an ms symptom?

Hi everyone, I’m not diagnosed with anything yet but would very much like your input into my symptoms. My history is

10 years ago I had numbness and pins and needles on right side which lasted for 4 weeks, some days were worse than others. I was admitted to hospital and had a CT scan which was negative. The medical consultant said it was migraine as I was too young for it to be anything else ( I was 29)

Over the years I have had sporadic tingling mainly affecting right side and also right arm jerks.

Overactive bladder.

Progressive lack of balance particularly in dark. I feel like an old woman if we go out in the dark as I cling on to hubby for dear life, this would be amusing if not so scary!

Restless leg syndrome for at least 8 years.

I have had intermittent tightness around lower ribs, particularly on right side. This can last anything from a few hours to several days. I had exactly the same pain during my caesarian section which was truly awful. The spinal anaesthetic didn’t touch it. The anaesthetist said he thought it was some kind of neuropathic pain. My GP couldn’t find any cause for the pain so put it down to irritable bowel.

Last year I had neck heaviness and a feeling of pressure at the base of my skull. This lasted about 4 months then improved on its own although my neck still does not feel quite right. I also had weakness and trembling in right hand.

In September this year my right eyelids (upper and lower) started twitching constantly. I had a strange sensation on the bottom of my right foot. It felt like there was something stuck on my foot but there was nothing there. The weakness and trembling in my right hand returned with a vengeance and also included my forearm. I had a vibration type sensation in my right arm, and it was only bearable if I held my arm across my body. I could only have a drink using my left hand. Awful heartburn which I have only ever had during pregnancy. Feeling off balance more than normal, I fell over turning a corner. Pins and needles but on the left side of face?? (other symtoms have been on right) Right leg felt incredibly heavy, people asked why I was walking strangely. I just said I must have slept awkwardly. Driving became very difficult. I became very good at not seeing people or declining drinks when offered. I planned my housework etc so I could rest before collecting children from school, but was going to bed or falling asleep by 8pm. My bladder control seemed to alternate btween the frequency I was used to to not really feeling any urge to pass urine.

After the fall, and because I have a two year old at home, I decided to go and see the GP to tell him all that had been going on, and he referred me straight away to see the neurologist.

I haven’t told anyone other than the GP what is going on, and even hubby is not fully aware of the extent of my symptoms. I don’t want to worry anyone when there may be nothing to worry about. I am awaiting an Mri as I apparently have brisk reflexes on right side along with some muscle weakness.

Anyway last week most of the symptoms I have had since September seem to have all but disappeared, but they seem to come back a bit if I do much housework etc. My right arm still feels a bit weak and my right eye is still twitching.

The odd thing is I now have something new. When I get up in the morning my calves feel really tight and painful and I have tingling in my feet. This eases after a couple of hours.I have not heard of this as a symtom of MS, does anyone else have this? Also do you think my symptoms could be due to something else, the neurologist checked for vitamin deficiencies and all the blood tests came back normal.

Sorry this is so long, but as no-one else knows about this I really appreciate the chance to offload and ask questions.

Thanks everyone x

Hi Anon,

And welcome to the boards.

I don’t want to suggest, by my answer, that you do have MS, because there is a multitude of things it could be.

However, on the face of it, there’s nothing you’ve described that absolutely couldn’t be MS. It’s just that it could be a whole lot of other stuff, as well.

The only way to find out for sure is by comprehensive testing and a process of elimination, and even then, it may be quite some time before you get conclusive answers (it’s easier to prove what you’ve NOT got, than what you’ve got).

Tight calves and tingling (anywhere) are both very common symptoms of MS I’m afraid - but again, I must stress that just because you have these doesn’t mean it is MS. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to take your whole post point-by-point; I’m a bit pushed for time this morning.

But I expect you’ll soon get other replies - if you haven’t already, while I’ve been typing.

Tina

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Hello, and welcome to the site

As Tina says, while your symptoms are consistent with MS, there are also lots of other things that could be the cause. Unfortunately that often means that it can be a bit of a long haul of testing and hospital appointments. So try and be patient!

I know you must have your reasons for keeping things mostly to yourself, but please consider letting someone into your confidence completely. It’s usually best to have someone with you at appointments, so that someone at least needs to know it all. Apart from being there to support you and you not having to hide anything, they can fill in the bits you forget to say!

Karen x

Hi Anonymous - seems we are in the same boat at the moment! I relate to a lot of the symptoms you have described. Do you have an MRI date? Mine is next Wed but first neurologist appointment isn’t until 11th Jan.

Have you found a way to control the jerks? I can’t sleep much at the moment as every time I drop off my body goes berserk jerking head arms and leg and tightening of tummy/rib muscles. Anyway feel free to message about these worries, I also ‘don’t want to worry anyone’ but this time I’ve had to as it’s all too real now. My post is the ‘My GP thinks I have MS’ one. Good luck!

xx

Just a quickie… one of my symptoms is jerks & twitches (started in my legs; spread to all limbs & stomach too). At one stage they got so bad I looked like I was having a mini epileptic fit when it happened! I have found that a combination of baclofen (a muscle relaxant) and pregabalin (a neuropathic painkiller) keep them in check. They still happen, but much less often, and they are very much smaller / noticeable.

Make sure that you tell the neuro about heat making you feel worse. It’s an important “clue.”

Kx

Can anybody tell me what the difference is between spasms and seizures? I am having just as you say - jerks and twitches which can start with my head twitching about, then an arm and leg gets involved maybe both sides I’m not sure, and a weird tingly cold feeling spreads across my lower back/bottom and my tummy tightens stiffly. This sometimes causing loss of bladder control. I am definitely conscious throughout but cannot control it at all. It builds up, works through and then eases by which time I might be slightly wet! It only happens when I’m in bed trying to get to sleep. Out of bed I get jerks and twitches and squeezes but just not so bad. Are these things convulsions or ms spasms??

Sorry, but I don’t know. When my jerks/twitches were bad, they sometimes affected lots of areas at once, but I didn’t have any sensory symptoms at exactly the same time (I did have shooting pains immediately beforehand though). MS spasms are usually like cramps of varying severity or they are like the kind of jerks that most people (non-MSers too) occasionally have when they are falling asleep - when bits of us move suddenly without any instruction to do so! These latter ones are called myoclonic jerks I think.

It could be important that the bad ones only happen when you are trying to get to sleep, but why it’s happening I could only guess at (e.g. brainstem problem??).

You’ll definitely need to see a neuro to get a proper answer!

Karen x

Dont want to worry you but have you had any tests for epilepsy? I believe that some people do stay conscious during their seizures and are aware of what is happenning, especially in the milder cases. How long does it last? Im not sure about the tingly feeling though, but definately the lack of bladder control is very common in seizures (however it may also be in MS i have no idea). Also many of the kids i work with have a tendancy to have seizures either in the evening or early morning when falling asleep or waking up - dont know if this is just chance or whether it is linked. Worth chatting to your GP i would have thought and getting some tests done just in case.

Hope it all goes well for you.

Thanks Sheena, but these fits have only started in the last week after I already had many other MS symptoms so more likely to be related to those and unlikely to be epilepsy as well or another isolated thing I think but who knows! Have now told the GP what’s happening anyway, as I also developed wobbly jelly leg yesterday evening and unable to go to work today. He told me off for even thinking of being in work when he told me not to but teachers never listen to others!!

as a fellow teacher i will agree with you on that one!

is it common for ms patients to get muscle twitches all over? Could this be a sign of a relapse?

Hi Carl, I don’t know as i am newbie and not diagnosed but i think you need to start a new thread so the more experienced people on here can reply :slight_smile: