Rimacade demylination

i 25 years old,5 years ago i was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis ,started rimacade (infliximab) treatment,6 months ago i started to feel numbness in my hands and feet,brain&cervical MRI were taken,showing multiple white lesions ,specially on C2 vertebra , i started steroids injection for 5 days,after one to two months i got better ,but now after 7 months i restarted feeling of this numbness,my question is how can i decrease these symptoms because i am a dentist so i can work ?and for how long this attack will come and go?
thanks in advance

[GeeWhillikers]

Hi, Welcome to the forum.  I'm sorry this is happening to you. I am a physician and know how devastating this can be to the ability to practice medicine.  

Have you actually been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?  Your symptoms are suggestive.  Were you told that medications like Remicade (which are anti-TNF meds) can possibly bring on MS?  I'm am not sure that they can "cause" MS, but in people with MS these medications can cause rapid worsening of the disease.  If MS is suspected then the Remicade should probably be stopped.  MS is considered an absolute contraindication to the use of any of the Anti-Tumor Necrosing Factor medications like Remicade, Embrel, Humira, etc.

If this is MS, then it would appear that you are entering your second relapse.  Many doctors here in the US treat new relapses with a 3 to 5 day course of intravenous methylprednisolone (Solumedrol) at the dose of 1000mg IV every day of the pulse.  In some cases this can relive some of the new symptoms.  It may or amy not be effective, though.

The reality is that there is no other treatment for reducing the symptoms of a relapse.  That is the hardest part about this disease.  

A relapse may last several days to a few months.  During this time symptoms may stay the same or increase.  New ones may appear.  It is unpredictable.

My concern is whether you are still on the Remicade

Welcome again.

Quix, MD