MS & the dreaded common cold, and potential spasticity
Hey, team! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely festive season!
I'm popping on today to chat with you about catching common colds/viruses, pseudo flares and spasticity. I'm wondering if you have time to pop a comment my way about the times you've been ill and how you've managed your MS as a direct result of that. When you were recovering from your cold, did you have a flare in symptoms? What did you do to manage them? Did you feel your mobility took a dive as a result of being ill? & what did you do to manage your mobility?
I'm asking these questions as despite getting my flu & covid jags, I've caught every cold, flu and probably covid going around since November '23. I'm not kidding and definitely not exaggerating, my partner works with the public so I'm doomed from the get go lol.
But my point is, I have had pretty intense fatigue since my diagnosis so that's nothing new. However every time I recover from the viruses I keep catching, I'm jelly legged beyond all believe and at the same time I feel like the tin man before Dorothy oils him in the Wizard of Oz. Is this some early stages of spasticity? How do you manage it?
Before Nov, my disability was much more dynamic, I'd be able to go full days without mobility aids, varying through to a rollator when things were really bad. Lately, I've either been on a crutch or using my rollator almost all the time - particularly in the couple weeks after catching colds. Because of all this, I've been trying to look after myself the best I can as when my mobility is bad, my mental health takes a huge hit; so I've been trying some gentle yoga (which helps a wee bit), aiming for 30 min daily walks & other bits that just mentally make me feel better (ie skincare, knitting etc)
Let me know what you think and how you manage MS & alongside common illnesses.
@wxrmthinthesun I was a single mum, raising two kids (now adults). Common colds were par for the course but they didn't really affect me, just the usual head cold. One cold did result in a chest infection but antibiotics got rid of that. I'm up to date with Covid vaccinations and flu jabs. It doesn't stop me from getting colds, but it reduces the time it takes for my body to deal with the virus and doesn't seem to be as bad. I used to go round the house with a cloth dipped in disinfectant every time the kids got a cold, wiping down surfaces. I was also working in London (still am), commuting every day so if I didn't catch something from the kids, I had to cope with trains packed with commuters, coughing and hacking. Spasticity - is down to your relapses and what damage they have done to your brain and spinal cord. It may be heightened due to your body coping with a cold. I suffered a pseudo flare after having had Covid (it felt like a head cold). I stupidly turned down the antivirals that were offered (being stubborn, thought I would cope), then it hit me about a month after I had recovered from Covid. Won't do that again. I would have a chat with my MS healthcare team and/or your local GP. There may be an underlying problem that isn't being dealt with regarding the recurrent colds etc.
@AndreaG Thank you for the advice and very thorough response! I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and spray some disinfectant around the house when either me or my fiance catch anything from now on. I could imagine that things are hightened due to coping with a reoccurant cold. It seems to be just as I'm recovering, all the spasticity and fatigue are ramped up and then the process will repeat - every time I think I'm out of the woods, I'm not. I've been considering giving the GP a call anyway but your comment has given me the push I needed, so thank you so much! I'll give them a phone on Monday :) Take care 🥰