Who do go to if you think you’re having a relapse? I only ask as I presented in A&E with abdominal pain under my ribs and generally feeling unwell on Saturday, they just said I had a urine infection and sent me away with some antibiotics. At least that explained why I felt so awful (or so I thought, my GP tells me today going off of my bloods and urine tests they did in hospital I don’t actually have a UTI) but that didn’t explain the immense pain under my ribs… well today 4 days on I’m still feeling dreadful and still in agony with the pain so went to see a duty GP. He has no idea what’s causing it but when I asked him if it was my MS his reply was “I don’t know much about MS you’ll have to try and contact your specialist nurse”. Is this just standard practise from A&E and GP’s?
A lot of GPs and even A&E dont always know a lot about MS. Why would they? Its not something they might see everyday. Thankfully I have noticed at least around here, more GPs and junior doctors are becoming better informed.
Best person to get info from is your nurse if you have one, failing that, neurology. Sounds like it might be the MS hug, intercostal muscles playing up if everything else has been ruled out. Might be something else, but worth asking your nurse about it because they might have a better idea or be able to get you seen by someone who does have an idea. if you are having problems breathing tho, get back to th hospital.
the ms hug is so badly named.
not a warm cuddly hug at all.
more the grip of death!
if you have any muscle relaxants (diazepam, baclofen etc) take them.
keep warm and try to find a comfortable position, i use 4 pillows - like kids making a fort!
as faula says, if your breathing is affected get to A & E.
carole x
yes i think it is standard practise, my gp admits he doesn’t know much about MS not a lot of drs do know much about it and if you turn up at a & e they don’t have a clue either.
over the years i have become an expert in MY own ms i have had to.the only thing they can do for a relapse is give steroids,when i have had a relapse my dr has rang the ms nurse for advice.
the pain under your ribs could be anything so if its still there go back to a&e and tell them you want answers,dont let them send you away with no answers,theres too much of that.
GPs are not to be relied upon. This is not a criticism… they are after all GENERAL Practitioners; ie. they know a little about a lot. Meanwhile, having an MS diagnosis can make you know a lot about a little.
A GP is merely a key to access the good stuff (aka what you need) and so the ambition when visiting your local doc or even A&E is a referral, if not a definitive cure… which you suspected was not related to a speculative diagnosis of UTI.
I was advised, in the event of a suspected relapse, present yourself at a hospital with a dedicated neurology department. They typically will have a 24 hour neurologist attending and this will allow you to swiftly side step the appointments waiting list and get you the CAT / MRI scans and ultimately the steroids you need to calm your flaring neurons!
GOOD LUCK!
Thanks for your replies… I know GP’s don’t know about conditions in great detail and I don’t expect them too either but I also don’t expect them to shrug their shoulders at me and tell me to find out for myself what’s causing my pain. A&E didn’t even acknowledge I had MS, how scary is that?
I have seen one of my MS nurses today and she doesn’t think it’s anything to do with my MS.
Hi Abi
Are you still in as much pain? If your MS nurse and GP don’t think it’s MS related, maybe it’s not. If you are still in as much pain, perhaps you could try the hospital again. After all, if you’re in pain, there must be some cause. And if it’s not MS, then it’s something else.
Sometimes I reckon we are all prone to assign all health problems to MS but we are just as likely to have other problems as the next person.
Sue
Hi Sue, yes I’m still in pain so a different GP has put me on morphine patches. I am under the gastro team at the hospital but they’re dragging their feet to find out what’s causing all my pain and other gastro problems. This issue wasn’t something I’d had before so couldn’t be sure what was causing it, being complex with a handful of condition’s it could’ve been anything causing the pain it was just no one had a clue or could be bothered to find out either. The GP I saw was useless, but at least the MS ruled the MS out, which was very helpful, it meant something could be looked into. (Well if only, my gastro team still aren’t listening to me and getting me sorted). Xx