Help, knees gave out and only Dx in September

[wizardsmom6]

Hi, I'm kind of freaking out. I was diagnosed in September so I have only been diagnosed for 3 1/2 months.I got up out of bed tonight to let my dog out and I couldn't walk for a minute. My knees kept giving out. I have had this happen before but only during a severe flare up. I have never had it happen out of the blue. This scares me as I don't want to lose my mobility so early in my disease course. Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

[SNOOPY]

Hi wizardsmom6,

When having MS symptoms can happen out of the blue without being due to an exacerbation (relapse, attack, flare-up).

Our Central Nervous System(CNS) has gone haywire and the proper messages sent through the CNS is interrupted due to the damage this disease has done.

When getting up from a sitting or laying position it is always a good idea to stand without moving to let your legs get stable. This will usually take less than a minute and is for safety reasons.

It would be a good idea to work with a Physical Therapist (PT) to strengthen the knee/leg and surrounding muscles.

It is possible that not all the muscle groups in your leg/knee are being used. In this case the knee will buckle from lack of muscle support. A PT can show you what exercises would be best.

Exercise, in general, can be helpful for many with MS (but not all) and can help with some symptoms such as pain, mobility, spasticity and fatigue.

Take care.

[Jennagain]

Snoopy is right symptoms can come out of the blue and last only a short time, so this is not necessarily the beginning of a relapse or permanent issue.

I am one who always has difficulty when I first get up from sitting or lying down. My legs never feel stable first thing in the morning (stiff and weak) and it takes a bit of walking before they feel better.

I actually had a scare several months ago when I got out of the car and could barely move my legs. They were literally "frozen" in place and I remained stuck in one spot for a minute and slowly started walking. This has happened to me quite a few times now and I couldn't figure out why it was this bad when I got out of the car?? I now think it has to do with the fact not only am I sitting, but I have my heated seat and car heater on. The combination of sitting and heat really ramps things up, but it never lasts long.

[Temagami]

That happened to me once- had to crawl back up the stairs after letting out the dogs- but... it was a one off, so don´t go into panic mode unnecessarily- easy to say, hard to do.