Anyone have a answer to this one?

I really do not understand your question. I think TK did answer it. Lesions may show up before the flare. A flare can last for weeks or months. You can experience severe damage or may completely recover. Or you can be somewhere in between. For example, I had my first severe flare three and a half years ago. It lasted several months. I did not recover completely. I did do a five day course of iv steroids. I do remember my neuro saying that perhaps I received the steroid treatment too late. I was not prescribed the steroid treatment until several weeks after first experiencing symptoms.

There is no 'time line' for when to treat with steroids. It won't make you 'better', just faster. The sooner you have them the sooner you are back to normal, but it could be your 'new' normal. There is no direct correlation betweens lesions and flares. You can have one without the other. For the most part it is pretty much a mystery.