Hi, just popped on this forum for the first time! Your story sounds very similar to mine, I too am also from the uk.....If you want someone to talk to who knows how you feel i'll be happy to listen. Maybe you have msn messenger? Jus' lemme know if you wanna chat!

Hmm, could be ms, but remember that there are a lot of illnesses which can display the same symptoms as ms.

I just wanted to reassure you that even if you get a positive diagnosis of ms, it's not a death sentence. It will not even appreciably shorten your life span. New data about treatment or prevention is being researched and discovered every day. This disease is so variable no one can tell you what your experience with the disease will be. It could very well be that you might not have any more symptoms (called being in remission) for the next 20 years. On the other hand, some patients have a far more difficult time with frequent and/or disabling symptoms.

What's more, ms is treatable and there is very good data showing the improvement rate with the specific injectable drugs and they are usually covered by your insurance. Sure, giving yourself injections is a hassle but before you know it, it will be as routine as brushing your teeth.

I've been diagnosed with ms since june 1998 and been on one of the injectable drugs (copaxone) since feb 1999. I have had only one really bad "exacerbation" or "relapse" and that was before I started the medication. None since then.

So don't dread the future since you don't know what it holds. Just take life one day at a time and enjoy what you have in the present. After all, no one knows what will happen tomorrow, even people who don't have ms.

What is the difference b/w exacerbation and relapse?

In common usage, the two words are used interchangeably. They mean the same thing, at least in terms of ms. They both describe a period of time in which symptom(s) that you do not normally have trouble with will pop up and give you trouble, possibly to the point of needing medication(s) just to treat individual symptoms. Any "new" symptoms have to be present for at least 48 hours for an actual "exacerbation" to be declared. With treatment or without, this symptom (or set of symptoms) will almost always weaken eventually and hopefully go away with no residual damage. When this happens and assuming there is no residual damage leftover, the "exacerbation" is said to be over and you are back in remission again.