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Relapse advice please

Everyday living
#1

Hi all

3 weeks ago I started with severe pins and needles in my right hand within hours this subsided slightly Then I began to feel numbness up my arm and in my right leg as well

this has continued with my writing being slightly affected and weakness remains on the right side of my right hand and intermittently in my right leg and right arm

today I was a tad fed up with it tried to contact my Ms nurse but unfortunately she is on annual leave so I had to see my GP

he said he thinks it sounds like ulnar nerve entrapment He said it comes from the nerve in the elbow and causes problems like I had in my arm and hand… What about my leg symptoms

I was prescribed steroids 500 mg per day for 5 days which I started today

my doctor has left me confused though to today’s diagnosis I did explain that I’ve has Ms for 10 years and been on rebif 10 year and have had these symptoms before in a previous relapse years ago

he did Google ulnar nerve and Ms when was there because he didn’t know if they were related but he said that the vulna nerve problems are uncommon in ms

im confused any advice greatly received

#2

Hi,

I don’t like to contradict your doctor, as I am not a doctor, but it sounds like a “straightforward” relapse to me, and I think talk of trapped nerves is a complete red herring in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of MS - especially if there are multiple symptoms in more than one part of the body. Why would you “just happen” to get a trapped nerve in your arm at the same time you developed similar problems in your leg? MS does not cause “trapped nerves”. It also does not affect the ulnar nerve, but that’s irrelevant, because if messages from the ulnar nerve can’t get through properly, because of (for example) a spinal cord lesion, it would be as if the ulnar nerve wasn’t working properly, even though it’s actually fine, and the real problem lies elsewhere.

I really don’t think your doctor understands MS very well. Then again, his prescription of steroids IS appropriate for an MS relapse, and unlikely (as far as I know) to help with a mechanical problem such as a trapped nerve, so he seems to be diagnosing one thing, but prescribing for another.

The upshot is regardless of what he says, what he’s done about it is suitable, and I don’t expect your MS nurse would have suggested much different.

Tina

x

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#3

Dear princess…

your symptoms are so similar to mine. and before diagnosis, i had sorely hoped my ulnar nerve had become trapped / enflamed / anything. no such luck.

you will see if anything calms down thanks to steroids and / or passage of time.

i think it might very well be reasonable for you to attribute these symptoms to being ‘one of the joys of MS’. but try to be optimistic; it is just as likely to get better as much as it might get worse.

i would recommend keeping a diary of what is happening, where it is spreading, what is getting worse, what feels better, the whole roller coaster of things.

and more proactive than merely reporting events, make sure to sleep as much as you can and only eat / drink the best quality stuffs you can afford. and NO STRESSING!

live up to your username and live like royalty for a few weeks. good luck. you will be fine in no time.

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#4

Aww thankyou for your replies I really appreciate your views