what exactly is an attack or a flair up?

[mamabearhb]

Background-we are awaiting possible DX of MS for my 21 yr old daughter. Her symptoms for the past 3 months, are numb tingling hands all the time, it does not go away. As well as L'hermittes. So my question is would these symptoms be considered her flair ups or her attacks? And do they usually last this long? And do your attacks usually go away without meds?

[jujuminx]

My first two relapses lasted about 6 weeks and were mostly numbness.  They eventually went away without any meds. Since I didn't know I had MS (the doctors looked for it) I wasn't given meds for the inflammation.   There were no DMD's when I had my first relapse.

My last relapse in 2010 lasted about 5-6 months and the reason for that is partially b/c it took that long after the symptoms appeared to finally get a diagnosis so I did a lot of things I shouldn't have, like traveled to a very hot central american country.

Once I was finally diagnosed, I was put on SoluMedrol which helped w some of my symptoms including L'hermittes syndrome.

I have no proof but I strongly believe that exercise helped me work my way back to normal quicker than had I not been active.  Swimming forced me to move my entire body and kept me cool while doing it.

I spoke with someone who had had the disease for years and she told me not to let my body get use to the symptoms. So I fought hard. Moved all the time, took extraordinary care of myself and removed as much stress from my life as I could.

Don't misunderstand me, I don't think you can exercise your way to normal if you have MS BUT I do think that exercise helps a great deal and those of us in the earlier stages of the disease can help our quality of life by moving.  If we can move, we should!

For me stress was a trigger for all my relapses.  The day before each of my three relapses I was under massive amounts of stress and the following morning I woke with MS symptoms. So I worked on the mental part as well as the physical.  

As many have said, there is no normal with this disease. If you daughter has MS, it sounds like she is in the middle of a relapse/exacerbation.  There is no way to tell how long it will last. I can say though that in spite of all my symptoms, and I had everything from numbness, MS hug, itching, painful stiffness in my feet, l'hermittes, weakness in my arm, odd sensations throughout my body, foot drag, etc, I have NONE of them now.

Hang in there mama.

Julie

[HVAC]

Not even a doctor can tell. Sometimes they can give steroids for inflammation but there are many side effects. Also she could get on a drug such as Gabenpentin or Lyrica for symptoms.

Alex

[kwarendorf]

Hi MNHB -

GIven the length of time she has had the symptoms, she would be considered as being in a relapse, or exacerbation, if cause by MS. Generally anything that lasts more than 24 hours is considered to be an indication of relapse.

Some symotms go away by themselves, others need help to go away. There are some symtoms that never go away. It all depends on the severity of the attack/damage.

If the damage is slight, symptoms caused by the damage may recede on their own. Some symptoms stck around a bit longer and often are treated by Intravenous SoluMedrol (IVSM). IVSM is a steroid that reduces inflammation caused when the myelin sheath, which protects nerves in the central nervous system (CNS) is attacked. In many cases 3-5 days of high dose IVSM relieves symptoms, if not completely, significantly.

If the damage is severe enough the resulting symptom may be around for the long haul. I have tinnitus, a 24/7 ringing in my ears. It was caused by my MS. We all have unique collections of symptoms and unique versions of relapse recovery.

Ky'e