Possible Relapse?

Everyday living
1

Hi All,

I hope you’re having a good start to the week!

I’m hoping someone can help as I’m feeling a little confused

Last night I went to bed with part of my leg feeling like it was burning on the skin but on feeling it, it felt normal. Then this morning I woke with part of my leg feeling slightly numb but now however, it feels like it’s burning and cold, numb and bruised.

When I touch my leg I can’t feel the full sensation but deep inside the leg it feels bruised

Is this all possible at one time? It’s not like the usual sensations I have had of pins & needles. Surely all these sensations can’t happen at the same time?

I haven’t slept properly in the last 3 nights due to pain and discomfort in my other leg and hip but I’m hoping this is all due to tiredness rather than a relapse but still… does anyone else get more than one weird sensation at a time?

I’m starting to get a headache as well but I think that’s another problem lol

Thank you in advance for your help!

Emma x

2

Hi emmah. Certainly no expert myself, having been diagnosed in May, but having a relapse last week. I wasn’t sure if it was or not and phoned my go for advice. She felt it was and had a referral letter ready for me to take to the hospital. Cut out any long wait. Couldn’t you speak over the phone to your gp or ms nurse maybe?

3

Hi Emma,

Sorry, but there’s no rule you can’t have multiple sensations at once - sounds awfully like a relapse to me.

Headache may or may not be related, and could be because you’re getting stressed about the rest.

Tina

x

4

Hi Emma

I agree with Tina, it sounds like a relapse to me too. MS is a strange thing, it can make your nerves have several conflicting feelings all at once. So you can have tingling, burning legs that are cold to the touch, or perfectly warm legs that feel as though they are freezing and simultaneously have them feel completely numb. It’s weird but these things can happen. Of course you may find that it gets better within a day or so, and therefore not due to a relapse at all but a result of sleeping strangely due to your pain in your other leg! You should probably talk to your MS nurse if you have one or local neurology service or failing that your GP.

Sue

5

Thank you Poppy and Anitra for your replies.

Unfortunately I’m not a fan of my MS nurse, I don’t find her very helpful at all and the GP is difficult to get hold of. I will see how it goes, hopefully it wont be a long one.

you’d think there would be a limit of sensations in one area!

x

6

Hi,

Apologies for hijacking your thread briefly Emmah.

From the replies on here I wonder if my occasional dead legs, achey knees, muscle cramps in my calves and swollen foot, plus general weakness in my legs could be a relapse then ?

My ‘big’ relapse was in May/June when I was diagnosed.

I’d be keen to get your opinions please ? Will have a chat with my ms nurse when I can catch her - busy, busy lady.

Thanks

Janet x

7

Thank you Sue for your reply, it’s slowly spreading so will have to see how bad it get

No worries Janet, I can’t help with the swollen foot but on a day to day basis I tend to get the dead leg feeling but that’s usually related to the fatigue. Hope someone can help a bit more than I can x

8

If it’s a sort of coming & going type of thing, rather than a symptom that stays with you for several days, it may not be a relapse. Check with your MS nurse / neuro service but it sounds like symptoms that are either just with you on and off maybe caused by nerve damage, or the recovery from a relapse. It can take months to recover from relapse symptoms. You sometimes only realise what you’ve been living with when you suddenly realise it’s gone!

Sue

9

i think you are correct in that any head ache isn’t a relapse etc., as it may be due to anxiety and lack of decent sleep.

the pains you feel in the leg are quite familiar to me. i have perhaps been very fortunate as they have never really been so severe as to interrupt my slumber; although sometimes, they can be annoying and noticeable in the middle of the night.

as far as mix of symptoms goes… that is kind of what MS is all about; it almost always gives you stuff, which when you try to describe it, you sound demented!

the thing i get (and was getting long before any diagnosis) is what’s succinctly described as a ‘hot sock’. just on my right leg… from toe to just below the knee; some times all encompassing, sometimes just the ankle, sometimes just the calf, sometimes just the shin. could be described as tingly (as per pins and needles) but usually just pure fire. but then sometimes, it is more like icy cold. like when you touch something which is frozen but feels as if it burns.

now i sound demented :slight_smile:

like you, there is no actual temperature difference when touching the bloody thing. and there is no discolouration of the skin either, and so i quickly discounted the fear of circulation being a problem. the strange thing is, whilst putting something cool on it, like an ice pack does nothing; putting a sock on actually seems to help somewhat.

nowadays i sometimes get it following a dose of good exercise; like a tip top game of hockey. i never really took it as an indication of a relapse (strictly speaking) but just one of those occasional things which needed to be endured. if i were you, i would keep a diary; just document what it is, where it spreads to / retreats from, when it gets uber hot / cold etc… if you end up recording something that progressively gets worse, you might be inclined to conclude a relapse has begun.

in any event, do whatever it takes to get your hours of sleep back to where they need to be. if this means a litre of vino collapso and a few jazz cigarettes… well then get to it!

good luck and try not to worry!

1 Like
10

I’m more of a brandy girl but I like the idea!

Thank you x

11

Hi Emma,

Sounds like a relapse. I had very similar symptoms 3 and a half years ago. Really bad pain and then freezing cold calves . I had a really bad relapse. The thing that I found that really helped was taking vit b12, I started on a low dose of 100 mcg per day and built up slowly to 4000 mcg or whatever your body is tolerant too. It really helped and my symptoms went over a couple of weeks.

This was before I was diagnosed. I was obviously very deficient. Try it, it might help you too. I would get in touch with your MS nurse too.

Adrian.