Confused about symptoms

Hi. I have a question that I hope you don’t mind answering. It didn’t occur to me until the other day that I may have ms, I’ve had odd things happen over the years but never really thought much of it as they have always got better, there have been 3 very scary episodes but again they improved, the first was vertigo, my world spun for a week and I couldn’t move, if I did I’d fall to the floor, the second was when my face became completely paralysed, this only lasted a few minutes and the third was when I completely lost my words, I just couldn’t speak, I could move my mouth but nothing came out, I also had bright lights in my eyes. The other things I’ve had over the years are shooting pains throughout my body, my foot often feels like it has glass in the sole, my arms, legs, hands go numb (only for a short time), I have lost feeling in my butt cheek and other downstairs area for days, blurred vision (often), double vision (often), slurred speech, confusion, I muddle my words, the last couple of weeks I’ve had aches first in my wrist then in my knees and now my right hand feels slight weak, I fumble abit when trying to pick up things, write, wash up etc. Sure there is more but like I said this has all happened over about a 9 year period. I now feel silly for not seeing a doctor before now but had never put all my symptoms together and because at times they are minor or just abit annoying I didn’t feel the need to mention them. So my question is, Can some symptoms of MS be mild or is it always quite severe? Also, Can MS symptoms come and go quickly? Some of the things I’ve mentioned last days or weeks but some only last minutes or hours. I have seen a doctor now as my slurred speech and muddling of my words was getting embarrassing.

Thank you so much for reading this.

hi kel

we all have a different experience of ms.

have you seen a neurologist?

is your gp considering referring you to one?

yes my symptoms come and go, but lately they linger more.

good luck, be strong.

carole x

Thank you so much for replying. My gp is sending me for blood tests and told me to get my eyes tested and we’ll go from there. Not sure how good the doctor I saw is so will make an appointment with one I trust next time. Also going to start writing my symptoms down, today I have tripped (my daughter caught me, she’s 12) and while draining the pasta I managed to pour the boiling water all over my hand, my coordination has definitely been off for a few weeks now but now I’m taking notice.

Thanks again for for reading my post and replying. X

Hi Kel

The problem with MS is that not everyone has the same symptoms. Also, that some things seem like they could be MS abut could also be one of any number of other problems.

Some of the things you’ve mentioned sound like MS, and some sound (to an obviously unscientific and distant person) like migraine and / or something else.

This is the MS Trust info about an MS relapse: A-Z of MS | MS Trust

One of the things it says is that an MS relapse is a new or repeated symptom that lasts for at least 24 hours, so normally, a symptom that comes and goes in minutes wouldn’t be put down to MS, unless it comes and goes over and over that is. There are lots of other publications available form the MS Trust. Don’t go nuts on trying to read loads and fit your symptoms into an MS diagnosis at this point. Right now, you don’t have MS, you have a mysterious jumble of symptoms, that may be neurological or maybe not.

Obviously you need to wait for your blood tests ordered by your GP to come back. After that, if they are all clear, and your problems are still a mystery, see what they think about referring you to a neurologist. That person will then take a history of what’s happened to you (so it’s a good idea to start writing symptoms down, together with how long things last and a rough idea of the dates), examine you and maybe send you for more tests.

Meanwhile, try not to worry, don’t think yourself into a place where in your mind you’ve already been diagnosed with MS; you may have a vitamin deficiency instead, or something else altogether. And it could be something that’s easily sorted. Let’s hope so anyway.

Sue