ER for flares?

[SonyaK]

Hello,
So, about a week ago, i got some numbness on my right side from the waist down. I've had this sort of thing before, so I assumed it would clear up on its own. This afternoon, though, I started getting weakness in that right leg that has only worsened throughout the day. I figured I would call my neuro on Monday and she could get back to me on Tues (my neuro is out of the office on Mondays). Now, tonight, my left leg seems wonky as well (no numbness though). I'm really worried that at this rate, by Tuesday I may be unable to walk. Would this situation warrant a visit to the ER? I don't have symptoms of a UTI, but who knows... Thank you for any input as I am beginning to panic.

[jreagan70]

ER for flares in general? Probably not.

But the ER for your flare right now? May be a good idea.

Any flare that causes symptoms from the waist down has the potential to go bad because such a large area of the body could be affected. You gave your flare a chance to show you what it was going to do, and it decided to go bad.

Because of the timing, you don't have the luxury of just going straight to your neuro. While you're within the two-week window of opportunity when steroids are effective in shortening the duration of a flare, the ER gives you the chance to get them in a timely way and hopefully shorten the length of time you have to deal with a wonky leg.

For your circumstances right now, the ER sounds like a good idea. I hope this flare calms down quickly for you.

[palmtree]

I wish I knew the answer. I would say go to the ER but ER doctors are trained to save lives. They aren't going to have the knowledge of your neuro.

If you can wait until Monday, you could call your neuros office and see if the receptionist can get a hold of your neuro. Does your neuro have hospital privileges? The other option would be to call his/her emergency line if you can't stand up or if a whole leg is numb. Depending on what neuro says he might say,"call 911, get an ambulance and I'll meet you down there"

If this is the first time you have had an experience like this, you don't sound like someone who abuses the emergency line. This might be a time to call. At least the on call dr. Can guide you. Good luck. .

[dastardly]

Hi SonyaK if you have concerns yes you should go to ER just to ease yourself, I go numb from time to time when I do it starts in one place and over a few days can move up my entire arm or side depending where it started and with this numbness I loose strength, I just had a course of IV solumedrol and the DR told me I have lost a lot of strength down my R side this happened before and settled down back to normal, I would also contact neurologist and see what can be done maybe a course of solumedrol would help you good luck and a quick recovery Craig

[SNOOPY]

Hi SonyaK,

You need to do what you feel is best for you if that means going to the ER and getting steroids then that's what you should do.

I have never been to the ER for an exacerbation (relapse, attack, flare-up). I have been numb from the waist down a few times and my mobility is severely affected at that time as well as a number of other symptoms.

This was the case during my diagnostic process and I stayed in that condition during the entire time (3 months). After I received the diagnosis of MS I was given steroids (oral prednisone). It took another 6 weeks for the exacerbation to resolve and a year to regain my mobility, with hard work on my part. Even when I received steroids right away I still went through the same process. Without steroids was the same as with steroids.

Hope your exacerbation resolves quickly

[BadAttitude]

ER for flares in general? Probably not.

But the ER for your flare right now? May be a good idea.

Any flare that causes symptoms from the waist down has the potential to go bad because such a large area of the body could be affected. You gave your flare a chance to show you what it was going to do, and it decided to go bad.

Because of the timing, you don't have the luxury of just going straight to your neuro. While you're within the two-week window of opportunity when steroids are effective in shortening the duration of a flare, the ER gives you the chance to get them in a timely way and hopefully shorten the length of time you have to deal with a wonky leg.

For your circumstances right now, the ER sounds like a good idea. I hope this flare calms down quickly for you.

Props to this post. I'd go with this because jreagan70 has cred.

[marti]

Sometimes it's so hard to get into these doctors that they force us to use the E/R service. For me it's usually the best place to begin. At least I am somewhat relieved when I go and have things checked out.