Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms: what are they?

Published at 23 September 2024

Multiple sclerosis (MS - Multiple Sclerosis) is a chronic neurological disease in which the immune system attacks the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord nerves, making it difficult to communicate between the brain and the rest of the body’s organs, (1) which causes the many symptoms, which usually appear in the form of Alternating relapses and remission. (2)

It is not possible to predict how the symptoms of multiple sclerosis appear, meaning that the course of the disease differs from one person to another, and the symptoms of the disease may change over time. For example, a person may suffer from one or two symptoms, while another person may suffer from all symptoms together. (3)

Common multiple sclerosis symptoms

Below is a list of common symptoms of multiple sclerosis:

Generalized fatigue and exhaustion: About 80% of those affected feel extremely tired to the point that it affects their ability to carry out simple daily activities. The severity of fatigue and exhaustion increases at the end of the day, after exercise, during illness, or in hot weather. (2)(3)

Numbness or weakness in the limbs: It is usually unilateral at a time, and you may feel numbness in the face and torso as well. (5)

Vision problems: This can include pain when moving the eye, blurred or double vision, involuntary movements of the eyes (nystagmus), color blindness, and partial or complete loss of vision. These symptoms usually appear in one eye. (4)

Myalgia or muscles rigidity of arms or legs: The affected person may also suffer from severe and painful spasms and involuntary muscle contractions. (6)

Problems with walking and movement: which include difficulty with balance, shaky, or poorly coordinated movements, and vertigo or dizziness. (5)

Bowel problems: A person with multiple sclerosis may suffer from bowel problems such as constipation or loss of bowel control. (2)

Sexual problems: such as lack of sexual libido, difficulty achieving orgasm, decreased vaginal sensation and lack of vaginal secretions for women, and erectile dysfunction in men. (4)

Pain: About half of people with multiple sclerosis suffer from various types of pain, such as neuralgia (which is expressed by a feeling of burning or increased skin sensitivity), or myalgia (which occurs due to excessive pressure on the muscles and joints as a result of their spasm). (6)

Psychological and emotional problems: It is possible for those affected to suffer from psychological and emotional problems as a response to the stress they are experiencing due to the disease or due to the neurological and immune changes resulting from the disease. These problems include anxiety, mood swings, and depression. (3)

Problems in learning, thinking, and planning: These may include: (6)
Problems understanding and speaking smoothly and fluently.
Problems learning and remembering new things without affecting long-term memory.
Inability to concentrate and pay attention for a long time.
Problems in processing and understanding visual information, such as difficulty reading and understanding a map.
Difficulty in planning and solving problems. Although sufferers often know what they want to do, they do not know how to do it.
Difficulty in solving puzzles and mathematical problems.

Bladder problems: which may include: (2)
An urgent and frequent need to urinate, which may cause urinary incontinence.
Difficulty voiding the bladder completely.
Waking up frequently during the night to urinate (nycturia).
Recurrent urinary tract infections.

Symptoms of advanced multiple sclerosis

In advanced stages of the disease, a variety of symptoms appear, such as: (3)(7)

Speech disorders: About 25-40% of people with advanced-stage multiple sclerosis suffer from speech disorders that include: stuttering, stammering, and loss of voice.
Dysphagia: Nearly one-third of people with multiple sclerosis suffer from difficulty swallowing or dysphagia, due to damage to the nerves responsible for nourishing the small muscles in the mouth and throat.
Breathing problems: These problems only occur in people with multiple sclerosis who suffer from severe weakness in the chest muscles.
Hearing problems: About 6% of people with multiple sclerosis suffer from hearing problems and disorders such as: tinnitus, increased sensitivity to sounds (Hyperacusis), and hearing loss.
Partial or complete paralysis: Patients with multiple sclerosis may suffer from complete or partial paralysis that forces them to use a wheelchair or stay in bed for a long time, which increases their likelihood of developing strokes or bed sores. (9)(10)
Electrical charges or epileptic seizures. (3)
Loss of sense of taste (Ageusia). (3)

Book an appointment in the Neurosurgery and Spine Surgery Department at Al-Ahli Hospital if you suffer from multiple sclerosis symptoms, to receive an accurate assessment of your condition using the latest and best devices, while providing you with appropriate solutions.

Course of multiple sclerosis

Symptoms of multiple sclerosis begin in one of two ways: (2)

1. Relapsing-Remitting multiple sclerosis

The largest percentage, about 80-90% of patients with multiple sclerosis, show symptoms in the form of relapses in which new or more severe symptoms appear, and they develop over the course of days or weeks and then improve partially or completely, and the patient enters periods of symptom remission that last for months or years.

But within 10-20 years of the onset of the disease, two-thirds of those patients who develop the disease in the form of relapses also begin to gradually get worse, with or without periods of remission.

2. Primary-Progressive multiple sclerosis

A small percentage of no more than 10-20% of patients with multiple sclerosis begin to develop symptoms that gradually worsen with no periods of remission and relapses.