Thank you very much! This clarifies a lot for me.
I've had spells where I get sharp pains in the same area (either my head, chest, arms or legs) that come out of nowhere, very sharp and painful, but go away quickly. This happens off and on for usually a couple of days and then stops happening at all for awhile. This has been going on for years, but I've never thought much of it. I thought it happened to everybody.
I'm not sure if there is any rhyme or reason for when it happens (such as when I've overdone it or not - it just seems pretty random). I don't consider myself to have gait problems, but I do have a very hard time keeping up with my husband....to me he seems to just move fast and I will try to keep up with him, but it usually gets to the point where all of a sudden my legs feel like they've got lead in them and I tell him we have to slow down. I can still walk just fine, at a slower pace, but my legs just feel extremely tight and I just can't go as fast.
I will look into that test you mentioned, ess.
Thanks again.
There are 4 things which effect MS symptoms heat, fatigue, inflammation, and nerve damage. With heat and fatigue the symptoms can last as long as you are hot or tired hours or even a day or two. Once you cool down or rest these symptoms will disappear. With inflammation symptoms can last days, weeks, or months. Once the inflammation dies down the symptoms go away. Steroids are sometimes used when inflammation is really bad. This is what a relapse is. With nerve damage symptoms are permanent.
In my case when I get too hot my cognitive slows down a lot as does my walking. When I get tired I start dropping things, my walking is harder, and I have trouble with cognitive. With inflammation I may have days, weeks, months of leg issues or more pain. I have nerve damage in my brain stem so I have had permanent double vision, vertigo, left side weakness, and cognitive issues which put me in the slow class in school for 47 years. So my walking speed, dropping things, and more cognitive issues are my variables.
It takes awhile after diagnosis to recognize which is which and how to deal with symptoms.
Alex
There really aren't rules in MS. The standard for flares calls for symptoms lasting at least 24 hours (some say 48), but that doesn't mean they have to be constant. Off and on, as in burning or stabbing pains, etc., still qualifies, but it should be more than once in a while.
The other test you want is a VNG, videonystagmography, which should tell if symptoms are central rather than peripheral. At least in theory, anyway. I think this would be more definitive than auditory ER for vertigo.
ess