For me (for what it is worth) there appears to be a strong correlation between stress and relapse.
I am not talking about being pissed off by a crappy day, but a period of sustained anxiety. Two relapses over as many years both came within 6 weeks of a stress filled month (the first due to job security fears, the second during my first and only house moving / buying process).
My physiology due to this perceived psychological environment could very well have provoked an auto-immune response; i envisage that my immune system was compelled to do something, anything just to get my brain to chill out! (like the Microsoft paper clip - “you appear to be going through the wringer; how about going numb and lying down for a few months?”
But with that said, i am waiting for next year as both of my recent relapses occurred at the same time (the start of July) and it will be interesting to see if there is an environmental cue; certain pollen or perhaps an agricultural influence; (this year’s relapse was far more severe than last years; a natural ‘progression’ of MS due to cumulative lesion / damage, or perhaps a consequence of my having moved closer to farm lands??)
And as for the phenomena of people defending the opinions of their MS nurse / neurologist… to hell with that! All they can come back with most of the time is “we simply don’t know…”
