i have been diagnosed for about a year, only symptom being tingling and some numbness. My last relapse was over a year ago and have been doing well with medication since then
my question is… I’ve just started back at the gym, been going 3 times a week for an hour a time. I’ve experienced some tingling in my leg which usually subsides after the gym. However two days ago I went to the gym and still have tingling and some stiffness in my leg ( it’s the leg where I had the same symptoms as last time)
ive read that some people persist and it clears up or should I rest my leg now? Please can anyone help me with this?
An increase in symptoms following exercise is pretty par for the course, and may be due to the temporary rise in body temperature (have a Google of Uhthoff’s phenomenon).
However, if it is persisting long after you’ve had time to recover, and body temperature has returned to normal (i.e. two days), I would question whether it is in fact anything to do with the exercise, and might just be coincidental.
Could you be having a mild (sensory) relapse?
Alternatively, do you have even a minor infection of any kind, such as a cold? This too can produce an increase in symptoms - sometimes resembling a relapse, and may also be linked to a rise in body temperature, as your body tries to fight off the infection.
i hit the gym as hard as ever. i skate as hard as ever. in fact given my diagnosis, i probably work even harder than i used to. the realisation of not being able to do these things forever is one hell of a motivator to go harder whilst you still can!
post workout, i get the symptoms of burning, tingling, sensory numbness etc more often than not. but if you work hard enough, such things can be considered natural even to those without MS.
i remain conscious that because of my MS, i am possibly more inclined to attribute such things to MS instead of being the effect of a good session.
some motivate themselves by saying “mind over matter”; well i like to think “mind over white matter (lesions)”
sure i might feel fatigue and numbness and muscle weakness, but when i can pick up a dumb-bell as easily as i ever could, i am reminded that MS in many ways is merely a perception. the muscles are as strong as they ever were, your brain simply fails to acknowledge that. and so you solider on.
some might say that you need to take care of yourself more than most others. and depending upon you symptoms, this is true; if you suffer from drop foot for example, motor skills can be a challenge so perhaps don’t sign up for this year’s marathon.
but aside from significant motor and co-ordination spasticity i would suggest that you continue to push yourself as much now, as you always have. continue to train hard but don’t overtrain. MS isn’t an excuse to take it easy, it is a reason to invest in yourself now.
but that’s just me. i currently find my attitude to be psychologically rewarding as well as physically exhausting.
When I had been dx for a year or two, I went to the gym for the first time in years on a weekend away and scared myself stiff because I was tingling alarmingly in an MS-y way from the neck down for days. Thought I had done myself a mischief. It wore off in the end - panic over. I think it is very likely that you will find the same.
Thank you all for your messages they are really helpful it’s started to wear off a little just a little bit still in my knee cap? I will rest for another couple of days and then hopefully be back in the gym:) fingers crossed!
I started the gym a few years ago I would have over done things and still do to the point my legs tingle and I can barley walk I’ve pins needles and numbness over must of my body but a woman at the gym told me to get under the shower run the water as cold as you can bare it over my head and down my back for as long as I can and I’ll soon get the feeling back and the tingling will stop she was so right every time I go to the gym now I can push myself to the that point as long as I leave enough strength and feeling to get myself to the changing rooms and a cold shower I’m fine and even better have I have a couple of minutes on the sun bed when I come out of the shower the long term benefits of exercise have been really good for me for one I’ve no fatigue as long as I exercise.
I asked my neuro about when I do that am I doing myself harm or long term damage he said no its just my central nervous system heating up and the signals from my brain slowing down but once the nervous system is cooled down it returns to normal, well ms normal lol
There was a good clip on YouTube about a girl with MS who ran and she was the top track runner in her class but she had to have her couch standing at the finish line to catch her and carry her to the side where they held ice packs all over her body to cool her down so she could stand and start to walk again.
This video is totally inspiring, I watched it this morning and I’m in awe of Kalya. What a Great girl who doesn’t let ms get the better of her, thanks for telling me to watch my symptoms are dying down after a weeks rest so I’m hoping I will be able to ease myself back into exercise.
Well shit… you made me blush (or maybe its the tecfidera?) I am glad something in my post resonated with you and i sincerely hope it helps.
there are many great people in this forum and i have already printed out words of wisdom from others. one post is actually taped to my desk under the keyboard i am currently banging away on. i refer to it occasionally when the craziness of this situation builds in the back of my mind.
hi Paolo and every body else - yes I find your post inspirational too, just wish I could do it! find the gym really hard to handle…get confused with all the exercise tools and can’t handle anything where speed is involved …----ride my bike everywhere and go swimming + aqua every morning, yes and walk everywhere, but simply terrified of anything that involves outside control ???
I’ve been quite adamant about avoiding any sort of research into MS, especially on the internet. It seems it affects everyone so differently and I was worried that if I knew about everyone else’s symptoms I would just obsess about when they would become mine too. I’m glad I stumbled across this site today though - as you say, lots of great people and it is amazing how uplifting it is when you realise there are people out there who can fully appreciate everything you are experiencing!!
Gingerlil - as my therapist says, for the sake of your sanity, focus on the things you can control and forget the things you cant! I also feel like the biggest klutz at gym and much prefer swimming!!!
the gym isn’t for everyone, less able bodied or not. most of the time, people complain of the monotony; pick weight up, put weight down, pick weight up, put weight down, repeat ad nauseum… yawn.
the most important thing when finding something to maintain fitness / mobility / strength / endurance is to find something tolerable, if not outright enjoyable.
but yes, walk anywhere and everywhere, even if only to the pub and back!
An interesting post. ts something ive asked my consultant, does it do any harm to push through the sensations. burning, tingling, numbness what i call ms contortions (feeling like someone twisting me arm and fingers back on them selves but when i look they are normal) she said it will do no harm as such, but might make me feel worse, take longer to recover and feel tireder, that i should pace myself. the fact is now im unfit and over weight and wish id not stopped sport, but if i felt well enough to do it i would then feel terible after, so should have done some, it really is a case of play it by ear i think on a daily basis. A big swim can take me days to recover, so an ours swim can mean 3 days of bed so not worth it,then when i feel good nervous of over doing it and making myself feel bad.
i think just see what you do and how you respond, maybe keep a diary so you can monitor changes and what is ok and what is pushing too hard!
