Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

About MS symptoms

hi All,

I have some questions about MS symptoms. One thing is that I read that most people with MS feel a very very strong fatigue quite often. Is this true for everyone? Is it true almost all the time? Does it onset after a while of having MS?

And another thing. Is feeling very nervous when in stressful situation (social meetings or things like this) typical of MS? Did people normally at ease with stressful situations suddenly or gradually became more and more nervous after MS onset?

Thanks a lot for all your help.
8 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Thanks for your insightful comments -- JJ no worries, I'm really aware that he does have MS, and it's just at times an irrational thought that crosses my mind since as Lulu says, I think that's because he feels overall well in this period!

Indeed he was the one bringing up that maybe he didn't have MS because of the lack of fatigue symptoms. I was just trying to follow up and see if it was really such a necessary symptom. I understand now that it isn't.

Thanks!
Helpful - 0
572651 tn?1530999357
I rarely have true MS fatigue - I had a stretch early on where for a good 2 months I started each day hoping I would have energy to do something, anything in fact.  I still pushed through to go to work, but could do little else.  

I do seem to tire easier - age or MS?  I hit a wall often late in the afternoon - last week a couple days on the drive home all I could think about was pulling over and taking a nap. Fortunately I only live 15 minutes away and could push through.  But I seriously knew that If I closed my eyes at all I would be out instantly.  

There are so many MS symptoms that many people have that I have skipped it makes me wonder at times, too.  I even asked my msologist last month if I really have MS.  He laughed and said he loves it when his patients ask that qustion because it means we are feeling well.  I hope your BF feels well, too.

Lulu
Helpful - 0
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Golly Ty, I was a little taken back by your comment (in a good way lol), I really didn't post that to pull at heart strings or anything, just trying to keep it real, I'm a tell it like it is kind of girl and sometimes I probably shouldn't be such an open book.lol From my perspective that story is not that big of deal in the scheme of other things, (nothing bad happened apart from mummy guilt and a very grumpy baby lol) I could of chosen something else to explain what fatigue really is but that tale seems to explain fatigue well, explains it for what it is, totally abnormal.

Please, dont make the mistake of second quessing what you think your boyfriend is experiencing, if your interpreting from a none MS reality then sorry (no disrespect intended, at all!) but you maybe getting it wrong. You 'hoping' its not MS isn't helpful or supportive of him overall, its a negative, a doubt that can put an unintended wedge between you both, redirect you focus and take all the good you get and just love the man!

Cheers...........JJ
Helpful - 0
1382889 tn?1505071193
I very rarely experience the fatigue that is so common with MS. Every now and again (maybe 3-4 times in the last 11 months) I remember experiencing bone crushing fatigue at night before bed. The kind of fatigue that makes you just want to melt into bed and reminded me of the tiredness I experienced when I was carring my twins.

A big however, though is that all the times I experienced this fatigue, I had competely overdone it that day and push myself too hard. In the past I could do this with no price to pay but now I can't. Honestly though I can't say it isn't due to age too (I am 48).  Not as young as I use to be and sometimes my body wants to prove it's capable.

As far as the anxiety goes, I noticed I was way more sensitive to overstimulation when I was on steroids and in the months after my last exacerbation but that faded. Now that I think of it, I did experience a lot of anxiety right BEFORE my exacerbations (extreme stress). Now I work hard not to put myself in situations that I think will be overly stressful, but in general I don't think MS makes me more anxious or predisposed to it.

Hope that helps,
Julie
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Fatigue is the most commonly reported symptom in MS. Of course, there are lots of kinds of fatigue (see Health Pages), and lots of ways of experiencing it. With MS, nothing is 100%.

Just today a long-time friend of mine, a nurse, told me that so-and-so doesn't experience fatigue with MS. I answered that no one has all the symptoms, thank God.

General nervousness or social anxiety is not particularly associated with MS. We have all kinds, from the truly laid back to the truly hyper. Remember that MS does not preclude other illnesses or personality traits. We all are so complex.

ess
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi,

Thanks for your replies.

JJ, so truly sorry to hear about the story you shared. It's heartbraking.

I was asking since my b/f (dx with MS) doesn't show any fatigue symptom. I guess part of me still hopes he doesn't really have MS, which is why he isn't having this symptom so common. But you're right, nothing is so 100% in this disease.

Thanks for the rest of the reply as well.
Helpful - 0
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
I beg to differ, society in general does NOT have a clue what fatigue means! The word fatigue has become a part of societies vanacular, miss used and over used, the correct word general society should be using is tired, plane and simple they are tired!

I can still remember thinking i was just mummy home with a young baby tired, had to be nromal cause everyone told me it was. So i'm head down and bottom up, a crumpled heap on the floor, baby crying for a feed, milk flowing and every ounce of motherly instinct screeming, screeming, screeming and still I couldn't find enough energy to lift my head off the floor. IMHO you know what fatigue is when the most powerful force known to man (motherly instinct) is not even enough to move you. lol society is just plane and simply tired! I do mean that with no disrespect to general society, its just the true meaning of fatigue gets degraded when used to freely.

Q1. MS is mysterious and nothing is 100% but its a very high statistic
Q2. see Q1
Q3. Not necessarily, for some its their first sx
Q4. NO i dont think nervousness is a sx of MS
Q5. NO

Although nervousness isn't exactly a sx, what can happen is an overstimulation of their senses, so visual and auditory signals are being overloaded, bombarded all at once, its not pleasant and could I suppose be confused with feeling nervous. The fight or flight instinct will kick in regardless of causation, once the removal of the over stimulation happens, their senses calm down again and they feel more normal.

Anxiety is much the same really, how you know its the 'root' cause is usually down to its pattern. eg meetings, the environment is irrelivant, people irrelivant etc. etc. Sensory overstimulation on the other hand is usually pin downable to environmantal factors eg meetings, overload in boardroom A because of overhead lights, temperature of the room, sound of copier vibrating through the wall but overload doesn't happen in boardroom B which has none of those environmental factors.

Hopefully thats made some sense.

Cheers...........JJ



Helpful - 0
1396846 tn?1332459510
Fatigue is very common with MS but it is also common among the society in general. I get so fatigued I am on meds for it. Mine occured as my first symtoms arrived. I have energy but I need to use it wisely so that I don't get overly exhausted.

As for your other question I am not sure but getting nervous and anxious when you werent before sounds like an anxiety issue to me but not sure so I don't want to go any further on this one.

Hope this helps a little

Paula
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Multiple Sclerosis Community

Top Neurology Answerers
987762 tn?1671273328
Australia
5265383 tn?1669040108
ON
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
1780921 tn?1499301793
Queen Creek, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease