MS Symptoms for under 24 hours?

[fatigued]

Has anyone had a relapse for under 24 hours? I know a true relapse is meant to be over 24 hours but what about shorter attacks (minutes or hours) of MS Hug or pins and needles/numbness in the foot or feet?

Anyone?

[SNOOPY]

A true exacerbation lasts continuously for more than 24 hours and is due to demyelination, inflammation of the Central Nervous System.

What you are describing, in MS, is referred to a pseudo-exacerbation. These are caused by an increase of your core body temperature. Pseudo-exacerbations happen due to an infection, virus, the flu, heat, exercise, and overdoing it. Pseudo exacerbations resolve once the core temperature returns to normal, the infection/flu/virus resolves. Pseudo exacerbations are not "true" exacerbations.

[Portia]

The only BIG flare I have had was: I was at work and suddenly I noticed that I couldn't keep my left hand on the keyboard in the proper place. I thought, well, this disease is screwy. I'll just keep working and it will go away. 20 or so minutes later, it was just as bad if not worse, and I wondered if anything else was wrong. I got up to walk across the room and fell into a table we had in the middle of our office at the time. Almost all the function of my left arm and leg was gone. I could lift my arm, but couldn't 'aim' it anywhere. I couldn't walk by myself. My employer had to be informed of my MS

My direct supervisor helped me walk downstairs and out to where my husband was waiting to get me. This was around 10:00 am. By the evening I was a little better. By the next day I could walk almost normally again. Still didn't have all the coordination back in my arm. I saw my neuro who evaluated, didn't seem concerned, and sent me home.

Within a couple of days I was worse again, but it was a bit different. I had trouble lifting and moving my leg, in that I could walk but it was slow. Had less coordination in my arm. Lots of nerve pain, which became apparent to those I worked with. I called the doc in tears and he sent me for IV steroids. That helped greatly and my walking improved right away...except that my leg would seize up randomly. I'd be walking across the street and it would seize up and I wouldn't be able to move it at all. Standing in the cross walk area in the walmart parking lot with cars waiting for me to get out of the way was so much fun.

Anyway, this lasted a few months and improved slowly. But the initial problem with the almost complete loss of strength and coordination lasted less than 24 hours, and I was almost normal for a day or two after that onset. That was three years ago, and I still don't have everything back.

Once my left leg went numb mid-stride. It lasted only 15 minutes. Perhaps a pinched nerve that time and not MS.

[22cyclist]

I agree you are experiencing a pseudo flare, or if you are not diagnosed, it could be just a consortom of symptoms that have no connection to MS. It has to last at least 24 hours to be considered a true flare and symptoms have to be continuous throughout.

Good luck
Lisa

[jreagan70]

I know a true relapse is meant to be over 24 hours but what about shorter attacks (minutes or hours)?

Hi fatigued:

Those shorter episodes are not attacks. That's a very important distinction.

The symptoms occur because the electrical signals going through the nerves that have damaged insulation (myelin) aren't transmitted effectively when body temperature rises. The temperature doesn't even have to go up by very much. The transmission of the electrical signals is still interrupted, and that's what causes the symptoms.

When that happens, there are no immune system cells or components activated. There is no autoimmune attack, and no damage to the nerve cells is occurring. That's why these events are called pseudo (false) exacerbations.

In a true attack/flare/exacerbation/relapse, components of the immune system chemically damage, destroy and/or eat myelin, which can also cause damage to the underlying nerve cell itself. It really is an attack. None of that happens in a pseudoexacerbation.

In a pseudoexacerbation, the symptoms resolve when the temperature goes back down. That's why they can resolve in minutes or hours.

In a true attack, it takes the body days to weeks to months to never to repair damaged myelin. It doesn't (can't) happen in minutes or hours. So the symptoms of a true attack take many days to weeks to months to never to resolve, not minutes or hours.