How do you feel with early MS?

Those symptoms include loss of vision in an eye, loss of power in an arm or leg or a rising sense of numbness in the legs. Other common symptoms associated with MS include spasms, fatigue, depression, incontinence issues, sexual dysfunction, and walking difficulties.

What does MS feel like in the beginning?

Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.

How do you know if you have early signs of MS?

What does mild MS feel like?

Numbness or Tingling

A lack of feeling or a pins-and-needles sensation can be the first sign of the nerve damage from MS. It usually happens in the face, arms, or legs, and on one side of the body. It also tends to go away on its own.

How does MS usually begin?

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.

Patricia K. Coyle, MD: Early MS Identification

What part of the body does MS affect first?

Vision problems

In around 1 in 4 cases of MS, the first noticeable symptom is a problem with one of your eyes (optic neuritis). You may experience: some temporary loss of vision in the affected eye, usually lasting for days to weeks.

Does MS show up in blood work?

Blood Tests: Currently, there are no definitive blood tests for diagnosing MS, but they can be used to rule out other conditions that may mimic MS symptoms, including Lyme disease, collagen-vascular diseases, rare hereditary disorders and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

What can mimic symptoms of MS?

At what age does MS usually start?

MS can appear at any age but most commonly manifests between the ages of 20 and 40. It affects women two to three times as often as men. Almost one million people in the United States have MS, making it one of the most common causes of neurological disability among young adults in North America.

What are 4 early signs of MS?

Those symptoms include loss of vision in an eye, loss of power in an arm or leg or a rising sense of numbness in the legs. Other common symptoms associated with MS include spasms, fatigue, depression, incontinence issues, sexual dysfunction, and walking difficulties.

How can I be sure I have MS?

There are no specific tests for MS . Instead, a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis often relies on ruling out other conditions that might produce similar signs and symptoms, known as a differential diagnosis. Your doctor is likely to start with a thorough medical history and examination.

How long do initial MS symptoms last?

Most symptoms develop abruptly, within hours or days. These attacks or relapses of MS typically reach their peak within a few days at most and then resolve slowly over the next several days or weeks so that a typical relapse will be symptomatic for about eight weeks from onset to recovery. Resolution is often complete.

Can MS make you feel weird?

MS: Strangest Symptoms From Head to Toe

Extreme fatigue, clumsiness, weird prickly sensations, sluggish thinking, wonky vision -- these are classic and common first symptoms of multiple sclerosis, or MS. But the expected stops here.

Do you feel MS symptoms every day?

MS symptoms can come and go and change over time. They can be mild, or more severe. The symptoms of MS are caused by your immune system attacking the nerves in your brain or spinal cord by mistake.

Do you feel generally unwell with MS?

Fatigue is the most common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). It occurs in 75 percent to 95 percent of patients with MS. Fatigue can occur at all stages of the disease. The symptom is not related to the severity or to the duration of MS.

What is the sister disease to MS?

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) shares some symptoms with multiple sclerosis and may be misdiagnosed as MS. It is also known as neuromyelitis optica (NMO) or Devic's disease. It's a rare autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the optic nerves, brain and spinal cord.

What do you rule out before MS diagnosis?

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 Lyme disease, a group of diseases known as collagen-vascular diseases, certain rare hereditary disorders and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

What autoimmune disease is similar to MS?

Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can mimic some of the symptoms of MS such as fatigue and joint pain.

When should I be worried if I have MS?

That said, certain symptoms should prompt you to seek help. If you're experiencing blurred vision, numbness, weakness or dizziness at the same time and for more than a day, those symptoms could be potential early signs of MS. It's important not to let too much time slip by before seeing a doctor.

Can an eye test detect MS?

MS causes the immune system to attack nerve fibers and causes miscommunication between the brain and other parts of the body. When your optometrist detects optic nerve inflammation, that can indicate a diagnosis of MS.

Where is MS headache located?

Cluster headaches have been linked to MS lesions in the brainstem, especially in the part where the trigeminal nerve originates. 7 This is the nerve involved with trigeminal neuralgia—one of the most painful MS symptoms.

Does MS cause weight gain?

MS fatigue, steroid therapy, and depression can all lead to unwanted weight in people with MS. Though these factors are not your fault, you owe it to yourself to take control of your weight. Overeating can increase MS symptoms or health conditions, such as: fatigue.

Where do you hurt with MS?

Tightness or stiffness of the muscles, called spasticity, is caused directly by MS. Spasticity, will alter walking and cause pulling on the joints. This can result in pain typically in the ankles, knees, hips and back.

What happens when you first get diagnosed with MS?

Understand That MS Symptoms Can Be Unpredictable

Common MS symptoms include numbness or tingling, spasticity, vision problems, walking difficulties, weakness, slurred speech, fatigue, bladder dysfunction, cognitive changes, and more. But these symptoms can be unpredictable.