Can getting sick start a relapse?

[Sailorsong]

  Ok for about the last week I have felt like I was enetring a period of remission, I felt this was the case as the numbness in my legs seemed to be getting better. My feet are still completely numb but the legs actually were begining to feel somewhat normal. But then 4 days ago I got sick as a dog. In over 20 years I have not once had a cold or the flu. I have kind of felt like my immune system was in overdrive so that no bugs could get in to make me sick. But I guess that was mostly wishfull thinking.

So anyway 4 days ago I woke up coughing my head off with horrible pain in my lower lungs/ribs. I also noticed a very small amount of blood on my pillowcase which I have no explanation for. So for the last 4 days I have been sleeping about 20 hours a day and have not eaten anything (until today when I tried some chips). Just have had no hunger at all. But I have been drinking some 7-up during the period in order to get some fluids into myself.  So far I have lost 16 pounds which I could do with losing even more. :)

So today while still pretty sick I have noticed that any movement of my eyes are very painfull, my legs are again very numb, and yes I still have a very painfull cough. So can a cold of flu trigger a relapse?

Dennis

[jenny34644]

Well take it from someone who had no symtoms for ten years then got the flu with 102 temp for a week and I develped my second bout of symptoms. I had never had the flu before. But for me it"s even more confusing. Ten years ago when I developed my first symptoms it was after I had a tetanus shot, so my doctor does not want me to have a flu shot for fear of what may happen to me, so now I am scared to death that I will get the flu again.

[Sailorsong]

Ouch!!!! I avoid the sun as much as possible these days. About 18 years ago I took my daughter to the beach down in FL. I was waering SPF 45 lotion and doing no swimming but still after only about 2 hours I had to take her home due to sunburn on my legs. The next morning I had to go to the doctor and it turn out I had second degree burns on my legs. I thing this was caused by some medication I was on at the time. Since then my legs have always been kind of sensitive to the sun so I always wear slacks.

If my mind worked better I would consider doing VBS for a local church as I love kids (sick or well). :)  I'm lucky if I can even read my own name correctly some days.

Dennis

[PastorDan]

Liker you, Dennis, I thought I was doing relatively well for a bit, but my eye pain came back last week or the week before, and by Friday night it was pretty severe.  Nancy and I both developed nasty colds last weekend (gotta love those VBS kids).  I took an extra Neurontin each night for three, and the pain has subsided.  I also took NyQuil at bedtime.  The cold's not gone, but it's substantially better.  Today, my visual field disturbance is extra bad.  I don't know if the eye pain or the visual thing are related to the cold, but I suspect there could well be some relationship.

Now, as to the heat thing, I managed to get myself rather sunburned yesterday afternoon, floating around in the pool.  That might count toward the visual disturbance issue, I suppose.

[Sailorsong]

Sorry Lulu I think I'll have to go with Supermum on this one. The highest temp I have gotten since getting sick has only been 98.1 and taking hot showers have actually made me feel better since getting sick. Once I get back to normal (no cold) that part will probably end though.

I still have the very painful cough but I have finally started to eat again. Not much as I am getting really full really quick. And I have actually put back on a couple of pounds that I have lost since yesterday morning. The lower part of my rib cage is also very tender to the touch. Must be a little bruised from al the coughing I was doing.

Dennis

[essdipity]

Getting sick and having an MS flare can definitely be connected.

If you come down with any sort of infection, whether or not you have a fever, your immune system then gets the signal to fight back. Generally that's good. We couldn't survive without this response.

However, if we have MS, not only the necessary function of the immune system gets stimulated, but also the 'rogue' part, so we can attack our own central nervoous systems, doing the damage we're all too familiar with.

Having MS does not mean we have weakened immune systems. We're no more likely to catch something than anyone else. But if we do get an infection, that's where our inability to discriminate between self and other comes in.

ess

[supermum_ms]

Hi Dennis,

I'm still waiting for my dx but i mainly have an episode (i'll say relapse after i get the dx) after i've had the flu. I've read viral infections send your immune system on the attack and then it keeps attacking, sorry about the poor laymans explanation but my brain is on hyattus. This episode started at Easter, flu + oral absess, and it's been a bumpy ride. Two weeks ago i picked up the flu again, interesting to note i felt i was finally getting over my episode for the first 3 days of sneezing and coughing, weird but i felt stonger even though i was obviously sick again. I was thinking it was posible that be cause my immune system actually had something to attack it might of been leaving my brain and spine alone, who knows anythings possible. I'm not sure if its set me off going into another episode or not, but i now have tingles and ticks around my right eye which i've never had before, a new symptom to add to the other wise already long list.

Anyway, i think you'll find quite a lot written about viral infections and MS, i think theres something in the health pages.

Cheers...JJ

[Lulu54]

Yes DEnnis, either of these could trigger a relapse.  That is why we are all supposed to get the flu shot.  Germs/illnesses cause fever, fever is heat our bodies react to in  negative way.

There probably is another reason too but right now my brain is too tired to think.

Feel better but if you don't soon please call your doctor.  That's a lot of weight loss in a short time.

get well!
Lulu