Hi Keri,
I am sorry to hear what you have been going through. If it is of any consolation to you, I had 4 relapses a year, some of them overlapping the other. This was from 2000 to 2002. The two years were living heck. I did Avonex for one year and my body couldn't tolerate it. I was worse with progression. I was switched to Copaxone for 3 1/2 years.

The next two years, 2003 and 2004, I had two relapses a year. Each lasting 8weeks, leaving residual damage with each remission. I always did high dose oral steroids with these DMD's when relapsing.

I had to stop all DMD's due to other complications with them. I continued to relapse twice a year, being my normal, and did the high dose 10 or 5 day course of IVSM. My MS doctor would only give me oral or IVSM with a space of 6 months in between, no sooner due to the high dosage.

This was to give my body a chance to start making it's own cortisone.
The adrenal glands produce the equivalent of 35-40mg of cortisone acetate per day for all people.

Sometimes the oral or IVSM showed benefit right away. Other times it took it's good old darn time to bring me back to my baseline.

I can understand your frustration having 4 in a year and probably one so far in 2009, that you have. It is scary, I know. With Relapsing MS it is the nature of the disease to have these crapola relapses. Also with the uncertainty of where and when they will occur.

I hope your relapses calm down. Maybe the steroids will make a difference this time. I just wanted to give you some hope that it is possible. You can relapse without progressing sometimes. I must have had a Gazillion relapses in the last 30 years.

I know this is the other side of the coin from what your doctor is saying. I just wanted to give you some food for thought. You and your dr are the best judge of your health. This was just my two cents worth. JMO

I wish you well, take care.