What symptoms did you have before being diagnosed with MS?

There are lots of symptoms that MS can cause, but not everyone will experience all of them.

• fatigue.
• numbness and tingling.
• loss of balance and dizziness.
• stiffness or spasms.
• tremor.
• pain.
• bladder problems.
• bowel trouble.

What was your first symptom of MS?

Here's where MS (typically) starts

Although a number of MS symptoms can appear early on, two stand out as occurring more often than others: Optic neuritis, or inflammation of the optic nerve, is usually the most common, Shoemaker says. You may experience eye pain, blurred vision and headache.

What are usually the first signs of MS forum?

Vision problems are one of the first symptoms that are commonly reported. This includes blurry or double vision, loss of vision or color contrast, or pain while moving the eye. Vision problems can be very scary and affect your independence. Numbness and tingling can occur in your feet, legs, hands, arms or face.

How long do people have MS symptoms before diagnosis?

Canadian research shows people with MS are more likely than the general population to visit a doctor or hospital in the years leading up to an MS diagnosis.

What does undiagnosed MS feel like?

Because the central nervous system is affected, those symptoms can be wide-ranging. Among the most common are vision problems, muscle weakness, numbness and difficulty with balance and coordination.

When should you suspect multiple sclerosis?

People should consider the diagnosis of MS if they have one or more of these symptoms:

1. vision loss in one or both eyes.
2. acute paralysis in the legs or along one side of the body.
3. acute numbness and tingling in a limb.
4. imbalance.
5. double vision.

What are the early symptoms of MS in a woman?

MS symptoms in females include the following:

• Vision problems. For many people, a vision problem is the first noticeable symptom of MS. ...
• Numbness. Numbness in the face, body, arms, or legs is another common symptom of MS. ...
• Fatigue. ...
• Bladder problems. ...
• Bowel problems. ...
• Pain. ...
• Cognitive changes. ...
• Depression.

What does an MS flare feel like?

Increased fatigue. Tingling or numbness anywhere on the body. Brain fog, or difficulty thinking. Muscle spasms.

Can you have MS for 20 years and not know it?

Benign MS can't be identified at the time of initial diagnosis; it can take as long as 15 years to diagnose. The course of MS is unpredictable, and having benign MS doesn't mean that it can't progress into a more severe form of MS.

What does MS pain feel like?

Neuropathic pain happens from “short circuiting” of the nerves that carry signals from the brain to the body because of damage from MS. These pain sensations feel like burning, stabbing, sharp and squeezing sensations. In MS you can experience acute neuropathic pain and chronic neuropathic pain.

What does dizziness with MS feel like?

Overview. Dizziness is a common symptom of MS. People with MS may feel off balance or lightheaded. Much less often, they have the sensation that they or their surroundings are spinning — a condition known as vertigo.

How does MS affect your legs?

Over time, your muscles can get weaker and weaker. Some people with MS find that their muscles tire more easily than usual. For example, someone with MS might find that their legs might start to feel unstable or they may have trouble moving them after periods of exercise, like walking.

Does MS tingling come and go?

It can often feel like numbness and tingling come on spontaneously. This means that it has no apparent trigger. As mentioned earlier, altered sensations like numbness and tingling are often an early sign of MS. However, these sensations can come or go at any point.

Is MS painful in early stages?

They're an early symptom for almost half the people with MS. They also affect people with progressive MS. You might feel mild stiffness or strong, painful spasms.

Is MS symptoms on one side of body?

Multiple sclerosis is a disorder in which the immune system destroys myelin surrounding nerves in your spinal cord and brain. Transverse myelitis can be the first sign of multiple sclerosis or represent a relapse. Transverse myelitis as a sign of multiple sclerosis usually causes symptoms on only one side of your body.

What do MS headaches feel like?

Throbbing, sharp, and stabbing headaches were described by close to 50% of all MS patients in this study. Dull pain was reported by 28% of patients, and a tight band or burning feeling occurred in fewer than 20% of patients.

What happens if MS goes untreated?

Treatments for MS can also help reduce the likelihood of a relapse, but they don't help make relapses less severe. If you stop taking your MS medication, you're more likely to relapse. And if left untreated, MS can result in more nerve damage and an increase in symptoms.

Can MS be detected in a blood test?

While there is no definitive blood test for MS, blood tests can rule out other conditions that cause symptoms similar to those of MS, including lupus erythematosis, Sjogren's, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, some infections, and rare hereditary diseases.

Is MS hard to diagnose?

MS can be among the most difficult of all diseases to diagnose because of the bewildering number of symptoms it causes and the multiple ways in which they can present.

What does an MS episode look like?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) attacks can include tingling, numbness, fatigue, cramps, tightness, dizziness, and more. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder in which your own antibodies (autoantibodies) start attacking and destroying the nerve cells of your body.

Does MS make you gain weight?

Some MS symptoms make it hard to move around or put you less in the mood for exercise. You might find yourself adding extra pounds because of things like: Fatigue. Depression.

What can trigger MS?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) triggers include anything that worsens your symptoms or causes a relapse.
...
Here are some of the most common triggers you may experience with MS and tips to avoid them.

1. Stress. ...
2. Heat. ...
3. Childbirth. ...
4. Getting sick. ...
5. Certain vaccines. ...
6. Vitamin D deficiency. ...
7. Lack of sleep. ...
8. Poor diet.

How do I know if I have MS or fibromyalgia?

MS can permanently damage your nerves. Fibromyalgia causes pain and stiffness all over your body, along with other symptoms. Doctors aren't sure what triggers it. They think it might have something to do with how your brain processes pain.

Can MS cause back and hip pain?

For instance, MS may cause weakness in a person's legs, which can affect the way they walk. This in turn may result in back and hip pain. Other people with MS may have back pain that is not related to MS but to another health problem, such as muscle strains or a herniated disk.

How do you rule out MS?

MRI multiple sclerosis lesions

1. Blood tests, to help rule out other diseases with symptoms similar to MS . ...
2. Spinal tap (lumbar puncture), in which a small sample of cerebrospinal fluid is removed from your spinal canal for laboratory analysis. ...
3. MRI, which can reveal areas of MS (lesions) on your brain and spinal cord.