I first discovered I had a lot of “pseudo flare ups” when my MS nurse suggested I might have a UTI (urinary tract infection) Indeed I am very prone to UTIs but I had had no symptoms. No pain, no burning, no irritation no frequent urination. Sure enough that’s what it was and now I permanently have a supply of antibiotics on hand and dip sticks to test my urine if I’m suspicious. , Many people with MS suffer from chronic UTIs so drink plenty of water as a preventative (at least a litre(quart) a day or 2  in hot weather), and seek medical help as soon as an infection takes hold, to prevent a full-scale launch of MS symptoms. Personally it often takes a while for this to dawn on me as my UTI is asymptomatic but I get there in the end !

“Did you know that people with MS must also contend with pseudo flare-ups? Well we do. As if getting use to the real thing isn’t enough pressure to deal with, we quickly find out we must also contend with the false-positive nature of MS.”

Frequently an infection of any kind can trigger what is known as a “pseudo” or “fake” flare up but there is nothing “fake” about the MS symptoms. Furthermore it seems common that infections are asymptomatic, (apart from the MS symptoms) It is important to get to the root cause or causes so that your  symptoms can settle back down again.

For instance stress is a well know cause of exacerbations or “fake” exacerbations. I find that if I have a run in with my former husband you can get bet I will have a pseudo flare-up and if I’m on holiday in a hot climate you can be sure I’ll have a pseudo flare-up but that usually ends as soon as I’m in and air conditioned environment or have found another way to cool down.

You can read a bit more on Jen’s Hub page here http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Distinquish-Between-a-Real-Flare-Up-and-a-Pseudo-Flare-Up

I’d love to hear your comments on what causes a pseudo flare-up for you

Kath

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What is stress?

Unfortunately, stress will be a part of life for any person no matter where you live or what you do for a living (including nothing). Individuals with families and friends can count on stress from a number of different areas, including raising children, concerns for the future, or the death of someone close to them. Naturally, a positive diagnosis of multiple sclerosis will add an additional stress factor to the life of the patient as concerns for the future increase, resulting in a vicious cycle.

Dealing with Stress

For the friends or family members of the MS patient, therefore, it becomes very important to avoid causing stress to the person in question. This may be particularly difficult for spouses of MS patients, but one of the keys is to address any issues in as calm a manner as possible. In fact, being very careful about how you cause stress in the life of someone else may lead you into better ways of dealing with this inevitable occurrence in your own life.

For those who have been diagnosed with MS, the issue of stress becomes one of avoidance and proper handling. The odds are that you will still have to work for a living and that you will have a family, so stress will be inevitable. The important thing to remember is that you need to acknowledge that stress is there and deal with it accordingly. Keep your priorities right according to your values; for most people, this will mean that family does come first, after a job. When stress does arise, try to deal with it using combinations of counselling and traditional treatments such as massage and so on.

Stress is one trigger when it comes to relapses of multiple sclerosis, but a relapse is not always inevitable. Recognizing and acknowledging known stressors and dealing with them accordingly are great ways to minimize their impact on symptoms. Remember that good communication with those around you, particularly your family, will be very important when it comes to dealing with stress and MS. Approximately 50,000 Canadians have MS and dealing with it can be hard, but contacting the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada is a good way to get support.

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