HI,
I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH MS A FEW MONTHS AGO AND, AFTER THE INITIAL SHOCK AT THE DIAGNOSIS AND GETTING STARTED ON MEDICATION, THINGS STARTED TO SETTLE DOWN. A FEW DAYS AGO HOWEVER, I NOTICED THAT THE TREMOR IN MY HANDS HAVE GOT WORSE AND I’M EXPERIENCING SERIOUS PAIN IN MY LEGS AND ARMS. EARLIER ON THIS EVENING, WHILST CLEARING UP AFTER DINNER MY LEGS COMPLETELY GAVE WAY.
THIS IS MY FIRST RELAPSE AND I’M STRUGGLING TO WORK OUT HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT.
I’D BE HUGELY GRATEFUL FOR ANY ADVICE ON DEALING WITH THIS.
Hi Toffee Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but Welcome to the Forum! From my understanding, everyone’s ms is unique to them. I had a relapse last year, but have experienced tremors, shaking limbs and muscle aches which do come and go. Last August my leg seemed to just melt one evening on holiday. But it’s kept itself together since then! For me, symptoms can come and go and I don’t seem to fall into the usual relapse & remit pattern but the longer I have this, the less that worries me. It may be helpful to keep a diary of your symptoms and you may notice a pattern. For example, my hand tremors are worse when I’ve overdone things so I now know to ease up as soon as they start getting twitchy. Hope this helps - there are a few threads which have great posts on relapses - and you can always do a search for previous threads Best wishes Jane xx
Hi Toffee Sorry - your post has been unanswered so I think it may have been caught up in a traffic jam. I’m hoping my reply (which has gone through to moderators for approval??) will come through shortly, but in the meantime this will bump you up for others to reply Jane xx
Hi Toffee
How are you feeling now? Are your symptoms still getting worse or do they ease off a bit if you rest a while? It can be hard in the early days to know what is a sign you are overdoing things and what is a genuine relapse.
If you have new symptoms or a recurrence of old symptoms for more than 24 hours and you don’t have a virus or an infection then it is likely to be a relapse. Your nurse or doctor should check for signs of an infection first (including testing your urine as it is possible to have a UTI without any symptoms). If it is a relapse then it can be logged on your records. You don’t necessarily need steroids for every relapse so don’t feel that you have to take them if they are offered. I personally only take them when my mobility is seriously impaired as I can’t stand the side effects and steroids have long term health risks anyway so most neuro’s don’t like prescribing them too often. They do kick start progress but make no difference to the long term recovery. For instance, any lingering symptoms/disability you would be left with after that relapse would be there whether or not you decided to take steroids at the onset of the relapse. (I hope that makes sense to you.)
Hope this helps
Tracey x