the solumedrol challenge?

[babyatlas]

lost again.
i have mild symptoms - a bit of fuzzy memory, some word recall issues, i stare a lot, i yawn a lot, i have a few small white matter spots on my brain, one could be considered an MS lesion, and i seem to be dropping things here and there.  my MS neuro also said that my right arm/hand is a bit weaker than my left.  i have not been officially diagnosed.  

his office just called and wants me to take 1 IV treatment of solumedrol - equivalent to 1 gram of the medication.  they said if my symptoms improve, this could be more evidence of MS....if they do not improve, then maybe not MS.  my concern is that my symptoms aren't very strong and i don't know if i would really notice a difference...or maybe i would?  geez, can you tell i am a mess about almost everything!

so, have you done this?  did it help with your symptoms and was that help completely obvious to you?  is it worth it?

thanks,  R

[Sumanadevii]

If I had your symptoms, my answer would be a resounding NO.  Of course, all we have to go by is what has been posted.  Maybe your neuro has other reasons...But as a crash test to see if it is MS?  Pffff...not on my life.

[Sumanadevii]

I take IV SoluMedrol twice monthly and may go to three treatments.  My doctor follows all the precautions to help keep my bones healthy while taking such high doses.  I will be on them for a year.  We hope by then that things will settle.  The steroids definitely do not cure a thing but takes the swelling down.  Without them I doubt I would even be able to sit up today.  It is why I beg of those not diagnosed not to wait and to continue seeking good medical care.  What happened to my body would never have happened under the care of a qualified MS specialist.

[thehaughway]

I did a steroid challenge and it turned out in my favor. It was three days long. There are three ways that someone will react to the steroids. One, it will make symptoms worse which means you have an infection. Two, symptoms will decrease a little during the infusions, but will stay the same. This is the one that warrants all those other disorders possible. The last way is if your symptoms get better till you get a relapse which can be a month later or even a year. This is a very likely sign of MS. The sulo-medrol can definitely used to point a doctor in the right direction to help diagnose you. There are some weird side effects, but nothing to be concerned about. Only bone problems occur if you are on it many times. One day will not kill you and neither will three.

[babyatlas]

thank you so much!  i think, for now, i am going to pass on the solumedrol.  my symptoms are not bad, which i am thankful for daily, and i don't like the side effects.  i have done some reading and i am surprised that my MS neuro suggested this, kind of like, we should try this next almost try it for the sake of trying it and not as a treatment.  i guess not, i will just wait for my next brain MRI in june to see if anything has changed in that regard.  

i truly appreciate your insights and experiences - sharing your information has helped me make a decision that works for me.

R

[Karen99]

Hi.  I have never heard of a steroid challenge used to look for evidence of MS.  In my opinion, it is a ridiculous idea.  I don't see the value in it, and as ess said, there are many diseases that would respond to steroids.  I don't see how responding, or not,  to one day of steroids is going to help in a diagnosis.  1 G is a large dose and worth giving it a second thought.  

When high dose IV SoluMedrol is used for 3-5 days, it is common that no improvement is quickly obvious.  It is sometimes difficult to determine if any benefit came from it.  In other instances, it alleviates symptoms quickly and is a godsend.  

I have taken IV SoluMedrol (5-days) on one occasion for a HUGE attack from hell. They are nothing to mess with unless there is a clear reason to.

  

  

[essdipity]

In your shoes I wouldn't do the steroids. Your symptoms don't warrant them, though maybe in the future they will. There's a real downside to steroids (see Health Pages), not the least of which can be osteoporosis, so they should be used only when absolutely indicated, not to test a strange theory your neuro has.

Steroids reduce inflammation. They help in lots of diseases, not just MS, so they are of no diagnostic use. If this were true, that would long since have been a test for MS, which  it isn't. Also, they help MS patients who have acute flares, not mild, on-going symptoms.

Let us know what you decide.

ess

[HVAC]

Steroids can help short term with symptoms. They do nothing for the course of the disease if it is MS. I myself have never been offered them. My Neurologist says my symptoms do not warrant them. My goal personally is to stay away from them for as long as possible.

There is some logic in what he is saying about your reaction to them.

Alex