Uncomfortable !

Morning one and all. Just a quick question about the hug. Have never experienced it before and am not sure if this is what is happening at the moment. Under rib cage on right hand side at the back only, very uncomfortable, just wondered if it can happen just on one side? A little uncomfortable to take a deep breath, like someone is squashing me. Many thanks.

Hi Bilpat1! Coincidentally I’ve just seen your posting and have been experiencing what I think is an MS hug myself . With me it feels like I’m wearing a tight belt around my middle that someone keeps tightening and tightening - like a stitch you get from running, but all the way round.

I thought I’d experiment this morning with my pills - I take some before breakfast, then my Tecfidera in the middle, and normally the rest of them (bladder infection related) afterwards. Haven’t had the ‘afterwards’ ones yet but I’m not sure that this makes a blind bit of difference!

And now I think about it I reckon that this is connected to my intestinal issues, where things seem to slow down sometimes. Some years ago I was diagnosed with IBS, which is an exclusion thing anyway, where they can’t find anything else. WIth an MS dx, I have lots of ‘ah, that must be what caused it’ moments. Someone on here calls MS the ‘gift that keeps on giving’ (can’t remember who, sorry!) How true…

Louise x

I think the hug varies from person to person. My experience is that you can certainly get it on one side only. It stretches around the lower ribs, front and back, and up beneath the arm. It has always been on the same side, occasionally only in the area beneath the arm. It is extremely uncomfortable, sometimes worse than others, but not as painful as some of the descriptions I have read on this forum. It can last all day, or just an hour or so. When I get it in bed, it’s particularly bothersome.

Billpat1, I suggest you check it out with your MS nurse, just to be sure.

I’ve wondered about this too… I get the ‘MS hug’, usually it’s all around my ribs. Feels like I’ve been crushed. I had always put it down to sleeping awkwardly, until I saw my neuro and was diagnosed (and told off for not seeing the doctor about my weird symptoms over the years!)…

If I am in bed when I get the ‘360 degree hug’, I can’t move. I have to hold onto the metal headboard and lift myself up to change position. During the day, I tend to get a tightness/crushing feeling to the right hand side of my spine. This sometimes spreads around to under my right arm, but doesn’t always go right around my chest. I guess it must be down to the same thing, it’s just not expressing itself as badly as it can do!

Lorrie

Many thanks Louise, Ben and Lorrie for the replies, seeing MS nurse next week so will ask then, thanks again Sue x