Re: New to group - running out of hope/Debbie

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You're welcome! Glad to be of help.Others has explained "flare" (or flare up, or exacerbation), but I'll have a go as well ; )It's an outbreak of symptoms. It doesn't have to come very suddenly, sometimes theycome more gradually too (in that numbness-from-the-waist flare my wife had, it startedwith just tingling and heat sensations in her feet, and then went on to numbness inall of the legs in the course of a couple of days). I know that at least in Swedish medical terminology an MS-exacerbation would need to include the appearance of some new symptom or symptoms (not experienced before by that particular patient), an increase and/or return of old symptoms would be known as a quasi-exacerbation. But I don't know if that

distinction is made in English. In short: Flare=Outbreak or worsening of symptoms ; )love/Reb----original message---Thanks for sharing that, Reb; it's so reassuring to have found people who(unfortunately) have some "real life" knowledge with these kinds of symptoms.I'm sorry to hear that your wife has gone through so much; I hope she's doingalright.You used the word "flare" - which others

have also; I assume that means a"flare-up"? Does that refer to symptoms that just become really intolerable orstart suddenly?Thanks,Debbie "I was told by one neurologist years ago that it "couldn't beMS"> because myextremities weren't going completely numb. Is that true?">>> That's a very strange thing to say! Numbness is not an on-or-off thing. If> you're numb, you're numb even if your extremities aren't going "completelynumb"> (whatever that is...). I don't have MS, but my wife has. In the flarethat> brought her to the dx she was numb

from the waist down, more so further down,> with the feet being the most numb. But I don't think she was completely numbin> even her feet (if that is unable to sense anything whatsoever), she did say it> felt like she was wearing something thick and rubbery. And even if her feet> would/could have been called completely numb in that flare, she has hadepisodes> of being somewhat numb or partially numb too.>> The bottom line is, if you are numb at all, without an obvious explanation(like> "my foot went numb because I was sitting on it" or "I was outside in freezing> weather, and soon my face was numb and had a rubber feeling to it"), thenthere> is something going on with the nerves, one way or the other. Doesn'tnecessarily> mean it's MS, but something is off. It's like the ER-orthopedist (who was the> one admitting to hospital in that flare that

brought her the dx) said:"The> only real question is if I should admit you to the orthopedic clinic, on a> suspicion of a possible dislocated disk, or if I should refer you to the> neurologists for further investigation along that route. What is absolutely> clear is that legs shouldn't just go numb like that, and if they do, we needto> look into it and fix it somehow">> I am, Reb, by the way. Living in the south of Sweden, with my wife , whois> the one with MS in the family. Welcome to the list! And Best of luck on your> journey!>> love> /Reb>