When to worry during an attack?

[KenDub]

Hi All,

This attack of mine started back in April and still continues on. I know an attack can last for 6 months and possibly longer, but the attack seems to have "leveled off" and is even starting to get progressively worse. During the first month, symptoms were appearing and disappearing as quickly as they came. Then I started to have trouble walking. The walking would be better on some days and worse on others at first, then I was slowly able to regain some of my normal gait again. Now it seems that my gait is getting worse and I have pain in most of my leg muscles most of the time. The only time i am pain free is first thing in the morning. Even if I stay in bed, the pain eventually comes. It may take 30 minutes or an hour, but it comes.

I have decided that seeing my Neuro is a waste of time, energy, and money since he is a complete dipstick (I want to say worse). I have a huge HMO, so switching Neurologists is also more trouble/stress than it is worth. This new Neuro was trained by my old neuro who my attorney named in a complaint this week, so seeing him is pretty much not an option.

At what point do you all think I should start the process of changing my Neurologist? Also, is it possible for relapsing/remitting M.S. to progress into secondary progressive M.S. so early on in disease progression? Well, I think it's early on anyway; I've had neurological symptoms since pretty much as far back as I can remember but they were all discounted by doctors and neurologists : /

[KenDub]

Thank you Lulu, I hadn't realized that I answered my own question until I saw your answer lol. Opiates are working for the pain, and I'm hoping that I'm just over-doing it more now that I'm back at work. It feels like normal muscle pain, but it is in almost every muscle in both legs. There I go answering my own question again :)

[Lulu54]

Some of my favorite posts are the ones such as yours where you really have figured out the answers just by psoing the question - I do this quite often.  As I am , the answers become self-evident!  :-)

You already know your neuro is a dipstick, so of course you need to change doctors.  It isn't easy to fight an HMO, but perhaps you can insist on an authorization to go to an MS clinic for the second opinion.  Just switching doctors within the same practice is not a good idea - their approach to your dx and tx are tainted by their peer.

Yes, it is worth the effort because you are worth the time and effort.  Don't be laid back about this and find that 10 or 20 years down the road you should have been more proactive with your disease treatment.

And it may be possible you are moving into SPMS since you know this really isn't early in your disease.  I'm the same way in that I know this started for me probably 20 years ago, I just didn't bother to get it checked out.

It is also possible that you are just in a long, dramatic exacerbation that will eventually remit. I'll hope for that.

Talk to someone about treatment for the pain - there may be something that will help.  Justbe sure they are treating you with the right kind of drugs - if it is nerve pain you need medicine that targets neuropathic problems and not regular pain killers.

Good luck with finding a neuro that you can work with - you deserve better.

be well,
Lulu