Click here to receive MS news via e-mail
Here are 50 of the most common MS symptoms:
Sensory problems
- Abnormal sensations (dysesthesias)
- Numbness, tingling, burning, or tightness
- Pins and needles
- Severe itchiness (pruritus)
- Hypersensitivity to touch
- Pain – acute or chronic, mild to severe
- Loss of proprioception (sense of body position in space)
- Inability to detect vibrations
- Impaired sense of taste or smell
- Trigeminal neuralgia – stabbing pain in the face
- L’Hermitte’s sign – electrical shock-like sensation running down the spine and into the limbs when you bend your neck forward or backward
- The MS hug
Motor problems
- Loss of strength or muscle weakness
- Loss of muscle tone (hypotonicity) or increased muscle tone (hypertonicity)
- Spasticity – continuously contracted muscles and/or muscle spasms
- Myoclonus – sudden involuntary muscle contractions
- Tremor
- Foot drop
- Problems walking, impaired gait, or mobility problems
- Paralysis
- Loss of balance
- Loss of coordination (ataxia)
Cerebellar ataxia can cause:
- Gait ataxia – uncoordinated walking
- Nystagmus – jittery eye movements
- Intention tremor – shaking when attempting fine motor movements
- Hypotonia – inability to maintain a steady posture
- Dysdiadochokinesia – inability to maintain a steady rhythm
- Dysmetria – reduced control of range of movement resulting in over- or under-shooting limb movements
- Dysarthria – changes in speech production, including slurring, unclear articulation of words, and difficulty controlling loudness
- Dysphonia – changes in voice quality, including hoarseness, breathiness, nasal tone, and poor control of pitch
- Dysphagia – difficulty swallowing
Vestibular ataxia can cause:
- Loss of balance
- Vertigo – dizziness, nausea and vomiting
- Nystagmus – jittery eye movements
Sensory ataxia results in:
- Loss of body position sense (proprioception)
- Inability to detect vibrations
- Romberg’s sign
Vision problems
- Optic neuritis – loss of vision, eye pain, diminished color vision
- Diplopia – double vision
- Blurred vision
- Flashes of light in peripheral vision
Hearing problems
- Hearing loss
- Tinnitus – ringing in the ears
- Hyperacusis – abnormal sensitivity or intolerance to everyday sound levels or noise
Cognitive changes
- Short and long-term memory problems
- Attention difficulties
- Slower speech or information processing speed
- Problems with abstract conceptualization
- Difficulty finding the right words
- Confusion or sensory overload
Emotional changes
- Depression
- Generalized distress and anxiety
- Mood swings or emotional lability
- Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA)
Bladder, bowel, or sexual problems
- Urinary incontinence, hesitancy, urgency, frequency, retention, or leakage
- Constipation, diarrhea or bowel incontinence
- Impotence, reduced libido, or inability to achieve orgasm
- Reduced genital sensation or vaginal dryness
Sleep disorders
- Insomnia
- Narcolepsy
- Restless leg syndrome (RLS) or nocturnal movements
- Sleep disordered breathing
Other symptoms
- Fatigue
- Headache and migraine
- Breathing problems
- Heat sensitivity
- Problems regulating heat and cold
- Paroxysmal symptoms
- Seizures
information written and provided by Lisa Emrich
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
MS Views and News is MAKING an IMPACT on those affected by Multiple Sclerosis
MS Views and News provides beneficial information for those affected by Multiple Sclerosis.
Join us by registering here: www.register.msviewsandnews.org
…………
Visit our MS Learning Channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/msviewsandnews