[april1848]

I know this topic has been "done to death" but I honestly wonder about it. I believe I've read that "experts" say that there's no conclusive evidence that stress can exascerbate MS. But to me, that could mean that there's been no good studies, and I don't believe all the "experts" anyway.

But really, for me, hardcore stress--physical or emotional--makes me feel terrible. My normal symptoms always get worse when I'm stressed out. I imagine that I'm not alone here too!

Could it be a mind over matter thing? Could the effect of stress on my MS be in my head only? Something tells me no--people have heart attacks from stress, why not worse MS symptoms?

At the moment I am more stressed out than usual (to the extreme) and it's really hot here--about 85 degrees. I feel like a wet noodle.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone read any evidence that stress does make MS symptoms worse?

[jackD]

HOW MS progresses is well known. What causes MS is a mystery.

I have been doing a lot of research on how to lower those factors involved in the MS progression that are well documents in the medical world.

One of them is a very agressive version of TNF-a.

There is a TNF-a stress MS connection...

jackD

Behav Neurosci. 2002 Dec;116(6):1093-7.

TNF-alpha and psychologically stressful events in healthy subjects: potential
relevance for multiple sclerosis relapse.

Lalive PH, Burkhard PR, Chofflon M.

Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland.


The authors conducted a prospective and descriptive pilot study in 14 healthy
medical students, investigating whether a psychologically stressful event (final
examination) may modify serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels.
There was a dramatic and sustained decrease of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced
TNF-alpha several weeks before and the day of the examination, followed by a
significant increase of TNF-alpha starting the next day. Examination-induced
stress was confirmed by both elevated urinary cortisol concentration and
significant increase in stress scale scores.

Extending these results to patient suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS)
leads to the hypothesis that psychological stress may influence the course
of MS by substantially altering TNF-alpha levels, and suggests the need
for further studies in MS patients
exposed to stressful conditions.

PMID: 12492308 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Friend2U]

I don't know anything scientific, however before I ever knew what was wrong with me a few years ago I was undergoing a VERY stressful time both at work and at home in the worst ways. It caused me to get so sick that I could hardly function. After being off work three months in the summer I still could not function and had to let the school know that I was taking a year off. I couldn't function enough to try to get disability, we just lived mostly off my savings. I spent most of the year in bed just trying to function when I needed as a mom.

Then when I went back to work I would get to wear when I had deadlines and other stressful situations I just couldn't hardly function.

Well now I know what was going on. And I truly know in the bottom of my heart that stress does cause ms relapses to be very bad.

So for what this is worth, which is just my opinion, to answer your question, yes I believe stress can cause exaserbations to be worse!!!

[Dejibo]

When I get super stressed, I get weak, wobbly, and exhausted. its like the adreneline just soaks up all of my sense, and sensibility. within a few days I will be headachy and dragging a leg.

[Snoopy]

april1848,

You are right, at this time there is no conclusive evidence stress causes or exacerbates MS.

You will find people with MS who believe stress does play a roll in exacerbating their MS and some who don't. I'm one of those who believes stress dose not play a roll in exacerbating my MS.

Here are some links you might find interesting:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=1783822

http://www.stress.org/topic-effects.htm

[tkrik]

I don't really know the answer to this one. However, I do know many people with/without MS who complain of symptoms of other ailments/old injuries, etc. when they are not only stressed but when they are sick as well. So I can only guess there is some truth to it. The question then would be why some have more trouble when stressed while others don't.

[Kitty]

Originally Posted by tkrik

The question then would be why some have more trouble when stressed while others don't.

I'd have to guess it's the location of their lesions. Makes sense to me since some lesions cause no noticeable sx and others cause severe sx.

I know that when I'm stressed out it causes my sx to be magnified, my cognition to become even more impaired and my vision to blur. But.....heat also causes this. Still stress....just in a different form.

Like all the experts agree, MS is different in everyone. My MS and your MS might seem like two different diseases altogether yet we're both dx with MS. I honestly don't think any definite conclusions can be drawn as to what causes MS to flare up......any given day it could be any number of things. Or nothing at all.

[Bearygood]

I would seriously not worry about the "research" on this one. I don't think that I've even heard any doctor dispute this -- but regardless, I think anyone who has MS knows it's true! (There is actually a lot of information about the "fight or flight" response concerning the immune system in general, not specifically related to MS -- I remember first learning about this as a student in college!)

[april1848]

Thank you all for your responses, and Snoopy & Jack, thanks for the research stuff. I appreciate the different points of view very much. When I'm ready I'll explain why the stress is so bad right now. I'm getting there.

Kitty, you said something interesting....I really do believe that MS is really a number of diseases that just haven't been discovered or classified yet. I guess that's why it's such a confusing disease. I imagine that in a few decades, someone will figure out that there are many more "MS'es" than the four we supposedly know of now. Just my opinion.

I guess I just want an explanation of why the stressful, crappy stuff I'm dealing with now is making me feel worse. It may be all psycho-somatic, and I'm open to that. It's very easy to blame everything on MS--too easy, in fact.

When I'm this much in the dumps, I tend to stay away from email, friends, message boards, everything. Well, except for work and books. When I'm this bummed out, I tend to ignore things that could make me happy and just escape by working too much and too hard, burying my face in a book, and writing, writing, writing. My resolution for the moment is to come here more, and talk to folks who get it so I don't get too isolated. Like I said, there's some crummy stuff going on, which I need to post here, and I will. I did PM it to Bearygood, an angel in my opinion, and she suggested I do that. I agree with her, and I'll do it soon. It sucks, but it's hardly the end of the world.

Thanks again for your intelligent and empathetic responses. I'll be back!

P.S. Writing things down certainly makes things more real, doesn't it!!

[Kitty]

April

Hope you feel better soon!