Pseudoexacerbations - how long do they last for you?

[Lulu54]

As is my habit, I read almost all the posts here but only respond to ones that I feel need a bit of attention or catch my fancy.  Today I notice several posts that talk about pseudoexacerbations and that the symptoms from getting overheated lasted more than a day.

Pseudoexacerbations usually clear/resolve after the cause of the problem is corrected, such as your body temp returns to normal after being overheated in a pool or by exercising.  Or the pseudoexacerbations caused by infection.  From what I understand, these don't last past the point in which the problem that caused it has been resolved.

I'm wondering how long you might have a pseudoexacerbation last?  I know when I get out of a hot shower it takes me about 30-45 minutes to cool down and have my vision stabilize.  When I get overheated from exercise it takes me a good hour or two to feel better, but I always do.

Can you share your experiences?  We would love to compare..........
Lulu

[Lulu54]

Yes,  infection (sinus, UTI, etc) can cause a pseudoexacerbation and stick around until the source of the infection is cleared up.  This is really quite common from what I know.

[maxthecat9196]

Thanks for the clarification.  I was mixing up fatigue with pseudoexacerbations.  I guess I usually feel better 30 min or so after I am no longer in the situation causing the problem.  One exception I can think of:  I had a sinus infection that was causing a low grade fever.  I didn't get this taken care of right away- trying to fix it myself, so it lasted about three weeks.  So, is it a pseudoexacerbation if the symptoms are lighting up again due to a fever?  

With regard to fatigue, if I overexert myself- I am "out of it" for a couple of days sometimes.

[Lulu54]

This is quite the assorted list of pseudo-problems .  Thanks for contributing, I know this will help newcomvers looking for reassurance.

[lovemy6monkeys]

If I get overheated I'm usually feeling back to normal within 2-3 hours of cooling down.

I do have a pseudorelapse every month a few days before my period begins. I'll be extra tired, have some minor tingling and numbness, and have more trouble with my eyes & some cognitive skills. Those symptoms last about 3-5 days.

~Jess

[debgen]

Heat and humidity is a lethal combination for me. During the summer I have the luxury of having central AC in my house. It truly is a lifesaver for me. The heat\humidity knock me out and I have trouble walking. My muscles ache and my fingers go numb. I really can't handle being outdoors too long when it is hot out, except when I am in the pool!
Deb

[figuerpa]

For me it depends. If I get over heated it takes as long as it takes for me to cool down to start feeling better. Sometimes I have to lay down for half an hour or so and drink cold liquids to help me cool down.

I don't get a problem from the shower due to the fact that I take cool showers now. I learned that hot showers make me miserable.

Now if I over exert myself then it can take a day or two for me to feel back to normal, depending on how overexerted I got. I am not completely down and out, I still do my normal every day things I just feel extra tired and it takes time to feel better.

[ku111]

Thanks for explaining a little further!  We heard this during our appointment with Jordan last Monday.  Makes sense.  Even though we are still in limboland these pseudoexacerbation cause him problems the most when he is overheated and really tired.  His PE class ended in December and I can tell he is a little better.  The symptoms, we are told, are not new at this point but pseudoexacerbations from the old damage.  Really hard to understand when he can't walk well one day or an arm is numb the next but it doesn't last.  Good info!  Thanks!  Time will tell.

[supermum_ms]

Its summer over here in oz at the moment, the inside of your car can get so hot you could fry an egg on the dash lol there is no way for me to get into a hot car, my brain starts to fritz out as the temp seeps into me, if i'm not quick enough i cant work out where the key goes lol

Pseudos for me during this time of year can happen multiple times a day, the time it takes to recover really depends on what i've been doing, on average its about 30-45 minutes. If i've been pushing my self then it can take at least a couple of hours before my legs start working again, the tremors settle down a lot sooner though, it goes from the violent rumbles probably around that 45minute mark and into the more familiar every moment tremor i'm more use too.

All the other stuff that goes along with it, isn't something i've tracked well enough to say for sure, its all sort of there all the time now but during pseudos its just all more in your face there. Its the bone rattling shaking, my legs not holding me up and the puppet walking that holds my attention because i know i really have to rest and cool down ASAP.

I wouldnt say my symptoms have lasted more than a day during a pseudo though feeling weaker into the next day can happen sometimes, especially if i've been doing something sporty.  

Cheers.........JJ  

[SarahL2491]

So true Lulu, I know I learned so much reading all of these postings.  The more we share, the more we all realize we are not alone in some of our wierd and unexplainable (to us) symptoms

[Lulu54]

Those pseudos, Sarah, can be so difficult for newbies to figure out, and I think many here can learn from these examples.  I hope some others can think of additional samples of pseudoexacerbations.  

[SarahL2491]

we could write volumes on the pseudo hits, could we not!

[Lulu54]

Dagun, I think most people have this experience, but like everything else ao but MS it isn't 100%.  You could be the exception.

GG - I do my hair in the buff and have found it helps to cool off by turning the heat off on the the hair dryer and just blowing cool air.  

I hope everyone is taking note here a bout these pseudo- bouts of MS.  It happens to most of us and it takes a while to understand the difference between a real exacerbation and these pseudo hits we take.

[Dagun]

Does everyone with MS get this from the START (along with first symptoms) or does it get worse in time? There is just one time I can think off that this maby happened to me, I was in a hot tub last summer for more than a 1/2 hour and afterwards my neuro pain started again. After feeling great for some time. But I do not feel this after shower.
Dagun

[opie74]

If I take a warm shower and then dry my hair, i need to lie down for 10 min or so.  Problem is, with three kiddos, I usually can't.  If I don't take the 10 minutes, and go on with routein, it takes over an hour.  

If I am outside for long in the summer (Mississippi) it can ruin the rest of the day and sometimes the next morning.  I finally broke down and put electric start in my vehicle and got a parking permit.  Litterally just walking to my car and buckeling in the children and unloading the groceries makes me weak and disorentied and wiped out for 2 or 3 hours.  

Once I used the weed wacker in September (80-85F) I could not lift my wrist for 20 minutes of so.  I usually develop a migrane and go bed when I do stupid stuff like this!

[jujuminx]

Anywhere from 45 min to an hour or so if it's heat.  Stress for me is my biggest negative influence for odd body sensations.

Odd sensations from extreme stress can last 2-3 hrs.  The sensations are usually the same, a tingling (like that part of my body is just coming out of that falling asleep sensation) in my right foot or between my shoulder blades.

I frequently calm my mind throughout the day to stay as stress free as possible.  I can go weeks w/o any odd sensations if the kids and my husband behave.

Julie

[Sidesteps]

You know, I never realized that my morning fatigue (really bad) might be from the shower. Why didn't I think of that? lol Hmmm ~

[Guitar_grrrl]

Hey, Lulu - i use the hair dryer in the buff!! :-O (my bathroom is about 58 degrees F at 5:30 am).

My pseudos usually resolve when I let myself cool down.  That said, though, even after a bike ride, my lower extremity numbness comes back to life about 3 hours after I'm done, but my body is just absolutely spent for the next day or two or three.  So I spend those days doing some gentle, but extra stretchy Yoga. Lather, rinse, repeat!!

[Deb61]

That's a good point with cooking!  I forgot about that!  My husband does the majority of cooking now.  I couldn't stand the heat in the kitchen, so I got out!  LOL

I still have trouble with color in my right eye and with blurriness, even after had ON three years ago, when getting warm.  I've gone several times for an urgent doctor's visit thinking it was ON again, and it was said that it was Uthoff's phenomenon.  Even just a little physical activity has done this.  

[luvnGod]

I think that is what just happened with me when the Specialist asked me take a hot shower and see what happens to the vision in my left eye.  Sure enough, caused issues and now other than my eye feeling a little weak, it has basically gone.  Although, my left leg is still very tight and heavy feeling and it's causing me to limp...maybe it will take just a bit longer to get rid of it??  Great post Lulu!!!

[Lulu54]

Hanging over the stove top to cook always wears me out quickly and I try to prepare food that isn't intensive cooking and stirring.  One of the worst sources of unwelcomed heat for me is my hairdryer  I am already warm from my shower and that hairdryer just cranks up nmy body temp.  It takes me a good 15-30 minutes to cool down after drying my hair.

[SarahL2491]

I love my hot shower but always pay a price for it!  The vision problems it brings usually clear in about 45 minutes....the tired feeling last a couple hours at least.  Usually I'll go make cold tea and sit on the porch til it goes away or in winter, just open the back door and wait for hubs to scream!  ha ha

but even overcooking in the kitchen, raising the humidity, can set off fatigue and I have to start opening doors.  Usually can open the pantry or garage door and the kitchen will cool in about 20 minutes making the cook comfortable.

[jensequitur]

I have to really watch it, because getting overheated will ruin my day.  If I get too hot, all I can do is sleep.  Usually it takes three hours of sleep for me to be able to function (get up, eat, etc.) but I'm not really right until the next day and another 8 hours of sleep.  Hubby hates it, because I want to do stuff outside, but it would take the rest of the day for me to recover.

If I spend a couple of days outside, like camping, I really have to take it easy and not do too much.  And then it takes me a few days to recover from the camping - at least 24 hours, maybe a couple of days.  

I've gotten better in the last year.  I'm no longer so debilitated by the heat.  An hour outside will just make me tired, instead of shutting me down.

[Deb61]

That's a good question.  Usually, I feel better after becoming cool, which at times can be a couple of hours.  I cannot cool myself down very easily.  I've wound up in urgent care for this before.  I feel absolutely horrid.  My vision is blurry, I'm sick to my stomach, I'm weak, I have tremor, and I can't sweat.  My body will eventually shut down if I can't cool down and I'll collapse--it's like I'm having a heat stroke.  I even wonder if this is what's going on.  I have to be very careful to not get overheated because of this.

There's another thing that happens to me.  If I spend too long doing a physical activity (cleaning the house, etc.) and I get mildly overheated, I get this burning in my legs that sets off spasticity lasting for several day.  I don't know if this fall under the pseudoexacerbation category or not.  I cannot seem to cool the burning and can't have a blanket on me at night. This burning sensation seems to keep my body temperature increased, too.  It's really weird, but I know it has something to do with the MS.

[Sidesteps]

I am about the same.

It takes me about 45 minutes to an hour, maybe two (at my worst) after a hot shower affecting me.

An hour or two after excercise ... except the Hot Yogaand that took quite a bit longer.  (I was told by my Neuro-Ophth no more of that!) I guess - the reason why they no longer place people in hot baths is because some actually never recovered. I don't know what the temperature was.

Here's an odd one Lulu, I had a pseudoexcerbation from the spine portion of the 3T MRI. It flared my tremors, twitching, myoclonus and my eye/facial pain issues. This took about an hour for the mild symptoms. I noticed the TN took nearly all day to recover from.  

If am out in the summer heat, it can last as long as I'm out in it and usually improves over 24 hours. It depends on how long I've been out in the heat.