Over a period of 3 weeks now been having so much pain down my arm hand and neck its with me constent , It’s affecting my sleeping as my neck goes into a spasm and my arm goes numb . Although I’m diognosed I have never had much help in understanding what is classed as symptoms of ms and what is a relapse . Have left a message for the ms nurse by no reply as yet. Would be very greatful of any advice please . Also I can pin point the stop on my neck that is causing the problem. Can spinal lesions cause pain ?? X
Do keep trying your nurse. They have to prioritise who they call back so someone who calls just the once is sometimes thought to be OK now - so keep reminding them that you aren’t and that you really need help!
A relapse is anything that is consistent with a demyelinating attack and that lasts at least 24 hours. If this pain is new, you don’t have a virus or UTI or something like that (because these can cause a pseudo-relapse which usually goes when the underlying thing goes) and you don’t have something structurally wrong with your arm (e.g. if you wrenched it or aggrevated a nerve by overuse), then it is a relapse.
There are meds to help neuropathic pain and spasms - so don’t wait for a call back - phone first thing in the morning and again later on. Be nice (you need to keep on the nurse’s good side!), but keep trying!
Good luck.
Karen x
Thank you Karen . That’s a huge help , you are so good at explaining things . I know I haven’t done anything to my arm and I have no symptoms of any infections so will do as you advice and keep trying the ms nurse . Can lesions cause pain as this area of my neck is in agony ? So maybe it is linked to me arm problems . Thank you again. Sarah x
Lesions aren’t painful - there are no pain sensors in the central nervous system which is why people can be awake during brain surgery. However, lesions can cause us to feel pain, eg one of the pathways in the spinal cord is for detecting pain & temperature. A lesion on that pathway could cause neuropathic pain (ie pain that is caused by neurons misfiring and not something “real”). I would guess your symptoms are all related - it sounds like a relapse 
Kx
Oh that makes perfect sense , you are brilliant at explaining things thats a huge help to me . Could that be explaining why my neck and chest is burning hot all the time , I’m constantly in a vest top even in the this weather due to the heat ?? Thank you Karen I still haven’t heard from the ms nurses so you explaining this to me has made me feel better as I understand now . Sarah x