I was dx'd w/MS in 2005 officially (as they took my official dx in 2003 away from me) and then when I went to another neuro this last year, he told me he's not sure if I have MS but that I definitely had TM in 2003. Ok, great.
But my TM was nothing like what Cherie described or what is normally like TM--at least not from the way I experienced it. Mine lasted almost 1 year and I kept getting progressively worse over a period of months. It started on February 6, 2003, and I hit my worst in August 2003. Kept getting new sx, which sucked but kept me on my toes.
Did have pain in my feet which was helped by a really low dose psych drug. First they tried Elavil and then they gave me Pamelor as I had some side effects from Elavil. Nothing else touched the pain--not neurontin and not baclofen. Also ended up with bad restless leg syndrome during that time too.
Fatigue was a real killer. My worst day was when I went to get out of bed and put my feet on the floor but both my legs gave out on me. So I ended up on the floor looking up at the ceiling wondering when this was all going to end.
Never had any bowel or bladder problems, as is common with TM. And it took me probably until 2004 or 2005 for some of the sx to subside. Neuro won't tell me why that is--improvement is generally seen far quicker than I showed.
I've had exacerbations, two of which I sought IVSM for and was given it. But I don't complain to my doc regularly when things are going on, so the neuro at the well-respected hospital said that I'd never had any "exacerbations." Lovely...... don't complain, you don't get it logged into your records. You do complain they pin you for a whiner or tell you it'll go away on its own. Or they see you, tell you there's nothing they can do for you, and you've wasted time going to the doc for that.
<sigh>
I truly hope, Joe, that things get better quickly for you. The neuro pain really bites the big hairy one. At least you're getting a little bit of relief from the naproxen. That's good.
BTW, having more than one episode of TM is unusual. So Cherie's the exception rather than the rule. Generally, most people only have one episode of TM. And it's not always associated with MS. It can be a precursor to MS, a stand alone episode, or occur when you do have MS.
Best of luck to you! Recover quickly and I hope you don't have any residual sx like I did.