I have been at the beginning of what I had hoped was guite a mild relapse for the last week or so (worsening stability, speech issues, wobbly eyes etc with no underlying infection)
To be honest, I wasn’t too worried (I know ) but today I started with intense pain in my right hand that felt like someone had trapped my hand in a door. It’s a bit better now but at worst I couldn’t write and typing was really difficult.
I have never experienced pain from my MS - just general “embuggerance” ( as Terry Pratchett describes his Alzheimers) I am now a bit scared so I am now going to ask a (probably stupid) question.
Has anyone had pain like this because of their MS?
How long does it last for?
What painkillers help? Do painkillers help?
Although I am quite “good with pain” the idea of a long bout of real pain like this is worrying to say the least
MS can certainly cause pain, but there are several different types of pain, so to get the most effective treatment, you - or your doctors - need to get to the bottom of what kind of pain it is.
If it’s nerve pain (caused by the nerves misfiring), then normal over-the-counter painkillers won’t touch it, and you’ll need prescription medication especially for nerve pain.
If, on the other hand, it’s musculo-skeletal, this should respond to conventional over-the-counter painkillers, or stronger prescription ones.
If it’s musculo-skeletal, it may also be addressed by treating the problem causing it. Sometimes stiff, tight muscles - called spasticity - can be responsible for the pain. Spasticity is treatable by a combination of drugs and targetted exercise (you’d probably need referral to a neuro physio).
You may still need painkillers too, but reducing spasticity sometimes reduces pain as well, even though the anti-spasticity meds aren’t painkillers, as such.
Oh, and P.S. no, I don’t think your word was bad. Honestly, this board filters out so much, it sometimes makes it look as if the person said something much stronger than they really did!