MS, time of month, birth control?

[GorgeousGeek]

So I'm unsure if this is common. I feel significantly different the week of my period. I can't put my finger on everything that feels different thought.  For one thing , I dance around a lot , around my apartment and during my period my left knee starts to feel odd. Sometimes my left arm too. It's not the same sensation I experienced in my previous episodes. I use the word anxious lol I imagine it's what's restless leg syndrome feels like .
I'm wondering if there is some correlation between MS symptoms and hormone levels.  Hindsight , I felt better generally when I was on birth control (nuvaring) . And both of the episodes Ive had started upon removal of my nuvaring and onset of my period....
I'm considering going back on my birth control. I stopped bc I thought it was causing my problems but now since I know it's MS maybe I'll go bck on it.

[twopack]

Well, many of us have noticed at some point along the line that one or another (or all) of our MS symptoms seem to ebb and flow with menstrual cycles.  I remember noticing years ago (when my MRI showed lesions but I wasn't diagnosed with MS yet) that my periodic plummeting blood sugars were more likely to occur when I was stressed.  Like many women, my body considered monthly cycles to be a stressor.  I had to be especially careful with my diet at that time to avoid extreme drops in blood sugar levels even though I am NOT diabetic or on insulin.  

Once menopause hit I had far less trouble on a monthly basis.  But it still happened sometimes when I experienced other life stressors.  I know now that stress can trigger pseudo-flares of MS symptoms (even though stress does not actually cause MS).  Since I was diagnosed with MS, I have also learned that my problem with hypoglycemia (AND reactive hypertension) is most likely connected to MS damage in my brain stem that promotes dysautonomic type responses involving my adrenals and digestive organs.

But moving on to the general question.....

The easy answer here would be OF COURSE! hormones and your symptoms are connected.  After all, we know perfectly well already that those hormone stops and starts are capable of s*rewing up every significant aspect of our female lives!!

And it might be true.  I think I remember reading about some studies looking at using hormone replacement therapy as a treatment to control MS symptoms.  If nothing else, our experience as PwMS teaches us that we can learn the rhythms and cause/effect relationships of our own unique body systems.

Or it might not be true.  Because the nature of MS (especially RRMS) is to have symptoms that flare and disappear at irregular intervals.  And because many environmental, bodily and emotional factors can cause pseudo-flares that come and go and come again.  And because it is too easy and too tempting to make quick associations between events that may actually have no relation to one other.

And touching on your specific question....

I think it is possible but you will have to conduct your own investigation.  It seems that under the scenario you give the end result could end with nothing worse than a positive or neutral outcome.  It seems worth the trial to me to go back to something that was working well for you.  

This type of investigative work (just so you know) will become common as you learn to live with MS.  Life is seldom stagnant.  When you've got MS there is even less chance of that.  We are always making a new adjustment it seems.  Sometimes that means finding a new solution for old (or very old) symptoms.  Luckily, there are always more possibilities than we initially imagine!

On the side.....

I don't think the easing of MS symptoms during pregnancy is directly related to hormone levels.  It likely has more to do with decreased activity of the immune system during pregnancy.  A woman's body would normally identify (and attack) a fetus or baby as foreign since its DNA is different than her own.  Therefore, pregnancy triggers a reduction in normal immune responses to protect the fetus and apparently this reduces autoimmune responses as well.  When the pregnancy ends and the immune system returns to its non-pregnant norm, MS symptoms often return in dramatic fashion.

I hope a return to the Nuvaring makes for a return to feeling well for a long time to come.

Mary

[Sailorsong]

The short answer is YES there is a correlation between MS symptoms and hormones in women.

Most women with MS will go into a remission while pregnant due to the changes in their bodies hormone levels. I assume from reading your post that nuvaring works by changing your hormones so your body thinks you are pregnant which is why you had episodes upon removal. This would correspond to the flares women will have after giving birth.

Dennis