I’ve been having chest pain on and off for like a year now. It hurts like hell sometimes - like I’ve been thinking I’m having a heart attack. And that’s what they’ve been investigating me for - cardiac things. But they’re all negative. Then they thought gastro, but the drugs haven’t helped for that. Then suddenly tonight I thought - surely it could be MS related? I’m so used to not having relapses as I’ve been relatively well for years. But I was properly ill when I was first dx’ed with MS and had the MS hug during one of my relapses then. And thinking back, I think that this isn’t dissimilar. It’s like a sharp or tight pain or pressure right in the centre of my chest. It lasts anything from a few seconds up to a few hours. And can range in pain intensity too. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
I’ve been in A&E a few times recently with chest pains, and every time they’ve done a few tests and then basically called it the ms hug and told me I can go. My GP wasn’t really happy with this and has referred me to a cardiologist, and it turns out I’ve probably got angina because the GP got me some spray that I take if I start getting chest pains and it miraculously clears them up in a few minutes. I think that A&E gets so busy that if they can think of a diagnosis they’ll give it, and as soon as they see that I’ve got MS they blame everything on that.
So it turns out I’ve never had the ms hug, I’ve talked about it with my MS nurse and they tell me that’s a whole other world of pain so I’m sticking with angina quite happily😉
I do take sativex for spasms, and it makes a massive difference, and I also take baclofen via a pump directly into my spine so there are things they can do if it’s becoming a problem, so make sure you have a word with your MS nurse about it. Though I’m guessing if you’ve been relatively free of relapses that you might not be on their radar, so start waving your hands in the air at them. I don’t know what your GP is like when it comes to ms but I tend to find that they don’t know that much about it. Finding your local support group is a good way of getting the details of the local MS team if you need to get in touch with them.
Here’s hoping that’s all the hugs in future are nice ones
Thanks for the advice. Weirdly I am on the teams radar ATM as I had some other symptoms recently. The frustrating thing is though that I only met with the MS nurse last week! If only I’d thought about it then . But I’ve also been on Tecfidera for the past few years and my lymphocytes are in the doldromes! So they want me to change because of the risk of PML to Brabio, and I have a telephone appointment with my consultant on Wednesday about this. So I’m thinking that I could mention it then. I’ve left a message for the MS coordinator at the hospital who will hopefully phone me back later today and I’ll get them to forewarn the consultant that I want to talk about this. So hopefully that should work.
Hi, I have suffered for well over 2 years with pain, a tight band around my chest, sometimes I can’t breathe in or out, it’s scarey and very uncomfortable. It seems to come when I have over done things or anxious and stressed.
I’ve had m.s. since I was 39 ,I’m now 67.
After seeing my neurologist after a 2 yr wait, he says it can’t be m.s hug, he never asked symptoms but after I burst out crying he agreed to do a spinal scan to put my mind at rest. It will probably be a year waiting for this so meanwhile I’m trying to find some help and advice.
It’s hard isn’t it finding the right help
Welcome to the forums. I’m sorry for your experience. It definitely sounds like the ms hug, but have your GPs ruled out other causes just to be on the safe side? (all chest pain should probably be investigated).
. But I’ve also been on Tecfidera for the past few years and my lymphocytes are in the doldromes! So they want me to change because of the risk of PML to Brabio, and I have a telephone appointment with my consultant on Wednesday about this. So I’m thinking that I could mention it then. I’ve left a message for the MS coordinator at the hospital who will hopefully phone me back later today and I’ll get them to forewarn the consultant that I want to talk about this. So hopefully that should work.