The Challenge of MS Diagnosis Multiple sclerosis can be difficult to diagnose, in large part because it can cause so many different symptoms, some of which mimic the symptoms of a number of other conditions. MS symptoms can also come and go from one day or week to the next, as well as change gradually over time.
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.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. It's a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability, although it can occasionally be mild.
Having one or two relapses every two years is fairly typical. However, relapses can occur more or less often than this. When a relapse occurs, previous symptoms may return, or new ones may appear. This relapsing-remitting MS pattern tends to last for several years.
Most people with MS have a relapsing-remitting disease course. They experience periods of new symptoms or relapses that develop over days or weeks and usually improve partially or completely. These relapses are followed by quiet periods of disease remission that can last months or even years.
A UK study in 2012 found that on average, people with relapsing remitting MS have around one relapse every two years. However, some people may have several relapses in one year while others may go for several years without having a relapse.
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.
One of the more obvious first signs of MS is a problem with vision, known as optic neuritis. This is often because it's a more concrete symptom as opposed to vaguer neurological symptoms like numbness and tingling.
Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can mimic some of the symptoms of MS such as fatigue and joint pain.
With MS, there is no typical day
There is no typical day with MS. Every day is a different set of challenges and fears. One day you wake up feeling great and have energy to accomplish everything you set out to do that day.
Common symptoms include fatigue, bladder and bowel problems, sexual problems, pain, cognitive and mood changes such as depression, muscular changes and visual changes. See your doctor for investigation and diagnosis of symptoms, since some symptoms can be caused by other illnesses.
A wide range of conditions can be mistaken for MS, including: migraine, cerebral small vessel disease, fibromyalgia, functional neurological disorders, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, along with uncommon inflammatory, infectious and metabolic conditions (1, 3).
Nail problems are common, and they are not usually serious. If a person has multiple sclerosis (MS), nail problems can cause pain or discomfort. While nail issues are not directly related to the disease, determining the cause may help prevent a person with MS from experiencing further discomfort.
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.
Early signs and symptoms of MS
tingling and numbness. pains and spasms. weakness or fatigue. balance problems or dizziness.
Clinically isolated syndrome describes a person's first episode of neurological symptoms caused by damaged myelin in the CNS. CIS is often referred to as the first stage of MS, even though it doesn't meet the MS criterion for dissemination in time (MS damage that occurs on different dates).
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.
Increased fatigue. Tingling or numbness anywhere on the body. Brain fog, or difficulty thinking. Muscle spasms.
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.
What do MS attacks feel like? MS attack symptoms vary, including problems with balance and coordination, vision problems, trouble concentrating, fatigue, weakness, or numbness and tingling in your limbs.
Hair loss is also relatively commonly observed in patients with MS who receive immunosuppressive agents,3,4 which is thought to be a consequence of toxicity to the hair follicle.
Damage to your brain from MS, like lesions and loss of nerve tissue, can lead to cognition problems. Research shows that damage to grey matter plays a role. About half of people with MS have some kind of cognitive change. It can happen with any type of MS, but it's slightly more common with progressive MS.