It's also common early on in the disease to experience long intervals between relapses. Later, as MS progresses, people may have difficulty with tremors, coordination, and walking. They may find that their relapses become more frequent, and that they are less able to recover from them.
A glaring sign of MS progression is going from walking independently to needing a cane, which occurs as myelin sheath deterioration—a hallmark of the disease, where rogue immune cells attack the protective coating around your nerves in the CNS—leads to poorer and weaker signals between your brain and your muscles.
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.
Increased fatigue. Tingling or numbness anywhere on the body. Brain fog, or difficulty thinking. Muscle spasms.
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.
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.
Pain in muscles nerves and joints, and sensory changes. Bladder and bowel problems including incontinence, urinary tract infections and constipation. Limited mobility and weakness (upper body and legs).
MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.
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.
Surveys for patient pain indicate that the most common pain syndromes experienced in MS are: continuous burning in extremities; headache; back pain; and painful tonic spasms.
What is “highly active MS”? The term highly active MS has not been precisely defined but the most important features include frequent relapses with incomplete recovery, and/or high radiological burden of disease, rapid accrual of disability after disease onset, with otherwise typical features of MS.
feeding difficulties – which may require a feeding tube or result in severe weight loss. difficulties breathing due to weakening of the respiratory muscles. difficulty with speech or losing the ability to speak. pressure sores due to immobility – which are at risk of becoming infected.
Pulmonary complications.
MS can weaken the muscles that control the lungs. Such respiratory issues are the major cause of sickness and death in people in the final stages of MS.
Constant fatigue is common for people with MS. This tiredness can impact all aspects of life, including effective brain use and the ability to go out and partake in activities. The symptoms of MS can cause constant discomfort and disability that limit a person's ability to go about daily activities.
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.
Overview. People living with MS often continue working long after their diagnosis. On the flip side, some people with MS decide to leave their jobs when they are first diagnosed or experience their first major exacerbation, often at the suggestion of their family or doctor.
Multiple sclerosis usually affects people between the ages of 20 and 50 years, and the average age of onset is approximately 34 years.
While living with multiple sclerosis is a challenge, palliative care can make a big difference. Some palliative care treatments for MS include medications and techniques relieve muscle spasms, calm nerves, ease depression and manage pain. Palliative care teams treat your specific symptoms, whatever they may be.
Many people with MS may live for 25 to 35 years or longer after their diagnosis. Survival is improving in MS patients, but chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, depression, or diabetes may lower life expectancy in MS.
Lesions in the brain may affect cognitive abilities. Some people with MS have trouble with memory, attention and concentration, multitasking and decision-making, says Dr. Scherz. The changes are usually mild at the beginning, but can be frustrating as time goes by.
Heavy Legs & Multiple Sclerosis
The weakness can make your legs feel heavy, as if they are being weighed down by something. They may also ache and hurt. Some people with MS describe it as like having bags of sand attached to their legs. This muscle weakness combined with MS fatigue can be upsetting.