Wrist pain and weakness

[erin5105]

Hi,

I was diagnosed almost 5 years ago.  My MS has been in remission for almost that whole time, except for the extreme fatigue.  I live in Hawaii and so it is always HOT here no matter what. We are in the process of relocating back to Utah for my health.  I had an attach about 6 weeks ago.  It started where the knee felt really numb and then after about a week the extreme weakness of the leg from the knee down hit.  I went on steroids and at least I can walk normal now and I am almost back to normal except for the fact that I have pain when I do too much.  Today out of the blue my wrist started to hurt, it feels almost like a sprained it but I haven't done anything to it.  I notice that my fingers are numb also.  I can still move my fingers (just like I could have still moved my toes when I had the flare 6 weeks ago) they don't feel myself touching them.  Could this be MS related or something else.  Until recently I haven't had a lot of pain with my MS, just fatigue and major brain fog. Is pain normal?

[erin5105]

Thanks for all your comments.  It is hard for me because I have such a high pain tolerance.   6 years ago I had a HUGE gallstone stuck in my bile duct and that is when it was discovered. The dr couldn't believe I had a gallstone so big and had never felt it before. I think I must have but since have a high pain tolerance I just shrugged it off. So my wrist must hurt for me to notice it. My hand feels like I am wearing a heavy glove.  That is how my leg felt from the knee down when this happened 6 weeks ago to it.  Weird too cuz I am getting a lot of groin pain in that bad leg of mine.  Ever heard of that?

[Adnvwsti]

I've been diagnosed with mild carpal tunnel in both hands and wrists, confirmed by EMG testing.  But EMG's don't tell much and they sure don't confirm much of anything as to MS, according to my orthopaedic surgeon who conducted the tests.  Also, I wear wrist and hand braces at night when I sleep.  Otherwise, I wake with my hands numb and throbbing with pain.  I imagine that if I didn't wear those braces, the EMG test would have revealed more than just mild carpal tunnel because the braces really help with this problem.  I've had this problem way back to 1995, when it was thought to be connected with pinched nerves in my c-spine (neck) region.  Had two c-spine neck surgeries in 2000 to correct the issue, but pain in my neck and back, shoulders, arms, and the numbing in hands and wrists has not changed in any way.  I can move fingers, but it doesn't mean they aren't numb or that they don't hurt.  It also doesn't mean they aren't weak.  They have, in fact, become so weak that I can lift a pan weighing no more than 1 lb out of the oven and my arm and hand will wobble to keep from dropping it, it feels so heavy.  Is this related to MS?  I don't know, but I think so.  And yes, pain with MS is very normal in my experience.  The ortho surgeon actually told me that he didn't think I had MS because there was no pain with MS.  Next appointment, I brought him an article on the pain related to MS, and he saw that I hit every pain symptom noted, down the line, and changed his mind about his statement.  I think that the pain you feel with MS will likely be somewhat different from the pain I feel with MS and the pain someone else might feel with MS, and so forth.  This seems to be a very individualized disease, not a one-size-fits-all disease.  Find a caring, compassionate doctor in Utah who will listen to you.

[Mand125]

Hi Erin

Since the relapse that I had in September (which I have completely recovered from) my wrists have been sore, I thought maybe it was just ane age thing, maybe arthritis or something but now you've got me wondering...

Mand

[Ufrustrated2]

for me pain is "normal". for the last two years my hands have been hurting more.

who knows what it is. my doctors(s) are from another zone called Rationoid. it it isn't life threatening they have no answers unless they are in the mood to speak circle language.

thus i know not what it is, or is it normal. pain for many ms'ers is very very real. you can take that to your bank.