The Physical Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
The symptoms of multiple sclerosis can be classified as physical, emotional, and what I call the "diagnostic symptoms".
MS is a condition of the central nervous system, so this classification is to remind people with MS, their families and carers that the problems caused by MS can show themselves in different ways.
The physical symptoms of multiple sclerosis are this that are demonstrated by the way that the body does not work in quite the same way as it used to.
Many symptoms are visible to other people, but some are felt internally long before anyone viewing from outside sees anything unusual.
No one can tell if you are suffering from pins and needles in your hands and feet unless you tell them.
Here are some of the most common physical symptoms: 1.
Weakness in the arms or legs (seldom both at once) is a characteristic early symptom of MS, but can sometimes be hard to identify when combined with a sense of lethargy and any of the following symptom.
2.
Coordination will soon be a problem and is probably the biggest issue in our technical age .
If you can't read your own handwriting, or even use a keyboard, you are clearly at a disadvantage.
3.
Balance is a clear giveaway.
People notice an awkward gait, stagger or limp, even in MS patients who appear healthy in other ways.
4.
Vision problems are a common symptom of MS.
It even has its own special name (optic neuritis) because sometimes symptoms that affect the optic nerve are the only problem anyone has.
It is frightening at the time and gets worse for several days before it gets better, but in most cases is almost totally cleared after a few weeks, so normal life can re-start.
5.
Incontinence is an embarrassing problem that affects most MS patients at some time.
The treacherous nerve messages cause an irresistible urge to "go", and then fail to ensure the bladder is fully empty when it gets the chance.
6.
"'Flu without having 'flu" is what I call the disorientation, weariness, aches and pains that can accompany a MS attack.
Just as with an attack of winter influenza, all the patient wants to do is go to bed and sleep it off.
7.
Sexual problems are commonly reported amongst both men and women.
This is hardly surprising given the importance of the central nervous system to human sexuality.
8.
Fatigue along with its partners, depression and loss of motivation, is one of the most common and damaging effects.
Outwardly invisible, it probably leads to as many cases of early retirement as any of the obvious physical handicaps.
9.
Recycled symptoms are the return of symptoms a MS patient had some time in the past, and then got over.
Even after recovery (which usually occurs within 4-6 weeks), if another symptom does develop in a different part of the body, which can be years later, an earlier symptom will often reappear, if only in a milder form.
There is a long list of other possible physical symptoms, including "seizure", where a sudden short-term collapse looks rather like an epileptic fit, but every MS patient eventuallyl learns their own typical features.
MS is a condition of the central nervous system, so this classification is to remind people with MS, their families and carers that the problems caused by MS can show themselves in different ways.
The physical symptoms of multiple sclerosis are this that are demonstrated by the way that the body does not work in quite the same way as it used to.
Many symptoms are visible to other people, but some are felt internally long before anyone viewing from outside sees anything unusual.
No one can tell if you are suffering from pins and needles in your hands and feet unless you tell them.
Here are some of the most common physical symptoms: 1.
Weakness in the arms or legs (seldom both at once) is a characteristic early symptom of MS, but can sometimes be hard to identify when combined with a sense of lethargy and any of the following symptom.
2.
Coordination will soon be a problem and is probably the biggest issue in our technical age .
If you can't read your own handwriting, or even use a keyboard, you are clearly at a disadvantage.
3.
Balance is a clear giveaway.
People notice an awkward gait, stagger or limp, even in MS patients who appear healthy in other ways.
4.
Vision problems are a common symptom of MS.
It even has its own special name (optic neuritis) because sometimes symptoms that affect the optic nerve are the only problem anyone has.
It is frightening at the time and gets worse for several days before it gets better, but in most cases is almost totally cleared after a few weeks, so normal life can re-start.
5.
Incontinence is an embarrassing problem that affects most MS patients at some time.
The treacherous nerve messages cause an irresistible urge to "go", and then fail to ensure the bladder is fully empty when it gets the chance.
6.
"'Flu without having 'flu" is what I call the disorientation, weariness, aches and pains that can accompany a MS attack.
Just as with an attack of winter influenza, all the patient wants to do is go to bed and sleep it off.
7.
Sexual problems are commonly reported amongst both men and women.
This is hardly surprising given the importance of the central nervous system to human sexuality.
8.
Fatigue along with its partners, depression and loss of motivation, is one of the most common and damaging effects.
Outwardly invisible, it probably leads to as many cases of early retirement as any of the obvious physical handicaps.
9.
Recycled symptoms are the return of symptoms a MS patient had some time in the past, and then got over.
Even after recovery (which usually occurs within 4-6 weeks), if another symptom does develop in a different part of the body, which can be years later, an earlier symptom will often reappear, if only in a milder form.
There is a long list of other possible physical symptoms, including "seizure", where a sudden short-term collapse looks rather like an epileptic fit, but every MS patient eventuallyl learns their own typical features.