Pseudo-relapse or relapse...The eternal question.

Everyday living
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Guess i am never gonna know unless they decide to fork out for an MRI but i would like to know, just so i know how well my DMD’s are doing. Any opinions you have would be appreciated greatly!

My nurse believes it is a psuedo relapse as i have had these symptoms (double/blurred vision especially bad when in motion) before on numerous occasions, my first recorded relapse was diplopia. But can’t you have 2 similar relapses?

This time around i have had the symptoms for just over six weeks. At first i thought it was because i was pushing myself to do too much, then i got a cold which won’t have helped at all but now i am free from the cold and rested as much as is humanly possible (not being doing anything, man i’m bored!) and still the disturbed vision.

Started taking steroids yesterday. Not feeling too bad so far although maybe my mood is a little fraught. Eeh. Heard that steroids probably won’t have much of an effect if the symptoms have persisted for 5 weeks or more but what the hey! Worth a try i guess and I just love having a face shaped like a moon!

Know there is probably not much anyone can say to clear this matter up but thought i’d put it out there anyways.

Kate

p.s. When taking these massive doses of steroids is it advisable not to put yourself in too many crowded situations due to the risk of catching infections?

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Hi Kate,

I know it’s a difficult question. Apart from the one that led to my diagnosis, which was quite dramatic, I don’t think I’ve ever had very sharply defined relapses, so it’s hard to tell.

One thing, though: if it was a pseudo-relapse, I can’t really see why you would have been offered steroids.

Surely, if it wasn’t a genuine relapse, that would imply there was NO new inflammation, and so nothing for the steroids to treat?

So it seems a little contradictory to me, that they’re suggesting you’re NOT having a relapse, but at the same time recommending steroids.

I can’t advise about the steroids themselves, as so far, I’ve managed to avoid them. I guess avoiding known infections is only sensible, but I’m not sure the advice extends to avoiding crowds as a precaution, does it?

I know there are posters here who have certainly gone to work on steroids. I’m not suggesting that’s always good or advisable - just depends how you’re affected, I suppose. But definitely not everyone goes into isolation.

Tina