Numbness, tingling, or pain in the hands is a common symptom of MS. Symptoms that affect the hands result in less functionality and more difficulty in performing everyday tasks.
Numbness or tingling: “Numbness and tingling — especially that comes and goes in the hands or feet — is a common symptom,” says Dr. Giesser. “Again, clearly MS is not the only thing that causes that.”
Neuropathic pain happens from “short circuiting” of the nerves that carry signals from the brain to the body because of damage from MS. These pain sensations feel like burning, stabbing, sharp and squeezing sensations.
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.
Previous research has shown people with MS may have less hand grip strength than people without MS and others may need to use more force or effort to hold onto or move things.
People with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) may go through periods of new or worsening symptoms called flares. Common symptoms of MS flares can include feeling tired, pain, numbness, dizziness, muscle spasms, muscle weakness, brain fog, problems with going to the bathroom, or trouble seeing.
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.
Early MS symptoms may include blurred vision, numbness, dizziness, muscle weakness, and coordination issues. MS is progressive and can worsen over time. Eventually, the disease can do damage directly to the nerves, causing permanent disability.
Numbness or Tingling
Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
Experts usually describe pain caused by MS as musculoskeletal, paroxysmal or chronic neurogenic. Musculoskeletal pain can be due to muscular weakness, spasticity and imbalance. It is most often seen in the hips, legs and arms and particularly when muscles, tendons and ligaments remain immobile for some time.
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).
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.
Dawson's finger is a type of brain lesion common to people who have MS. These lesions develop on the ventricles, or fluid-filled spaces in the brain. Dawson's finger lesions can help a doctor diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) when other symptoms, such as difficulties with movement or thought processes, accompany them.
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.
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.
But if you have benign MS, you might have some of the following symptoms, even though you can walk and most of your body still works well: Tiredness. Muscle spasms. Vision problems.
Can I have multiple sclerosis for years 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.
It is also known as neuromyelitis optica (NMO) or Devic's disease. Some of its symptoms are similar to the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, so it may be misdiagnosed as such.
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.
Fatigue in MS is not just an ordinary tiredness, like you might get at the end of a hard day's work. People describe it as an overwhelming sense of tiredness with no obvious cause. You may wake up feeling as tired as you did when you went to sleep.