What Are The Symptoms Of MS?
Multiple sclerosis can affect people in a variety of ways. Symptoms can vary and are usually different for each individual. These symptoms can change in severity and duration, some even ceasing from time to time. MS can even progress without relapses over time (often called, Invisible MS). Some common symptoms include:

1.    Vision problems such as A.    Double vision.
B.    Optic neuritis - An inflammation of the optic nerve, which can involve one or both eyes. Patients often experience pain, especially when moving the eye(s). Blurred or poor vision is frequently present. However, over time, eyesight usually returns to normal.

2.    Loss of muscle strength in extremities - This often occurs as the disease progresses, more frequently in the legs than in the arms.

3.    Sense of Touch - The ability to feel cold and heat may be replaced by numbness or tingling.

4.    Pain - Burning pain in the arms and legs may be present. This is caused by damage of the sensory tracts in the spinal cord. Some patients may have “spasticity”, which is tension in the arms or legs, causing spasms. This condition may be painful.

5.    Bladder and Bowel Control - People with MS sometimes experience problems with frequent urges to urinate. Problems with bowel control can occur also, but less often.

6.    Sexual Problems - Some women experience a loss of sensitivity or the inability to achieve orgasm. Some also experience pain. Men sometimes have difficulty in achieving or maintaining an erection.

7.    Coordination/Balance - Many people with MS easily lose their balance when walking. Some have problems holding onto objects, or simply writing, due to tremor, or an unsteady hand.

8.    Fatigue - Extreme fatigue may affect some MS patients who exert relatively little energy during common daily activities.

9.    Cognitive Function - Patients may experience difficulty remembering, problem solving, or concentrating (some people say they “just can’t focus”). It is different for everyone. Some experience these problems early in the disease, and others much later on.

10.    Speech and Swallowing - Some MS patients have difficulty speaking. Most often, their speech is merely slower than normal. There are also those who experience periodic swallowing difficulties.

11.    Depression - Multiple Sclerosis frequently contributes to bouts of depression. This can be caused by the physical changes that take place in the brain, but it may also be a normal emotional reaction to a recent diagnosis or just coping with the illness and the challenges patients face every day. Remedies are available, so depression or other mood changes should always be discussed with the treating physician.