MS : Remission and Relapse Explanations Posted: 06-16-07 07:00am
Hiya all. I was diagnosed with ms about 9
years ago. I've had a slow decline in my
health over the years with occassional
quick drops to it. In the last 2 years I
also developed a hyatal hernia, diabetes,
constant refluxing and possibly crohns. My
ms symptoms have almost all been very
non-classic according to the neuros. Also
I have not been on any ms drugs for over a
year and a half. Ok so much for my health
history.
8 days ago my symptoms started to suddenly
subside. Very dramatically too. For
example I went from needing a 4 point
walker to go more than 100 feet and barely
be able to walk a block and a half to now
being able to walk over a mile and not
need a cane at all. I've noticed my
cognitive abilities returning, my heat
tolerance going up alot, etc etc. I can
say that from what I see in myself, at
least 90% of my symptoms are now gone or
almost gone. Something similar happened to
me in 2000 but I was healthier before it
happened so the change wasn't as dramatic
as it is now. That lasted 2 weeks.
I'm curious if anyone has ever experienced
anything like this? I'm at a loss to
explain it and am suspicious of such
sudden and drastic changes. Also i'm
scared it'll all go away after a couple
weeks like happened in 2000. Any insight
would be appreciated. Thanks
Multiple sclerosis is a neurological,
progressive, autoimmune disease with an
unknown etiology. Calming the symptoms
(remission) and reoccurrence of the
symptoms (relapse) are typical for many
autoimmune diseases including multiple
sclerosis. The frequency and duration of
both remissions and relapses is
unpredictable and different among
individuals. That’s why the prognosis of
the MS is very unpredictable.
Unfortunately the remissions are never
complete and every other relapse is
heavier than the previous one. Symptoms
accumulate over time. In other words, MS
is a progressive disease. Therapy
(corticosteroids) can prolong remission
and make the relapses shorter. You SHOULD
consult your neurologist about your
present condition and further therapeutic
issues.
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