Psychotic symptoms reported in MS patients include hallucinations and delusions (mostly paranoid), irritability/agitation, sleep disturbance, grandiosity, blunted affect, and rare symptoms like catatonia and transient catalepsy [45].
MS can cause significant anxiety, distress, anger, and frustration from the moment of its very first symptoms. The uncertainty and unpredictability associated with MS is one of its most distressing aspects. In fact, anxiety is at least as common in MS as depression.
Communicating with friends and family can help you relate your condition to them, but there is nothing better than connecting with other people that are living with MS. There are MS Focus support groups in many communities that offer meetings. There are also support groups online if you can't make an in-person meeting.
Some people experience difficulties when making plans and solving problems. They know what they want to do but find it difficult to know where to begin, or find it difficult to work out the steps involved to achieve their goals. This can lead to confusion and stress, which in turn can hamper learning and memory.
While many with MS will experience depression or anxiety at some point, more rarely, some people experience changes to their emotions or behaviour that don't seem to make sense, or that they aren't able to control.
In 1 study, depressive symptoms were the most common neuropsychiatric symptom seen among individuals with MS (Figure 1). Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common neuropsychiatric disorder seen among individuals with MS.
Commonly cited MS personality changes include social inappropriateness, disinhibition, apathy, emotional lability, and impulsivity.
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.
Studies have shown that MS disrupts several social cognitive abilities [including empathy and theory of mind (ToM)]. Overall ToM deficits in MS are well documented, but how the specific ToM subcomponents and empathic capacity are affected remains unclear.
Slowed cognitive processing speed and episodic memory decline are the most common cognitive deficits in MS, with additional difficulties in executive function, verbal fluency, and visuospatial analysis.
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.
Contents. You may have to adapt your daily life if you're diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), but with the right care and support many people can lead long, active and healthy lives.
Research shows that a healthy diet, exercise, not smoking, ongoing preventive care and management of other medical conditions not only contribute to overall health but can also impact a person's MS progression and lifespan.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) triggers that worsen symptoms or cause a relapse can include stress, heart disease and smoking. While some are easier to avoid than others, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and overall health and wellness can have outsized benefits for MS patients.
Alcohol's Effect on MS Symptoms
Even one drink can make issues like unsteadiness worse. “If you have a lot of trouble with balance, thinking, or memory symptoms from MS, it may be better to avoid alcohol altogether,” says Graves. Alcohol can also lead to sleep problems and worsen bladder symptoms.
It's a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability, although it can occasionally be mild. In many cases, it's possible to treat symptoms. Average life expectancy is slightly reduced for people with MS.
Multiple sclerosis usually affects people between the ages of 20 and 50 years, and the average age of onset is approximately 34 years.
MS is an immune-mediated disease affecting the brain and spinal cord, also called the central nervous system (CNS). MS can appear at any age but most commonly manifests between the ages of 20 and 40.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a higher prevalence of mood and psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder (BD). While mania is most often associated with BD, MS can also induce manic symptoms.
The study reported above shows that bipolar disorder is common in people with MS. You can read more about bipolar disorder on the NHS Choices website where there is information about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Bipolar UK are a charity that specialises in supporting people with bipolar disorder.
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.
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.