Vision

blurred or doubled vision, uncontrolled eye movement, light sensitivity, seeing spots, and pain with eye movement. They may appear soon after diagnosis or later on. Fortunately, many of these symptoms may be temporary and clear up on their own.

Optic neuritis is the most common vision problem, affecting about 20% of people with MS. The optic nerve sends signals from the eyes to the brain to create a visual. When damaged, the signals may be disrupted, potentially leading to blurring and graying vision. Optic neuritis tends to appear fairly early in MS, but it may occur later.

Other common vision problems may include double vision and involuntary eye movement.

Numbness & Tingling

Often some of the first symptoms people experience. While some cases of numbness and tingling can be severe, more often they are mild. Think of nerves as wires and myelin as the protective coating. When that protective coating breaks down because of MS, the exposed nerves can disrupt the signals. This disruption can lead to numbness and tingling.

Numbness and tingling can be separated into four categories:

• Paresthesia: The feeling of pins and needles, or a crawling sensation
• Dysesthesia: A burning sensation along the nerve that may change how you feel pressure
• Hyperpathia: An increased sensitivity to pain
• Anesthesia: A complete loss of any sensation

Sexual Issues

The nerve damage caused by MS may lead to issues with sexual function. This means sexual response—including arousal and orgasm—can be directly affected. Men may experience difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection, and reduced sensation or difficulty achieving ejaculation. Women may experience reduced sensation, painfully heightened sensation, or vaginal dryness. Sexual issues may also stem from other MS symptoms such as fatigue or spasticity, as well as from psychological factors relating to self-esteem and mood changes.

Heat Sensitivety

Many people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience heat sensitivity, which may make some MS symptoms worse. Even as little as a 0.5°F change in body temperature may affect someone with MS. Fatigue, cognitive function (attention and concentration), muscle weakness, and vision problems can all be made worse by heat.

When the body attacks the myelin (the protective casing around nerves), the nerve is left exposed, making it more sensitive to heat. When overheated, nerve signals may be delayed or blocked, leading to other symptoms such as fatigue. For most people, heat sensitivity doesn’t typically lead to permanent damage to the nerves, so when symptoms are worsened by heat, the effect is often temporary.

Pain

People with MS may feel things like sharp stabbing facial pain. Burning, aching, and tingling “pins and needles” are also common around the body. Chronic back and musculo-skeletal pain may be experienced as a result of walking problems and/or muscle spasticity.

Fatigue

Up to 80% of people with MS experience fatigue. You may be dealing with fatigue if you feel weighed down, have low energy, or find yourself struggling with everyday tasks (such as brushing your teeth, doing laundry, or cooking). Fatigue may also be linked to poor sleep, sedating medicine, and as a side effect of certain medications.

A person with MS could also experience MS fatigue, known as lassitude, which tends to be more severe. This type of fatigue could occur nearly every day, starting in the morning, even after a good night’s rest.

Walking

Gait means the way a person walks. Many people living with MS find that their gait is affected by the condition. Gait may be impaired by damage to nerve cells in the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain that helps control movements and muscle tone. A person’s walking ability can be affected by other MS symptoms, including muscle tightness, numbness in the feet, loss of balance and coordination, foot drop, vision impairments, fatigue, or weakness. A steady gait is not only important for getting from point A to point B—it can also be important for safety.

Bladder and Bowel

Bladder and bowel dysfunction may be defined as either going to the bathroom too often or not enough. If you’re experiencing diarrhea, constipation, leakage, nocturia (frequent need to urinate at night), a slow stream, hesitancy, or often don’t feel fully empty, then you may be suffering from bladder and/or bowel dysfunction. You are not alone, as approximately 80% of people with MS experience bladder dysfunction and about 70% of people with MS experience bowel dysfunction. Although talking to your doctor or loved ones about your bladder and bowel movements may feel embarrassing, you can never be too vocal when it comes to your health.

Motor Skills

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) may experience some invisible symptoms. These are symptoms that may not be seen or noticed by others but are felt in the body. In mild cases, spasticity may only be noticed by the person experiencing issues.

People experiencing spasticity can have sudden, uncontrolled muscle contractions or spasms. The degree of these spasms may vary from mild muscle stiffness to more severe and painful spasms. Spasticity generally occurs in the legs, but it can also appear in the lower back, joints, and other extremities.

Spasticity problems are caused by damage to nerves in the brain or spinal cord and may affect a person’s ability to maintain smooth muscle movement. For people with MS, the immune system attacks the central nervous system, including the protective coating around nerves called myelin. Because the nerves aren’t as well protected, they are more sensitive and may not send signals smoothly.

Normally, the muscles take turns relaxing and contracting. But when there is nerve damage, too many muscles can contract at the same time. This can lead to an involuntary bending of the hips or knees, or a rigid straightening of the legs.

Cognitive

Many people with MS have problems with cognition (the ability to process and retain information through thought, experience, and the senses). Damage to the nerve cells in your brain may lead to attention and concentration issues, forgetfulness, trouble planning and organizing, and difficulty communicating. Several factors may contribute to cognitive dysfunction. These could include your stage of MS, any medicines you’re taking, and even your gender. It is important to work with your doctor to determine what is right for you.