Can you have MS and not know it?

Yes. MS can go undetected for years. Research has suggested that many patients experience MS-related symptoms and signs several years before receiving a definite diagnosis of the disease. MS symptoms can vary widely between patients, as well as over time, making the diagnosis difficult.

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What are the symptoms of undiagnosed multiple sclerosis?

What are some of the common symptoms of MS?
  • fatigue.
  • numbness and tingling.
  • loss of balance and dizziness.
  • stiffness or spasms.
  • tremor.
  • pain.
  • bladder problems.
  • bowel trouble.

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What does MS feel like in the beginning?

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

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Can you have mild MS all your life?

Contents. 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.

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Can you have MS for 30 years without knowing?

Benign multiple sclerosis (MS) describes a form of MS that a person may have for several years without experiencing any of the severe symptoms that the condition generally causes.

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Multiple Sclerosis - How I Knew I Had MS

25 related questions found

What does MS feel like in legs?

Abnormal sensations can be a common initial symptom of MS. This often takes the form of numbness or tingling in different parts of your body, such as the arms, legs or trunk, which typically spreads out over a few days.

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What are the three most common early signs of MS?

Common symptoms include:
  • Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs that typically occurs on one side of your body at a time.
  • Tingling.
  • Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain neck movements, especially bending the neck forward (Lhermitte sign)
  • Lack of coordination.
  • Unsteady gait or inability to walk.

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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).

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At what age does MS usually appear?

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.

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What is most commonly mistaken for MS?

Migraines are one of the most common mimicker diseases that can be misdiagnosed for MS. Migraine causes intense throbbing headaches, light sensitivity, and nausea. Many migraine sufferers have also experienced blurred vision similar to the kind caused by optic neuritis in MS patients.

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What disease is mistaken for MS?

These include fibromyalgia and vitamin B12 deficiency, muscular dystrophy (MD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), migraine, hypo-thyroidism, hypertension, Beçhets, Arnold-Chiari deformity, and mitochondrial disorders, although your neurologist can usually rule them out quite easily.

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Can a doctor tell if you 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.

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What is the life expectancy of a female with MS?

Average life span of 25 to 35 years after the diagnosis of MS is made are often stated. Some of the most common causes of death in MS patients are secondary complications resulting from immobility, chronic urinary tract infections, compromised swallowing and breathing.

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How long does MS take to disable you?

A person with benign MS will have few symptoms or loss of ability after having MS for about 15 years, while most people with MS would be expected to have some degree of disability after that amount of time, particularly if their MS went untreated.

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What happens to untreated MS?

Healthy adults have a small amount of brain atrophy due to natural ageing, but in many people with untreated MS, brain atrophy occurs at a much faster rate. Current MS treatments aim to prevent new central nervous system lesions forming that lead to irreversible damage and brain atrophy.

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What is the best way to detect MS?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

It's very accurate and can pinpoint the exact location and size of any inflammation, damage or scarring (lesions). MRI scans confirm a diagnosis in over 90 per cent of people with MS.

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What triggers MS?

Multiple sclerosis is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking the brain and nerves. It's not clear why this happens but it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

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What tests confirm multiple sclerosis?

MRI scan. An MRI scan is a painless scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body. It can show whether there's any damage or scarring of the myelin sheath (the layer surrounding your nerves) in your brain and spinal cord.

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How do I get my doctor to test me for MS?

There's no single test that can prove you have it. And many conditions have symptoms that seem like those of MS. A neurologist – a doctor who specializes in treating the disease – should be able to help. They'll ask how you're feeling and help you figure out if your symptoms mean you have MS or another problem.

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What part of the leg does MS affect?

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.

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What are the 4 stages of MS?

Four disease courses have been identified in multiple sclerosis: clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), primary progressive MS (PPMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS).

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Why do MS patients end up in a wheelchair?

Many people with MS choose to use wheelchairs or scooters from time to time or to do certain things, perhaps because of symptoms like fatigue or weakness, or to conserve energy.

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Is MS hereditary from mother?

Is MS hereditary? MS is not directly inherited from parent to child. There's no single gene that causes it. Over 200 genes might affect your chances of getting MS.

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Does an MRI always show if you have MS?

While it is true that almost all people with MS will have evidence of brain lesions on MRI, not all people with brain lesions have MS.

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