it. Taking little rests between everything you do. Noticing the sign that fatigue is coming on and immediately stopping and resting.
Some people swear that exercise helps with fatigue. If you’re not exercising, would be worth a try. Be careful to start carefully… little bit at a time.
There are some drugs that help. I’m hoping others will reply to you with advice on those.
Take care and best of luck with the new business. Remember, plenty of rest and learn how to listen to your body so you know when you’re overdoing it.
Pat x
There are several different theories about why we get fatigue. Tbh, it doesn’t really matter what the cause is - the important thing is learning how to live with it, because unfortunately it’s the most common symptom of MS and it can be horribly debilitating when it’s bad.
As Pat said, some days are worse than others, exercise is good for fatigue and you need to learn to manage it (have a look on here and on the MS Trust website for booklets about managing fatigue). There are also meds. It can be hard to get modafinil these days as GPs and neuros have been warned off prescribing it “off label” (it’s approved for narcolepsy and not MS), but it’s definitely worth asking because it can make a massive difference for some MSers. The other drug that’s often prescribed is amantadine. It’s approved for MS so there should be no problem with you trying it. Again, it’s only some people that it helps though.
I’ve never heard of any “natural” remedy that works for MS fatigue. There are a fair number of websites touting different solutions, but there is no evidence that any of them actually work, so please be careful if you decide to try anything like that.
Karen x
Thanks so much for your responses. My neurologist said its because I’m in remission so my body is trying to repair itself. He promised me that in a few months it would not be as bad so u hope to god he’s right lol. Yea exercises is something I don’t currently do but will be starting. I asked about fatigue related drugs and he said they have so many side effects and did not want to prescribe me them. Plus I’m in that LDN so not sure what can be taken with it! Thankyou so much for your help x