Benign Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms

Multiple sclerosis and its symptoms can have a very significant negative effect on patients who have been diagnosed with this disease. The body seems to be turning on itself and the patient can only try to control her symptoms. One form of this disease, "benign" multiple sclerosis, is the type which does not grow progressively worse over the years.

Defined

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the immune system. It falls into the class of diseases called "autoimmune" diseases, where the patient's body begins to attack a part of itself. Over time, MS affects the patient's ability to move, think, feel and control bodily functions.

Early Symptoms

• These include muscle weakness, which makes it hard for the patient to walk; he also loses his balance, and sometimes, his coordination. She can develop blurred or double vision; she also develops abnormal sensations, such as a "pins and needles" feeling, numbness or other sensations.

Later Symptoms

• The patient can experience fatigue as his MS progresses; he can also experience muscle stiffness and tremors, paralysis and pain because of muscle stiffness. Some patients experience dizziness (light-headedness and vertigo). The patient with "benign" MS may not experience these symptoms for some time, since her illness and symptoms do not change very much over the course of her life. She needs to understand that her MS symptoms may be different from another MS patient's symptoms; and that patient's symptoms may be different from other patients' symptoms.

Later Symptoms Continued

• The patient may experience problems with swallowing and speech as the myelin sheath is progressively destroyed and plaques form in her brain. He may also experience issues with constipation, bowel and/or bladder control. She may also develop sexual problems and have issues with her ability to think clearly. Again, he may not develop every symptom; or his symptoms may appear much later than the patient who has a different form of MS.

Explanation of Symptoms

• Weakness in the legs can happen as the myelin sheath is beginning to sustain damage. This is often one of the first symptoms the patient notices before she receives a definitive diagnosis. Muscular tightness can also develop; sometimes, it is more problematic than the muscle weakness for the patient as he tries to carry on his daily routine. The damage to the myelin sheath in the optic nerve is what causes the vision problems. These problems can include changes in color vision, blurry vision and even blindness; these symptoms can affect one eye or both. The patient can experience some form of pain to some degree; this is attributable to the muscle stiffness she has developed; this pain can be a sharp stabbing pain and it is most commonly felt in the back, face or neck. Environmental factors can affect her MS symptoms. These include hot baths, heat, increased body temperature, any vigorous physical activity and exposure to the sun.