Good Morning all,
I was trying to walk into a restauraunt yesterday and right leg refused, no matter how hard i tried.
on leaving i had to be carried out, as leg was dormant.
I ended up going into A&E and they ran all checks and discharged me. On speaking to fellow MS suffers and a nurse.
It turns up that I have had a relapse. I started back on Tysabri in April, after a 5 Month break as tested positive for JCV virus.
Please help me to understand, as thought a relapse was where you are dormant in bed unable to move.
Thanks
Survivor
Hi Survivor, A relapse, can take almost any form, from the (relatively) trivial, to the completely debilitating. It’s ANY new symptoms, or a revival of old symptoms, that last for at least 24 hours, and can’t be accounted for by other factors, such as an infection. I’ve never been literally confined to bed with a relapse, although I’m usually very tired. My worst one was when I woke up one morning, and literally couldn’t feel my feet - plus a few other random bits of me. However, I was still mobile - just had to be very careful, because obviously I had no sense of where I was treading - couldn’t tell if it was on glass, if my foot was on the stair properly, if I was stepping into a bath that was too hot - that kind of stuff. Why did you think you have to be in bed for it to be a relapse? Is it because that’s the form yours have taken before? They can be different from person to person, and even different each time for the same person. Just because one confines you to bed, it doesn’t follow that they all will. But equally, just because one is “minor”, it doesn’t mean they all will be. It’s a game of dice. Just one thing, though - a relapse does last more than 24 hours, so if you are fine again today, and it was just a single incident that happened yesterday, then you haven’t “had a relapse”. You’d be either still having it today, OR it wasn’t a relapse at all and might have been caused by something like getting too hot, getting overtired, or a shortlived infection. Hope this helps, Tina
Hi Anitra
Thank you and planning to rest this week and start the aerobic excercises next Monday.
Yep, as had a relapse in November 2010 and was in bed.
Many thanks for your advice and support.
Survivor
Hi again,
Most relapses last longer than a week - the average is five or six weeks, and most of mine have lasted a lot longer. So if it is/was a relapse, aerobic exercise by next Monday could be a bit ambitious.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t if you feel up to it, but I think having fixed dates you’re meant to start, if you might be in the middle of a relapse, is a bit harsh on yourself.
How you feel is a much better guide than just having an arbitrary date in the diary, that you are “supposed” to do it. You may or may not feel well enough by then. Your body will tell you.
Tina
Hi Anitra,
Thank you and following your advice. I will take a break over next 4 weeks and assess matters.
many thanks for your valuable advice.
Survivor