Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, degenerative disease of the central nervous system. In MS, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath that surrounds nerve fibers. The myelin sheath acts as a conductor and helps nerve impulses travel to and from the brain and spinal cord. When myelin is damaged, these messages are disrupted. This disruption produces the symptoms that people with MS experience. Symptoms vary greatly between individuals. They can be mild, moderate or severe.
Motor Problems
Mobility problems often occur in people with MS. They may have trouble walking, experience weakness in one of more limbs, have poor coordination, and suffer from a loss of balance. Paralysis is possible in severe cases.
Sensory Problems
Sensory symptoms are common in MS patients. These can include numbness in one or more parts of the body; tingling and buzzing sensations; sharp pains in the head or body that feel like electrical shocks; hypersensitivity to changes in atmospheric pressure; and vertigo and dizziness.
Problems with Cognition and Emotion
People with MS may suffer from a variety of symptoms related to thinking. Patients may have short and long-term memory loss. Focusing attention and learning and retaining new information may be difficult. Planning, organizing and problem-solving functions may be impaired.
People with MS can also experience difficulties with language. A common symptom is the inability to find the right word when communicating.
MS causes changes in the immune and nervous systems of patients. These fluctuations may cause irritability, depression and mood swings. Emotional symptoms may also be a reaction to the challenges and stress of living with a chronic disease.
Visual Problems
The optic nerve can be damaged in people with MS. This can result in double vision, blurred vision, pain in the eyes and vision loss.
Fatigue
Fatigue in MS patients can be mental or physical. Fatigue can be intensified by extreme temperatures, lack of sleep and stress.
Sexual Dysfunction
In MS, the messages the brain sends to reproductive organs about arousal can be interrupted. As a result, MS patients can experience problems with arousal. They also can find it difficult or impossible to achieve orgasm.
Bladder and Bowel Problems
People with MS sometimes experience bladder and bowel problems, including a frequent and urgent need to urinate; difficulty urinating; bladder or bowel incontinence; and constipation.
