RRMS to SPMS...

[Jifr]

So - how do you know when you've made the "switch"?

I've been having a bout of non-stop MS symptoms for the past month or more.  I can point to several new symptoms but things do not seem to be progressing in the typical "flare" mode for me.  The symptoms develop, plague me for a week or so and seem to go away...but then they will flare right back up again in a few days.  I don't believe these are heat exacerbation issues because they are 1 - new symptoms and 2 - I haven't had much heat exposure.

I'm wondering if my MS has switched form RRMS to SPMS.

Any thoughts?

[jensequitur]

Many times when you're first diagnosed, it can seem like you're in one big flare.  I experienced it, and I think a lot of MS folks have the same thing.  It took me about three years before I could distinguish separate and distinct flares.

[Jifr]

Hmmm.  We shall see.  Sometimes it seems I know more about MS than my NPN.  I'm not sure where this back to back series of new symptoms, etc falls, though.  Is this one continual flare that is still evolving?  Is this the next disease phase?  I'll be sure to ask, though.  Thanks for your thoughts!

[essdipity]

It's not really possible for us to assess disease progression, and that's much more complicated than we would think.

These problems you're having do warrant a visit to your neuro. Please ask him or her for an opinion on this. Don't be surprised if you don't get a clear answer, though. A switch in meds is often made, under the circumstances, and a wait and see approach as well.

Best of luck with this.

ess

[fortywhat2]

I would recommend a visit to your neurologist... I have PPMS so I have no idea what the change would be.  Good Luck!
Debbie
~live as if all your dreams came true~

[Sumanadevii]

"Secondary-progressive MS (SPMS) follows after an initial relapsing-remitting course. Of the 85% of people who are initially diagnosed with RRMS, most will eventually transition to SPMS, in which the disease begins to progress more steadily (although not necessarily more quickly), with or without any relapses (also called attacks or exacerbations). This means that there is less inflammation and more gradual destruction and loss of nerve fibers in SPMS than in RRMS."

Borrowed from the National MS Society webpage at

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/relapsing-ms/relapsing-remitting-ms-rrms/how-rrms-differs-from-progressive-courses-of-ms/index.aspx