I was diagnosed with RRMS two weeks ago, and am suffering with a bit of pain in my back, lower legs and knees, just generally spend every day not feeling ‘comfortable’. Have also been diagnosed with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder - so hard to tell which of the gruesome twosome is causing it.
I am new to all of this and am finding things a bit overwhelming, being someone who has rarely been ill or sought medical intervention - from your experience;
Who would you say I should contact about pain relief; and
I’ve read somewhere that if you have an autoimmune condition you shouldn’t take ibuprofen, does anyone know if that is true? And is paracetamol okay to take with MS?
I have an appointment with my GP in a couple weeks, but not sure whether to speak with him, or call neurologist (his secretary sounded like she definitely had not had her morning coffee when I called the other day, so I’m a bit wary), or the MS nurses.
Assuming the pain is caused by MS, it sounds more musculoskeletal, which is probably easier to deal with than nerve pain. It might be a dodgy gait throwing your body out of line and putting additional strain on various muscle groups.
A decent physio would be best placed to advise and suggest some gentle stretching exercises.
Failing that, I found acupuncture greatly eased my back pain and could be another option.
I’ve no idea about ibuprofen but as recommended, I take paracetamol every week ( 3 lots of 2 over 18 hours or so ) after my Avonex injection. Been doing that for years and years.
Not that this helps you but One of my stepdaughters has Ehlers Danlos
As per @whammel, take Paracetamol & Ibuprofen for as long as you can. It’s what I do and have not tolerated stronger meds particularly well. Tend to turn me into a Zombie!
Each to their own but I suffer with chronic lower back pain which long preceded my MS. In fact, it masked my MS for years and has worsened as my body has deconditioned since vigorous exercise became impossible.
I try to take tablets as sparingly as possible, choosing a degree of pain in order understand where my baseline is. 2x 500mg paracetamol for the neuropathic pain + 1x 200mg ibuprofen usually suffices in a day, or splitting hairs, every 18 hours? Certainly enough time for the effects to wear off before retaking. Also use voltarol gel occasionally to lower back & hips, just to take the edge off, and sometimes use a Mebak3 massage gun to agitate the cramping / spasming muscles.
Do you get spasms / rigidity? Ideally get a prescription for Baclofen for that. I take 30-40mg/day.
