Hi everyone, I have had ms for three years,I am just wondering if many of you on here get pain with your ms.My main symptoms for the last six years in numbness from the waist down and fatigue.Started getting pain in my back last week.I am only asking because I don’t really know a lot about ms as I haven’t really had any pain yet,I suppose I might have that to come. Any advise please
Hi anon
Pain can be quite a common symptom for many of us. I get different types of it that come & go in different bits of my body, ut especially my legs. I also get lower back pain, but I know that’s a posture thing rather than MS, so I’d probably see your GP first for more of an experts opinion on what the cause could be. I’ve got some stretches that a physio showed me for my back, and they help a lot.
In terms of MS related pain, there are a few different drugs that can help, like Gabapentin or Pregabalin. Speak to your GP or MS nurse & they’ll be able to advise you more. Or if you want to avoids drugs, mindfulness meditation is known to be beneficial too. I took part in a study on it last year that was funded by the MS Society & I found it helps with the pain. Google ‘mindfulness for pain management’ and you should be able to find plenty of stuff on it.
Hope that helps
Dan
hi
see your gp and get checked for non ms causes
also contact your ms nurse and ask about neuropathic pain
i’ve been taking gabapentin since i was dx and also amitriptyline and tizanidine
carole x
Hi,
Yes, I’ve been diagnosed roughly as long as you, although I think I had it (and ignored it!) for much longer.
Pain is pretty much a constant feature now. I don’t consider myself as having a lot of nerve pain (tingling, burning, itching, electric shock-like sensations etc.) But I do consider myself as having a lot of secondary (muscular) pain - probably from things like altered muscle tone, altered posture, altered gait, etc. etc.
Even though I don’t look disabled, to the naked eye, even quite subtle changes in gait - how you carry your weight etc. - can put strain on other parts of the body. If a muscle is weak, something else that wasn’t designed for it will be having to take the strain to compensate. Over time, this can cause pain.
Core muscles (trunk muscles) are often weakened in MS, which can lead to back pain. Exercises based on Pilates are often recommended. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’ll find any exercise regime that completely fixes it. I use a combination of stretching and strengthening exercises, and painkillers, but am still not trouble free. I often reflect, sadly, that if I’d worked as hard at my fitness before I got ill, I would have run a marathon. Now, all I can do is just about maintain the status quo. I don’t actually seem to get any fitter or or stronger, for all the effort put in, but hope I might be resisting the decline.
Tina
Hiya
I get both to be honest. I get the numbness from the waist down and get pain in my spine.
Joys of MS eh?
Take care.
Shazzie xx
Hi
As Carole said, I’d see your GP to check if it could be something else. I get pain associated with the MS, and I also have back pain but that’s purely to do with posture & not MS. I was recommended some stretches by a physio, and they tend to sort it out though. If it’s neuropathic pain then there are medications that can help like Gabapentin or Pregabalin. If you want to avoid drugs though, mindfulness meditation is known to be effective for pain management. I took part i a study last year that was funded by the MS Society, and I found it helped with pain. If you google ‘mindfuless for pain management’ you should be able to find out more.
Hope you get some relief soon.
Dan