[Erin524]

I've just developed the first really bad cold I've had since I got diagnosed last january.

I'm taking tylenol to make sure I dont get a fever, and aside from resting, is there anything I need to watch out for just in case this triggers a flare or an exacerbation?

My dad is the one who brought this pestilence into the house, and his was turning into pneumonia over the weekend (my aunt is a nurse practitioner and got him some abx's and he's a lot better now)

I think my dad was getting pneumonia because he's susceptible to things like that because he'd gotten pneumonia when I was really little and he didnt get it treated...so I think his lungs are damaged. I dont think I'll have that problem, so I think for me this will turn out to be just a cold.

I just want to know if I need to watch out for anything. weird MS-ish symptoms, that kind of thing.

[Erin524]

I'm pretty sure I have a fever now...cold, shaky, little sweaty, and I'm covered head to toe with warm blankets, and the indoor thermometer says it's 73 in here...and yes, I've taken some tylenol.

If I wake up in the morning, and I'm numb or have some weird MSish symptom, will that go away after the fever goes away?

Last time I got a big MS symptom (optic neuritis) was after I got strep throat in 2006. Took forever for that to heal (almost an entire year)

I just dont want to become paralyzed or anything that I would consider bad (lose vision, become paralyzed, become unable to use my hands...I'm a crocheter and knitter, and that keeps me sane and keeps me from stabbing annoying people in the eyes with a crochet hook...altho, if I couldnt use my hands, that would probably keep me from stabbing annoying people in the eyes too...)

It's been a year since getting diagnosed, and I'm still not sure what a fever is going to do to me...and I'm terrified that something bad will happen everytime I get the sniffles.

In october, I had food poisoning, and had a fever from that, and that made me really weak feeling....it was a bit disconcerting...the last time I'd felt that weak, was when I was recovering from a monthlong bout of mononucleosis.

Like I said, I'm a lot worried about something bad happening whenever I get sick.

[DM]

Hi Erin! Sorry your'e feeling so bad, I am trying to get over bronchitis, etc myself. I finally had to break down and go to the Dr for antibiotics and cough med.

I know that when I'm sick, my sx's are always worse. Don't let that crud turn into pneumonia; maybe you should see the Dr.

Mine started out w/chills, fever like yours... Feel better soooon!

[Snoopy]

Hi Erin

Unfortunately, those of us with MS get sick just like the rest of the population - it's just unavoidable.

In most cases any MS symptoms triggered by a virus are usually as temporary as the virus. Once the virus is gone we will usually see improvement in the MS symptoms.

If after the virus is gone and you are still having an increase in MS symptoms then it would be a good assumption you are having a relapse.

Try not to worry overmuch at this point, Erin

[Erin524]

I think the cold medicine and tylenol I took last night must have been working while I was asleep. I dont feel as sick as I thought I would this morning.

My vision feels a little wacky, but I did just wake up about 2 minutes ago, so maybe my eyes just arent awake yet.

I just worry because this is still new to me, even after a year. I assume that I'll get used to things whenever I get a cold and wont worry that a limb will quit working, or my eyeballs will fall out of my head or something.

[SallyC]

I hear you, Erin. I'm an old hand at this MS thingy, since I had my first symptom in 1964. I've had everything that you are going through now and, although we are all different, I'm still here and still kicking.

Worrying about what's coming next only makes things worse. I'm a firm believer in " Ignore it and it goes away..LOL!

Hang in there..

[AfterMyNap]

Originally Posted by SallyC

I hear you, Erin. I'm an old hand at this MS thingy, since I had my first symptom in 1964. I've had everything that you are going through now and, although we are all different, I'm still here and still kicking.

Worrying about what's coming next only makes things worse. I'm a firm believer in " Ignore it and it goes away..LOL!

Hang in there..

Amen to that! I can't afford the energy to worry about what might happen. Just rest up, Erin, this junk will usually pass like any old cold/flu. Eat right and all that jazz.

[Erin524]

I still feel like I've got a cold, but not as horrible as I thought I would...and certainly not as ill as my dad looked earlier this week when he brought the pestilence into the house. (my mom almost never gets colds, I'm always the unlucky recipient)

But, then, my dad has bad lungs because years ago, he had pneumonia, and didnt go to the doctor for it, and it somehow damaged his lungs...several years ago, I ended up making my dad go to the doctor for his annual cold/pneumonia, and he ended up getting all sorts of nice drugs that helped him get better quick. I hope I dont have to do that again this time. He works at a hospital (he's a nurse anesthetist) and I'm hoping the same doctor who helped convince him to see a doctor will hear him coughing today and will make him go back to the other doctor again.

I dont get why my dad and his late brother both have/had some weird doctor phobia...they both work/worked with doctors their entire working lives!

I dont think I have a fever anymore, if I do have one, it's not that high anymore. But it might explain the twitching that I've got going on in the back of my left thigh. (that's new)

[greta]

IMHO - best thing you can do right now is continue to rest and take good care of you. Eat well, drink lots of fluids and stay in bed as much as you can. I really think it helps the body heal and reduces stresses to the body. But that's just my thoughts. Hope you feel better soon!

[Erin524]

Originally Posted by greta

IMHO - best thing you can do right now is continue to rest and take good care of you. Eat well, drink lots of fluids and stay in bed as much as you can. I really think it helps the body heal and reduces stresses to the body. But that's just my thoughts. Hope you feel better soon!

Well, sleep has been fleeting the past few weeks. Insomnia sucks.

I tried to sleep last night, but apparently the cold medicine I took before going to bed was not the kind that will make you sleepy. It was the kind that gets you all wired.

I dont think I fell asleep until about 7am this morning.

Today I feel like the cold is moving into my chest, but again, looking at my dad as an example, I dont feel as bad as he looks. Hopefully it wont do more than it is now.

I did spend all day in bed, mostly sitting up crocheting/and or knitting and reading on my computer.

I'm also dueling with a...ahem.(guys, dont read this next sentence!)..girl thing...that some girls get occasionally that probably has something to do with yeast. I think I'd rather just have a raging cold. (I bet all the guys are going "ewwwwww! Gross!!"...I warned 'em not to read it.)

I read somewhere that Copaxone can trigger the yeastie beasties, and I'm really hoping that wasnt true...I dont feel like quitting the C just to start another drug that will have even more weird side effects.

I think I'll go ask my dad to hit me...in the back to loosen the goo that's in my lungs and see how much of my lungs I can cough up. At least this cold isnt feeling as bad as I thought it was going to be.