Hi,
The neuro i saw last week is certain that i have spine and brain lesions. Some of my symptoms have been going on for quite a while/ Fatigue and weakness have been present for a long time. Numbness is quite new along with muscle tightness, stiffness and odd sensations.
Because i have only had these sensation recently does that mean that the disease is in its early stages or do sym[toms develop at different times and is no reflection on how long ms has been present.
Thanks Christine
Hi Christine
I think you’ll find that MS does its own thing for different people. So while one person may have had numbness since the start of their disease, others get it later, or it comes and goes at will. I can’t see how any one single symptom could be any marker of disease longevity or indeed of progression.
Personally, I’ve not been able to feel my feet for 19 years, they’ve been numb since very early on. (What do feet feel like when they’re not numb? I can’t remember!) And in fact my very first symptom was a numb finger!
Sue
Thanks Ssssue,
I think for me i keep thinking has it been ms for along time or is it more recent, maybe i will never know. Early symptoms have been fatigue, weakness and some pain. Now the numbness and odd sensations are all the time along with a feeling of been run down.
Christine
Hi Christine. When my Neuro told me I had ms and had had it “for some considerable time”, I asked her could she elaborate. Could she tell me for how long that might have been, 5 yrs, 10 yrs, more? She said no, she couldn’t tell. I decided at the end of it all, it doesn’t matter a fig! I still have ms, I’ll always have ms and there is nothing anyone can do to change that. 
Hi Poppy6488,
Yes i get what your saying, you have ms and the length of time does not change this fact, your symptoms or treatment. I think i was curious to what symptoms people had at different stages but now understand that everyone is different.
The neuro last week asked me if id had any symptoms in the past. I found this difficult because id not expereinced the symptoms i have now but most people have various health issues throughout their lives.
Christine
I don’t think theory goes with practise. In fact my first neuro told me that. My symptoms should be cause by spine lesions but I don’t have any. She called it a brain blip. So, no I don’t think so.
I had lesions which disappeared but the symptoms didn’t disappear so there is more to MS than lesions. I look at it like this…once you’ve pickled an onion you can’t unpickle it can you? You can wash it out, squeeze out the vinegar and let it dry, but it will never be the same again.
I think the brain is like that, once damaged by MS it will never be the same.
You may be correct florence , but the human body is incredible at fixing it self so maybe unpriclking your onion isnt such fantasy
Well my onion won’t unpickle…
Florence needs a shirt with “my onion won’t unpickle” on the front. That’s a wonderful phrase!
I agree that damage done stays done, but I also cling tightly to the fact that the brain can develop new pathways around blockages - or in our case, sinkholes - and I imagine that’s what’s happening a lot of the time when we are lucky enough to experience some improvement somewhere.
Symptoms are random in every measurable way, for every person that has them.
They are meaningless in all ways, other than how they affect you when they strike.
They might vanish as quickly as they appear; they will likely linger to some lesser intensity for a prolonged period of time (ie. years not weeks.)
They are indicative of nothing; not prognosis, not severity, not duration, not progression, not even the quantity of lesions likely to be revealed by MRI.
They are just little bastards to be dealt with; challenges to be overcome. They are, what they are.
Good luck. Chin up. Things can get better.
I don’t like pickled onions.
I always enjoy reading your posts Paulo, you certainly have a way with words 
You are kind. I try to inform in an entertaining way and entertain in an informative way.