how do you know your getting better after a relapse?

[mikey15]

I just had my first relapse after being diagnosed 2 and a half years ago. it has been 3 weeks since i was put on steriods for 3 days. I had heavy left leg and numbness in left arm and hand. Now, 3 weeks later i have more strength in left leg but left arm and hand is in pain. Also have trouble with my cordination. I can't grip anything with left hand and it is constantly burning internally. pain comes and goes down left elbow through hand and finger tips.(left only) I am now on pain medicine perscribed for epilepsy called trileptal. I need to know if i should be concerned or just believe that this is part of the ms post relapse symptoms.  I know how differenteveryone  is with MS, but I don't want to be waisting time if there is anything i can do to prevent the pain from getting worse.  My follow up with my doctor was scheduled for 4 weeks after relapse. As you can imagine i'm frustrated.

??????????????????

[Sarahsmom46]

I agree with what Jersey said about simplifying your life while you recover from a relapse.

I went into a relapse over a month ago.  Same type of symptoms you are having, right leg very heavy and numb/extreme vibration felling.  And hands also numb and tingling.  Face too.  I'm going cold turkey, no steroids, but after a month I wish I would have went on them.  

The steroids can shorten the duration of the relapse and help a bit with the symptoms, but other than that, you need to ride out the rest of the recovery while your body heals.  

Did your doctor want you to have another MRI when this relapse happened?  Some docs want to see if there is any new damage.

Hang in there you will be noticing improvement before much longer.  

Julie

[jensequitur]

I seemed to go from relapse to relapse my first year.  I would get a little bit better, only to have another relapse, so it seemed like I never felt any better.  The thing to remember is that neurological damage does take a while to heal.  I heal up after three months for minor damage, six months for major.  So it's reasonable to assume that you're going to have some problems, even three weeks later.

Start thinking now about habit changes that will make your life easier.  I had to switch from a glass to a plastic cup for drinking.  I had to stop cooking for a while because I couldn't trust myself not to burn something, and it was hard to cut things up.

[mistylee]

Only a possible MS but my symptoms generally take months to resolve and usually not completely.

Mistylee