After having various symptoms over the last couple of weeks I’ve committed an act of stupidity and trawled the internet for “causes”.
I’m experiecing some tingling to the feet and, intermittently, weakness in the arms/legs. When I say intermittently I mean it can be days between episodes of “weakness” - i’m able to walk etc but legs feel a bit wobbly. That can last half a day and then disappear for a week or so. Similarly with the arms. This is both arms, both legs.
Is that consistent with early MS symptoms? I’m rather hoping it would be “all or nothing” - i.e. if the legs are weak they are weak for the duration and this won’t change hour to hour.
I’m inclined to agree with you about the duration of symptoms not being quite right for MS.
Clinically, a true MS relapse, or episode, has to last at least 24 hours, and the majority last longer, averaging five or six weeks (but can be much more). So just half a day would be unusual, and, in terms of the way the illness works, hard to explain. The symptoms are caused by patches of inflammation in the central nervous system. Inflammation, as you’ll know from ordinary, visible inflammation that you’ve had elsewhere in your body - doesn’t switch on and off like a light. It’s more gradual.
So I agree changing hour-on-hour seems unusual, unless you notice there’s a direct correlation with exertion, or getting too hot. Some MS symptoms are made worse by those things, so it’s possible to be unaware of them most of the time, and only notice when you’re getting hot or tired. That could explain the apparent on-off nature. But if you haven’t noticed any pattern linking symptoms with activities or temperature, I’d say it’s unusual for them to switch on and off so rapidly.