Exacerbation

I am wondering if you all are able to work, or carry on with your normal activities during an exacerbation? or just curl up on the couch and veg??

[essdipity]

Hi, Daisy.

That really all depends. There are exacerbations and then there are EXACERBATIONS. Predicting is pretty much impossible. If you are in one, take good care of yourself and don't push it.

I hope things go well for you.

ess

[candy158]

ess said it right.  There are certainly times when the couch or bed is the best place to be.  But, other times, not so severe, you can do things, just slower and with more precision.  

So, I agree that if you are in a spell, just rest and take good care.

Don`t let other people make you feel any specific way.  We had another post about that very thing, and try not to compare yourself with other people with MS, cause we are all so very different, and react to different pain tolerances, and such, some people do well, and some not so well.  

Kinda like giving birth.  Some people breeze through it, and some go through hell..............
MS is very much like that.

sO,  be yourself, and just concentrate on you and your symptons at the time.  They will tell you what to do, don`t let it be everyone else.

Take good care,
Candy

[jujuminx]

Great question!  During my last and worst (by far) attack, I pretty much carried on but everything slower.  If I was just too tired to carry on, I lay down and napped.  None of my sx were so terrible though that they knocked me out as far as walking or doing normal things like going to grocery, laundry, etc.

I can imagine that since MS is different for everyone and everyone has different levels of pain thresholds, one should do as much as they think (or as little as they think). One thing that really helped me was moderate exercise in the form of swimming.  Wow, what an incredible help that was to stretch and work out the pain in my limbs.  Sometimes I would just float and listen to the birds chirp.

Julie

[cainer]

yes and for me as time goes on its worse-no wsay can i work-or drive  you just cant-- but i still try to be active-as i can

[COBOB]

Since my exacerbations have been trigeminal neuralgia and Optic Neuritis, I continued to work from home while on IVSM.  

Bob

[daisy.girl]

Thanks for all your feedback.....

I am having severe left leg pain, like a deep ache, from the hip all the way down, and the same ache with burning, tingling in my right arm. bad neck spasms (doc said probably dystonia) and major fatigue, as well as vibrations!

I just feel terrible. My next Tysabri infusion is Wednesday, so I am hoping it will help me!

[sg40]

Hi daisygirl. I feel your pain, literally. I push-push-push through the work week so that I am pretty useless in the evenings. My weekends are a functional combination of carry on then lie down, carry on then lie down. I am grateful that I am able to push through when I need to.
It's difficult to know when to stop pushing and rest before you make it all worse. Is that why you're asking? Or are you just having a rough time doing what you think needs to be done?
D

[daisy.girl]

I do not work, haven't for three years. I just am so tired, I don't want to do anything. It has been about two weeks now. I do push and then suffer for days/week trying to feel okay again. However, I never feel okay anymore.

My son had to go to ER last night, he got something embedded in his eye, we could see it, but it would not come out, rinsed it out with a lot of saline, but it just wouldn't move. I felt like I had to drag myself just to take him. Very little emotion from me, just okay, lets go get this taken care of, so I can come back home and get my PJ's on ( I didn't say it, just thought it). Boy that sounds terrible, doesn't it??

I just started Tysabri, I go for my second infusion on Wednesday. I am told it can take up to 6 infusions before I will feel any different.

[sg40]

That doesn't sound terrible at all. When you are doing all you can to get throught the day it's hard to have energy left over for emoting. The important thing is that you got it taken care of - he knows you were concerned. I know that feeling you're talking about - when no matter what you are doing you can not wait for it to be over so you can lie down. I've felt it, and also feel guilty for feeling it.
I hope the new meds work. Aren't there other things you can take for extreme fatigue?

[Sparkysarah]

I really hope that the Tysabri kicks in sooner rather than later. You are the best person to listen to in terms of how you are feeling so listen to your body and act accordinly. If you feel so fatigued that moving your limbs is an enormous effort, then rest, rest rest. The one thing I have learned is that it does not help to fight or ignore this MonSter.

Love Sarah x

[sllowe]

I managed to get to work through my 1st but I'd never do it again. Dangerous in more than one way.

Sounds like your knee deep in fatigue and that contributes to what you are feeling when things go on that you normally would have more emotion for. Quite frankly the energy it took to get him there more than likely trumped energy for anything else.  

Keep an eye on that though to make sure your not depleted in regard to depression too - got to remember when to get some supplement in that area. Depletion of seretonin not good for you, Daisy-guuurl!!!!! I apologize for being a hen - just sounds like you are zapped on more than one level and wouldn't want you to not get something you need :)

-Shell

[AMO]

Hi Dasiy-g,

I hope your son's eye is doing ok today. I hope they gave him good instruction on post care. Please do not be hard on yourself how you delt with the stres.

Do you think thiss is a 'real exacerbation'? or could it be from tysabri side effects?
I know it is tough , hang in thhere and hope you feeling better.
amo

[jensequitur]

I've gone to work during a flare.  I haven't driven in a while - if I can get to work and sit at a desk, I do all right.  Sometimes I have to take a nap when it's really bad.

Sometimes when the flare involves weird symptoms - the myoclonus or cog fog or something that's hard to explain - I call in sick.  Usually it's only a day or so of that, although my neuro says it'll probably get worse.