4 and 1/2 month flair

[NickyOz]

After stressful 6 months I have had 4 and 1/2 month flair with no recovery. Went from being able to walk to not being able to walk any distance and need crutch for the very very short distances I go and have no balance.

Can a flare get better after this long
If it doesn't (i am not improving at all) do I go from RR to SPMS

[SNOOPY]

Hello NickyOz,

An exacerbation (relapse, attack, flare-up) can last weeks to months. Recovery can sometimes take longer.

Have you tried working with a Physical Therapist(PT)? When mobility is affected by an exacerbation it can take time, frustration, tears, and effort on the patients part, to regain what was lost...if possible.

[NickyOz]

So are you saying that maybe the flare is over but my physical rehabilitation might take longer. I tried PT and the guy was useless. I swim 40 laps 3 times a week which I think helps

[SNOOPY]

So are you saying that maybe the flare is over but my physical rehabilitation might take longer.

Yes.

I think it's great you are swimming 40 laps 3 x a week and you are seeing some improvement. PT can be great but sometimes finding a good PT who understands MS can be difficult.

Anything you can do such as swimming, gentle stretching, walking, ect. is great. Slowly increase your distance and/or time without overdoing it.

Patience is needed, lots of patience and it might be weeks to a few months to see a difference. Each person is different and for some they never can regain what was lost.

[DianeD]

RRMS

I'm dx'd RRMS, but I have never actually been able to tell when I have a flare, for the most part. For several months I've had severe localized itching. It's debilitating. It was happening at night, so little to no sleep/rest.

This is likely a flare, but it's the first time in 16 yrs. I could tell I was having one.

I just had my 2nd MRI this year; I do see lesions (20ish); some are brighter than others, but neuro says its pretty much impossible to say which cause my recent problem. The itch has to be treated symtomatically. Going to do a 6 day Steroid treatment to see if it helps.

Neuro also has given me some 'serious' pain medication (pain and sever itch have much in common), though I'm holding off on that.

MS, no matter how you look at it is no fun!!!

Good Luck to you. Diane

[tellnhelen]

My PT people ( who I find helpful) always caution me to NOT overdo it...I used to think I could improve my strength and stamina by "pushing" my body to the next level..The PT folk say that pushing myself will probably do moe harm than good. They say I should do fewer reps and take more breaks. They also recommend I go to a support group.

One last word....Good Luck

[0485c10]

it took 2 years to resolve the exaserbation that diagnosed me...so you are being too impatient at 4.5 months. it didn't go back to the way it was but sometime at around 2 years i was no longer practicing holding a pencil to write, i could all of the sudden print..it wasn't my old handwriting but it was legible...and damn if my balancei improved exactly 2 years after the day it went bad on 8/13/2004. i was walking down the street to go to mc donalds on 8/13/2006 and i noticed my balance was better, it was much easier to walk.

not the way it was before 8/13/2004 but not noticeable by others..no mothers were yelling at me when i walked near a playground get away from my child you drunk or high school kids just cruising by in the car their parents, the people of MY generation had loaned them shouting "quit drinking you drunk" both of which did happen in those 2 year but after the 2 year my balance came back, i stumble occasionally, nothing great enough for people to yell out for me to stop doing something you drunk.

you are being too impatient. give it 2 years then take inventory of where you are. before then focus on the best way to compensate, rather than is this permenant. before 2 years--its kind of premature. and its nothing you can do anything about anyway to prevent it from becoming permenant if that's what its going to do. so nothing lost by not thinking about it. either way focosing on copensation is a valuable use of time.

but expecting it to go back to the way it was before is unrealistic.

[NickyOz]

Fhanks for that bit of encouragement. I tend to think as well also that sometimes pushing myself is the way to go . You know 'use it or loose it' - maybe I will rethink my philodophy and take things at a steadier level

[0485c10]

My PT people ( who I find helpful) always caution me to NOT overdo it...I used to think I could improve my strength and stamina by "pushing" my body . They also recommend I go to a support group.

to bounce another memory off tellnhelen advice....its good to share the memory and its like an exclamation mark to her response. consistent.

i did go to a monthly NMSS support group meeting where they had a PT give a speech on MS rehabilitation. turns out he was one of those dynamic speakers, some have a talent that way & he did.

anyway he said they learned a lot about neurological rehabilitation from polio patients during the polio epidemic.

he said that there were people after polio that were determined to regain the ability to walk after polio so they pushed them self and they never did regain an ability to walk.

but those that did not "push" them self but kept at it continuously did regain the ability to walk.

he said neurological rehabilitation is more like an electrical circuit with a fuse, its not at all like rehabilitation of muscles where each time you push them they heal as little stronger so it is a good thing to push in MUSCLE rehabilitation---but in neurological rehabilitation its not. neurological rehabilitation is more lake an electrical circuit with a fuse that can blow.

and that what PT had learned during the polio epidemic. those that pushed themself blew the fuse and never did regain an ability to walk but those that didn't push but kept at it continuously did regain an ability to walk.

notice they regained an "ability" to walk, not walk like they before polio but became "able to walk" after polio which was better then the ones that pushed themself.

the key to neurological rehabilitatiion is the muscle memory---continuous "easy" repetitions. to regain the muscle memory never pushing beyond what is comfortable, pushing beyond is muscle rehabilitation.
but continuous repetitions for the muscles to relearn.

my comment...it seems to me that over time it has to become a mix of muscle and neurological rehabilitation after the muscles have gone through a great period of time not being activated--but maybe my thought is wrong there--if the fuse blows the circuit never can activate the muscle--so perhaps neurological rehabilitation depends on the maximum rating of the electrical circuit (fuse)? and neurological rehabilitation is finding the maximum rating of the circuit so one can operate as closely to the max rating as possible?

[Thinkimjob]

Flares can indeed can 4 and a half months, or longer. Sometimes it's hard to know the difference between a flare and the effects of a recent flare.
Either way, it sucks.
Good on you, swimming 40 laps three times a week!