If my pain is getting worse, does that mean I'm having a flare?

7/13/2015

Here is My Question:
If you have MS and pain and it gets worse does this mean you are having an exacerbation/flare? Does pain come from the brain or your spinal area?

Answer:
MS-related pain is usually not due to active inflammation in the nervous system. When inflammation occurs acutely, sensory signals tend to stop at the site of the lesion. When those electrical signals stop (and do not reach the sensory cortex of the brain), you tend to have lack of sensation (i.e., numbness). MS pain (if that is the source of your discomfort), may be helped by one of the symptomatic pain medications (i.e., gabapentin, oxcarbazepine, etc) which work at the site of ion channels of the nerves (and augments the pain signal traveling to your sensory cortex). Of course, your pain may be unrelated to MS, which would need to be evaluated by your physician. Hope this helps.

A. Scott Nielsen MD MMSc

mascha brautigam

7/13/2015 12:58:08 am

Thank you very much for your reply.Yes my neurologist told me its my MS,even said maybe a flare,but to be honest he is not a MS neurologist and waiting to see one in France.I do have the typical nerve pains which seem worse but the weather since then is very hot here,36 degrees with humidity so maybe this is the reason too?Pain in my right leg,burning,tingling,fallen asleep and sometimes stabbing.I am now on cortisone for 6 days,not sure it will help.Any advise for a good MS neurologist in Monaco would be appreciated.Sorry for my many questions.

Comments are closed.

Welcome to the Virtual MS Center!