Secondary Progressive MS

[Vicki050505]

I was diagnosed with MS October 2005.  My diagnosis was proven through a lumbar puncture, visual evoked potential eye exam and other types of testing.  I am positive, and my Neurologist concurs, that I've suffered with this disease for over 15 years. My primary care physician told me all those years that I had Fibromyalgia (she still says I likely have it along with the MS).  In the last two weeks I have started experiencing EXTREME heat/electrical shock type of pain in my right leg just above my outer ankle bone.  It started only radiating up about four inches above my ankle but is now going further up my leg and lasting longer.  Is this a characteristic of MS?  Also, is there any connection between MS and Raynaud's Disease and MS?  I've suffered with this for over 20 years and it gets more difficult all the time.  

My Neurologist wants me to undergo the five day IV steroid therapy but every MS patient I've talked to say it just gives you a "false and temporary burst of energy."  I hesitate to pump steroids in to my body, I already take 18 pills a day.  Any thoughts?

[Dr. Daniel Kantor, MD]

In terms of your question about Raynaud's, it is probably autoimmune and so can be seen in individuals (or families) with MS, but there has been no large scale study connecting the two.

Raynaud's and MS can both be painful (and many medicines, such as narcotics can mimic fibromyalgia-like pain) and so I am not sure that a separate fibromyalgia diagnosis needs to be made.

[Dr. Daniel Kantor, MD]

The question becomes what the steroids are for --if this is a new MS symptom, it could be related to partial transverse myelitis and is similar to Lhermitte's phenomenon (electrical shooting down your back when you bend your neck).

If this is a new symptom and it is lasting for a while, it could be a new relapse (it is unclear to me if you are on a disease modifying agent or not) and steroids could make it last for less time and help you recover faster.

While patients may be telling you that it is only temporary, they may be taking it for other reasons and not for an actual relapse.

You may want to discuss this with your neurologist and together weigh the possible disadvantages against your goals of treatment. Have you together considered a compromise of 3 days of steroids?