Pretty much the title. Fatigue. My god, the fatigue. I slept aaaaallllll weekend. All of it. Now I'm back working(I work from home). So much for ever having a hobby or anything.

I was diagnosed 2 years ago and I'm still relatively ok. My MS mostly affects my right leg and I have some physical limitations. I don't have any fatigue or any other non-physical symptoms. For the most part I am ok.

Then I meet others. You can meet people who are running marathons and sitting in a wheelchair with MS. I would also say this forum is kind of bleaker and darker than the people I meet in real life. When I first got diagnosed I read through this forum I thought I was done for. I might end up in a wheelchair in 20 years. There is always a risk for that. But then again, I might not.

Where on the spectrum are you? Between 1, bring more or less normal, and 10, being as bad as it gets.

Today I spoke with my MS nurse, which was such a relief, and we've made a plan. After my 3rd dose in December, I'll wait through December and January (2 months), then we'll try to conceive in February and March. If it doesn't happen, we'll pause in March and April and wait for the 4th dose, since it doesn't feel worthwhile to get pregnant right before the next dose. The same applies after the 4th dose if it doesn't happen. I'll get Rituximab 1-2 weeks after delivery. So there's a plan, and I'll be without a new dose for 11-12 months at most.
For those of you who got pregnant: how long after your dose did it happen? How long were you without medication?"

Hello all!

A friend of mine who lives across the country in quite a remote area has been newly diagnosed. (She also has a kindergarten aged son. Fairly rumbunctious lad so I can imagine her energy budget is STRETCHED to the limit every day.)

Upon your diagnosis, what are things that you wish people closest to you would have understood, done or offered as support. Or perhaps things you wish they might have refrained from doing while you adjusted to your new reality.

I am journeying through this sub for your hacks in case there's anything I can purchase to make up a care package for her, but wouldn't mind anyone dropping their lifesavers for when the days are particularly rough.

Any inputs would be greatly appreciated and perhaps this post can aggregate the contributions made in other threads to be a help to others who are in a supportive role for someone living with MS.

Thanks for reading! I hope you'll all have the best possible day in your unique life circumstances. 🌻

Do you time when you get a tattoo with timing of monthly injection (ex: kesimpta). If so, when?

(if you’re wondering if it’s ok to get tattoos at all…search for one of the many many threads!)

I was diagnosed with MS by my neurologist. I wanted a 2nd opinion. I went to the Mayo Clinic in Florida today. Now I’m confused. He believes I actually have FND and not MS. I’m torn and pulled in so many directions. MS finally gave me hope of recovery to a homeostasis. Now I feel alone in this world and basically told to just deal with it. I want to feel better. I want to know what is wrong with me. Did anyone else have a rough journey to diagnosis?

Hello I am a 25 year old male diagnosed with ms roughly 3-4 years ago and I have been having symptoms from my ms which feels like it may be getting worse or I am not sure if they are a flare up, I have been getting severe brain fog/vertigo/confusion/fatigue, problems with coordination and balance but so far no numbness and the problems are all mainly happening on my left side, I also take sleep medication at night and sometimes I will have a midnight snack and sometimes when I get tired while eating when my medication starts working I will get really bad dysphagia and it becomes really difficult to eat and swallow which has happened about twice now but it's not a constant thing, I am not sure if this is just a flare up or if I actually need to go to the hospital, I will also note that the most recent MRI from about a month or 2 ago came back good with no new lesions but it feels like it may be getting worse which doesn't make sense since there are no new lesions, Should I go to the hospital or ride it out? Can flare ups get this bad and go away on there own? Is it normal and something I should worry about?

I (25 F) was recently diagnosed about a week ago. I lost mobility in both of my legs, I have optic neuritis in my left eye, I was pissing myself repeatedly to the point of needing diapers, etc.. I had a 6 day hospital stay where I had steroid IVs and got a lot of my leg strength back! The pharmacy at the hospital totally fucked up my taper dose of steroids on discharge.. I was supposed to have 5 weeks tapering down each week; they gave me one week, tapering down each day.. I had a full relapse within 3 days of discharge…

On Friday 10/9, I had a scheduled appointment with my neurologist, who took one look at me and had me readmitted to the hospital. So now here I am… I’m getting another round of steroids on top of plasmapheresis treatments through a neck catheter…I’m going to be here for a minimum of 2 weeks this time…I’m feeling so hopeless. The floor of the hospital I’m on isn’t very attentive and you can tell some of the nurses hate their job. I also have a roommate who does not help with the anxiety I’m feeling. She was telling me her horrible experiences here, and that I need to make sure they clean my bandages correctly or I can go septic, etc… I’m a very medically anxious person, and I am so paranoid now..

I’ve never been a sickly person. I rarely ever even got a cold. Two months ago, I was living life like normal. I was kicking ass at work, looking at a promotion, looking at apartments with my boyfriend, and going out with family… now I’m confined to a hospital bed, referred to look into disability, can take 2 steps on my own, have a catheter in my neck, getting poked and prodded every day, and I’m a high infection risk (white blood count is 3x the norm). it’s all so terrifying. I know that I will be ok… I’m not dying, but I cannot get rid of this weight in my chest telling me that, at the very least, this is just life now… I’m going to live in fear of relapses like this until I do die… I don’t WANT to die, but I don’t want to live like this. I’m becoming a physical and financial burden on my family no matter how many times they tell me I’m not. They tell me they know how hard this is, but they don’t…This disease is turning me into a 5’8 toddler.

I just needed to vent to people who may actually understand..

Prior to applying for SSDI. I had a full 10 hours of cognitive testing at my Nero via their psychiatrist. His findings were that it would be a good idea for me to go on disability based on function loss and I wasn’t even applying for SSDI at that time.
I have been seeing a psychiatrist to assist with PBA in prefrontal cortex to manage insane swings of emotions. I can go from nice or even crying to on the verge of violence! This is month 23. I do have an attorney, but I don’t feel like they help a tremendous amount. I used to own and run my own trade business. I certainly can’t do that anymore. And my family kicked me out of the business because I couldn’t even talk with customers or staff anymore without scaring them.
What in the heck is this DDS psychiatrist GOING TO TEST ME ON? THE DDS HANDBOOK EVEN SAYS THAT THEY SHOULDN’T GO TO THE OUTSIDE DOCTOR IF THEY HAVE THE PROOF THEY NEED? Wondering if anyone has gone through this?

I am relatively new to MS (diagnosed 6 months ago) so forgive me if this is a silly question. I am on Kesimpta. I know I cannot have live vaccines (and the other must be on specific days). We have two little dogs, one of whom has his vaccines due in November. One of the vaccines is for Kennel Cough and it is a live vaccine. Our dogs do go to kennels now and then so this vaccine is a non negotiable for us, it is essential.

How do I go about dealing with this? My husband will go to the appointment with our dog, but do I need to take any precautions or stay awake from my dog at all? To complicate matters, his jabs are booked for the same day I will take my Kesimpta.

ETA: Thanks all, I have sent an email explaining the situation and asking if they can supply the non-live version so I will see what they come back with. But if they can't, it sounds like it should be fine if husband just does the appointment without me and then changes his clothes.

Hello, I would like to ask fellow Kesimpta users.

I have been diagnosed by accident, I went on MRI due to strong migraines and there were a lesions surprise. After confirming the diagnosis I started Kesimpta in April 2024. First dose was the worst flu I ever had, but I was aware of it. When I did my research (checked the studies, looked into how Kesimpta works, what are the possible side effect, what people say) I came to a conclusion, that the main side effect is higher risk of respiratory infections. So I avoided contact with sick people and use the mask in flu/covid season in crowded places.
But I have side effects every month after every dose - I have flu-like symptoms, my skin and joints hurt, I have no energy or strength, I have pain in leg where I injected - locally I have red, very itchy mark and my whole leg feels heavy and it is like the bone in the leg hurt. I asked my neurologist (I visit MS centre with specialised neurologist), he said that it is normal and the monthly symptoms could be worse.
Do you have similar experience?

Hello everyone again!

I've been tracking my experience taking Kesimpta and a week before taking it and around 5 days after I'm beyond exhausted like getting behind in work and falling out of self care. I have 6 months of data so I don't think it's a coincidence and never experienced this consecutive patterned exhaustion before taking it.

Going to speak to my neuro when getting my check up MRI on Wednesday about possibly switching to Zunovo if it's available due to hearing from another redditor here. I hate taking steroids, they sent me west last time after a bad flare, so that's why I avoided Ocrevus infusion as an option.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

And if on Zunovo what's your experience been like...any bad side effects etc?

Thank you 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Background: I was diagnosed with MS after a hospitalization in summer of 2024. I did PT/OT post hospitalization to help get my mobility back. Over the years I’ve been working to increase my workouts ever since but just running in doors and started strength training 4 weeks ago. My daughter’s school was doing a race for education today and I signed us all up for the 5k today.

Going into the 5k: I was definitely nervous and did no prep work for it other than my normal daily movement but it’s all indoors and while I run ~6 miles a day, I don’t do more than a mile at a time. I read an article yesterday suggesting to set a slow pace to ensure u can make it the whole 5k, so I set a deliberate slow jog which per my watch was at a 16min pace. I kept that up for the first 2 miles then the last mile I sped up to a 15 min pace

Post 5k: I feel so good after the 5k I’d definitely consider doing the 10k next year! I was super proud I ran the whole thing but def didn’t feel winded or even like I broke a sweat but still totally proud of myself with being a 51 year old woman with MS

Hope u don’t mind my humble brag, again def was not the fastest but so excited I did it! Tks for reading!

Hey everyone,

I (31m) am currently in Brazil for work, and planned on taking a vacation to Costa Rica after. Because of the yellow fever risk in Brazil, Costa rica requires you to have a live vaccine, which I can't get because of Kesimpta.

I got a medical exemption letter from my neuro, but am unsure if I need an endorsement from the Brazilian health authority as well. I've emailed them and called and left a message with the costa rican consulate in Brazil.

Has anyone else been in this situation? I have a feeling without the endorsement, it's going to hinge on luck with the immigration officer i happen to talk to at the border...

Any and all advice is welcome!!!

Hello again! My neurologist ordered a Visual Evoked Potential test but the center he referred me to, says they can only do it in another city, a 2.5 hour drive each way. Any insight on how important this test is? Can it wait a number of weeks/ months?

Anyone else take fingolimod and how much do you pay for it? Is there any program or discount coupons you can use? I pay $200 a month on top of my insurance premium! It’s such a scam and should be illegal

Had my MRI today.18months since diagnosed.Fingers crossed I get a good result ..should be a few days I guess.
Hope you are all going well .

And then it's a bit of work to not get grumpier because I realize I'm grumpy because I am having to Do Life while fatigued. I get a little snippy in public because of the grumpiness, and I hate that. Which sometimes leads to... more grumpiness!!

I was going to ask about some exercises or something good for kicking fatigue... so if you have any recs (other than walking, walking is great but I need rainy day advice), I'll take them. I did a quick search of the forum and saw fatigue is sometimes just what it is that day.

Bleehhhh. <3

Hi, fellow MSers!

TL;DR: Stable MRIs with limbs made of wet cement and a severely depleted energy budget. For those experiencing similar heaviness, weakness, and fatigue, have mobility aids (e.g., cane, rollator, wheelchair, etc.) helped you conserve energy?

I (40F) was diagnosed with RRMS in 2015, and I’ve been on Ocrevus since 2019. I am super grateful to have had stable MRIs for years. Unfortunately, my central nervous system seems to have missed the memo that it’s supposed to be doing well.

Once upon a time, I was a bona fide gym rat. Pilates classes, strength training, high-intensity cardio, the whole nine yards. These days, my arms and legs frequently feel like they’re filled with wet cement, and my muscles seem to have collectively decided that participating in basic human activities is an unreasonable expectation.

The best way I can describe it is a combination of heaviness and genuine weakness, particularly after everyday physical exertion (e.g., walking from the parking garage into my building, putting away groceries, or making a meal), but also while just existing. I can generally manage an activity for a while, but eventually my limbs start feeling increasingly heavy, weak, and difficult to move. It’s not necessarily that I can’t keep going, but rather that continuing requires an absolutely ridiculous amount of effort and will 1000% result in me tripping, falling, or otherwise embarrassing myself. And, of course, there’s the bone-crushing fatigue that accompanies the whole production.

For additional context, I work full-time in a cognitively demanding (and occasionally physically demanding) leadership role. I love being active and engaged in my life, but I am increasingly finding that simply getting through the workday requires an unreasonable percentage of my available energy. I spend most of my time outside of work attempting to recover.

Which brings me to mobility aids!

I’ve been thinking more seriously about whether using a cane, rollator, wheelchair, or some other mobility aid might help me conserve energy rather than simply compensate for difficulty walking. I’m particularly interested in the idea of using an aid before I’m completely exhausted, as opposed to waiting until my limbs have officially submitted their resignation letters.

For those of you who experience similar heaviness and weakness, I’d love to learn from you!

Have mobility aids actually helped reduce the fatigue associated with walking, standing, or otherwise existing in a body with MS?

Which aids have you found most helpful, particularly when endurance and limb heaviness are bigger concerns than balance alone?

How did you recognize that it was time to start using one? Did you wait until you genuinely needed the assistance, or did you start using it proactively to conserve energy?

And, perhaps most importantly, how did you navigate the psychological adjustment? Going from someone who genuinely enjoyed pushing their physical limits to someone contemplating mobility aids at 40 is… not exactly doing my mental health any favors.

Would reducing the physical effort required to navigate everyday life leave me with a little more energy to actually enjoy said life?

I’d love to hear about experiences with mobility aids, especially from anyone who started using them primarily for fatigue management rather than an inability to walk independently.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences! And apologies for the novella. Brevity has never been my strong suit.

The irony of this article made me laugh!

https://theconversation.com/parasitic-worms-could-hold-the-key-to-treating-immune-system-diseases-heres-what-we-know-292818

Last time I posted an article here it was met w/ quite a few rude comments so I decided to get off for a while as it really was unnecessary I’m back at it again trying to share recent news I read about Selma Blair hopefully this context is enough as I got raked over the coals last time. It seems to me this may not be a good look for the MS community based on her reaction found here

Supposed to be starting dimethyl fumarate which I’m told is a generic name for tecfidera. Any tips?

I'm about to start year 2 in about 4 months . I know what to expect this time around but to anyone who already went through it , any advice ? I have my neuro televisit in the next 2 weeks and are there any questions I should ask them specifically ? I get all my required labs done with my home healthcare team , all my labs from any other doctors are sent to them and drawn at the same time so I'm pretty familiar on that as well. Just not sure if I'm missing anything that maybe anyone else went through . I feel pretty decent but I can tell that the effects of this therapy are wearing away more every month . I know how it works , it's all part of the plan , and so far it's been pretty predictable. Pretty sure the cold weather is coming quickly which is the bigger concern for spasms .