During a relapse, you could notice any or all of the symptoms discussed below. Most people feel tired from time to time, but the fatigue caused by an MS relapse is different. It is not just feeling tired or sleepy. As many as 92 percent of people with MS have fatigue.
It can not only affect your quality of life but also be disabling. When MS affects your spine, one of the results can be tingling or numbness in your arms, legs, face, or other body parts. You could also experience weakness or extra sensitivity, especially to heat or touch.
If your optic nerve is being affected by MS, your symptoms could include changes in your ability to see clearly. In fact, common early MS symptoms can include:. Research published in shows that 86 percent of those with MS experience muscle stiffness spasticity and more than half report muscle spasms tremors.
These intense contractions of your muscles can be painful and can interfere with your ability to move around and to sleep comfortably. During a relapse, you may experience new or worsening bladder issues , including:.
MS relapses can also cause constipation or an inability to control bowel movements. Researchers report that between 39 and 73 percent of those with MS have trouble with bowel movements. MS can cause cognitive fog , or cog fog, which affects your ability to:. However, in a study , researchers found that the only thinking skill that worsened during an MS relapse is information processing speed. The resulting inflammation destroys myelin , a protein-rich sheath that protects neurons that are vital to our ability to think, feel, move, and function.
During a relapse, new or larger lesions damaged areas form in your brain, spinal cord, or optic nerves. The symptoms you experience depends on the extent of the damage and the areas involved.
Although researchers are still working to determine exactly what prompts a relapse, these factors appear to raise your risk:. These include:. Relapses can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks or even months, depending on your response to treatment. Sometimes a brief flare-up of symptoms can occur and then resolve without any treatment at all.
This is called a pseudoexacerbation and is not technically classified as a relapse. Pseudoexacerbations are usually brought on by increased body temperature and go away when the body cools down, sometimes in a matter of minutes.
The severity of flares varies from person to person and from flare to flare. Some research, including a study published in Neurology in , shows that people with higher levels of vitamin D have less severe flares. Research published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders in November found that participants who took oral vitamin D3 supplements experienced a decrease in the number of relapses.
Recovery is also variable. Chitnis says that younger people generally recover better from flares than older people. Poor recovery from flares in the first five years following diagnosis could be a risk factor for developing early secondary-progressive MS, according to a study published in August in Neurology.
Considered a first-line treatment for exacerbations, steroids reduce inflammation and relieve symptoms, but they do not reverse the damage to the nerves. Steroids are typically given through an IV for three to five days. Depending on the type of relapse and what your doctor recommends, a tapering dose of oral steroids for one to three weeks may follow, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Recent studies have shown that oral steroids may be a less costly and more convenient way to treat relapses compared with IV delivery. In a retrospective nonrandomized study published in April in the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy , for example, oral steroids were just as effective as IV steroids, and 79 percent of patients preferred taking the medication orally.
How long did the symptom s last? How long has it been since my last relapse? Key Takeaways An MS symptom is caused by a trigger like heat or stress and goes away within 24 hours.
A relapse is a symptom that lasts longer than 24 hours, occurs at least 30 days after your last relapse, and may be a sign that you need to discuss your MS treatment with your HCP to determine if it is still the best treatment for you. Email Address Your email address will not be published. Your Comment. Sandra Herl September 28, Great topic. Leave a comment.
Related Content. How tracking symptoms can improve life with RMS. The connection between lesions and disabilities. Symptoms vary from person to person and from one exacerbation to another. For example, the exacerbation might be an episode of optic neuritis caused by inflammation of the optic nerve that impairs vision , or problems with balance or severe fatigue. Some relapses produce only one symptom related to inflammation in a single area of the central nervous system.
Other relapses cause two or more symptoms at the same time related to inflammation in more than one area of the central nervous system. To be a true exacerbation, the attack must last at least 24 hours and be separated from the previous attack by at least 30 days. It must also occur in the absence of infection, or other cause.
Most exacerbations last from a few days to several weeks or even months. Exacerbations relapses are caused by inflammation in the central nervous system CNS.
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