Is this an exacerbation?

[chipmunk5150]

Hello All! It's been a long time since I was on this board. It had actually fallen off of my radar, but I'm glad it's returned to my active conscious mind.

Brief history: I was dx in 1/09 w/RRMS. I guess I have had a pretty easy run overall with no activity on MRI x 3 years now. Although, I also have been frustrated that there is no physical evidence of what I've been feeling.

I have had a stressful year and I have a tendency to deal with my stress by shoving it into that little black ball that lives in the pit of my stomach. So, that's working well.

A few weeks ago, I became ill with a viral infection. Probably my 1st real illness since dx. Since then, I have had new pains in my right wrist/hand, intermittent dizziness, loss of appetite, extreme body fatigue (extreme for me), I fatigue easily when working on my computer or phone....I could go on. I had pretty much decided I was just having a slow recovery due to the MS, but it has just gone on longer than I think it should have, if that were the case. I have an appointment with my PCP tomorrow, but I'm not certain whether I should start with him or my MS specialist. My concern is that the PCP will want to order more symptom-oriented testing and delay an eventual referral to the MS specialist and delay treatment if this is a flare.

Ugh. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Chip

[SNOOPY]

Hi chipmunk5150,

A few weeks ago, I became ill with a viral infection.

Are you still sick? A virus, infection or flu can cause a temporary increase of MS symptoms, this is referred to as a pseudo-exacerbation and is self limiting . Usually once the flu/virus/infection is gone MS symptoms return to what is normal for that person.

Start with your PCP to determine if you have a virus or something else that can account for your symptoms. If you check out fine then seeing your Neurologist would be a good idea.

Hope you feel better soon.

[Mamabug]

Hi chipmunk5150,



Are you still sick? A virus, infection or flu can cause a temporary increase of MS symptoms, this is referred to as a pseudo-exacerbation and is self limiting . Usually once the flu/virus/infection is gone MS symptoms return to what is normal for that person.

Start with your PCP to determine if you have a virus or something else that can account for your symptoms. If you check out fine then seeing your Neurologist would be a good idea.

Hope you feel better soon.

Yes; what Snoopy said.

However, the reverse can also be true. Instead of triggering a pseudo-exacerbation, any kind of "stress" (physical stress from an illness, emotional stress or anxiety, even "good" stress that results from anticipating a happy event) can trigger a real flare.

If you're still sick, it's hard to tell. But, once your flu is gone, if the symptoms hang around for more than 24 hours, it might be a real flare.

Checking with your doctors, in the order Snoopy suggested, is a good idea.