This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

hey all.

so my attack started on january 23rd/24th, and got worse and worse until january 29th. then the long slow climb back started.

here we are june 19, and although i have seen TONS of progress, the curve has really started to flatten out. so how do you know when the attack "ends"? can attacks be months or even a year long?

if this is me 'between attacks', i think it's starting to make sense what they say about the disease always being active. i KNOW my cervical lesion is not healed.

Hi Jim,

As you know already, MS is different for everyone, and the flares can be too.

In my case, I've had flares that have lasted for over a year, before they ended. I've also had the dreaded 'roids, that sometimes worked, and sometimes didn't work.

I would suggest talking to your neuro, and see what he/she suggests. Maybe a round of 'roids is in order, and if so, they *should* help alleviate your symptoms, and shorten the duration of the flare.

I hope this helps, and that you feel better soon. (One thing to remember...when the flare ends, you don't bounce back to your prior level, but you often will get close to it.)

Keep us posted, ok?

Gentle

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Every journey begins with a single step...Diane

Silly me! I forgot to ask if you are currently on any of the suggested therapies for MS. I'm on Copaxone myself.

The therapies, (once in your sytem) can help prevent flares, or shorten them, when they occur. But NOTHING is guaranteed-darn it!
And of course, this is stuff I'm sure you know already.

Take care,
Gentle

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Every journey begins with a single step...Diane

hi thanks gentle for now, i am treating with supplements. have seen much great progress so far. but the improvements are tapering off now and if i don't behave there is noticeable backsliding. oh well, patience.

i was thinking about the steroids. i think ppl have to be a lot worse off than i am to get those. mind you, if it worked, it would tell me that healing is possible if i can just find the right mix.

if i have another attack, i will certainly be reconsidering pharmaceuticals.

thanks again, it's good to know that i could still be mid-flare and this is not necessarily my new normal.

Jim,

Attitude is more than half the battle with this stuff, I believe, and yours seems really positive. Keep it like that, ok?
I believe one has to do what is "right" for them, after careful investigating of all the options.

Take care,

Gentle

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Every journey begins with a single step...Diane

Ask others (don't take my word on anything, my memory is not very good) but I think I was told that the steroids should be started within the first few days (maybe it was a week) after the attack to have an appreciable effect.

thanks gentle, and bat. bat, i was not advised to try the steroids even when my attack was in full swing. so i guess at my worst i must never hve been as bad as you have to get for taking them.

I am on suppliments as well as a few other things. My trigger for an attack is an infection (ie cold/flu). The ONLY thing i have peronally found that can stop an attack is predisolene. I take 2 75mg doses (1x75 for two days).

I know that long term steroids was found not to help overall, but I personally dont know how long my attacks, and therefore the damage, would go for without it.

Here's my experience with steroids...

Several years ago, I had some new symptoms. My neurologist ordered an MRI and found a new area of lesion activity. It took about a week to get the MRI. He then prescribed IV steroid treatment. This took about another 2 weeks or so before I could get into the transfusion center. I do not believe that the steroids helped at this point. Moreover, I had to go on antibiotics since I developed an opportunistic infection in one of my fingernail cuticles. I really felt that I was playing ping pong with my immune system and the experience wasn't much fun.

However, when I was first diagnosed I had had ongoing symptoms for about a month and then developed optic neuritis. IV steroids at that point restored my vision within a few days though I still had ongoing sensitivity to heat for about a 6 months to a year afterwards.

In short, I tend to agree with batpere in that steroids are most effective when they're given shortly after the onset of an attack.

NHE

good to know, thanks c and nhe