MS hug
How do you know when it an ms hug as apposed to anxiety, a muscle situation, or so many other things? I’m currently going through testing for ms. It’s been a process. My neurologist has told me to call the ms clinic if I have any new symptoms but how do I know when something is an ms symptom as opposed to a symptom of something completely unrelated. If had a tightness in my very lower chest/back 2 nights over the past week that has made it hard to sleep. But how is one supposed to know what it is or if it is call worthy?
I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with these symptoms. It's one of the greatest challenges living with Multiple Sclerosis - deciphering what is MS related and what isn't. While we unfortunately can't give you a definitive answer, only your doctor could do that, I did want to share some resources for you that might be helpful for you. https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/everybody-love-a-hug-but-not-ms-hugs-what-are-they
https://multiplesclerosis.net/symptoms/ms-hug
We have many more articles about MS hug that you can find by typing "hug" into the search bar in the upper left corner of the site. One might resonate with you more than another, but many of them are written directly from our fellow MS community members who are speaking from their firsthand experience.
Hope this helps,
Best
Alene, moderator
Hi,
!
Alene pretty much covered it, but I will say that eventually people can discern what's an MS hug and what's anxiety or a muscle pull. Pardon the analogy, but it reminds me of a first time mom trying to tell if they are experiencing labor pains or not. Once you experience full contractions, you KNOW them. And once you are able to find out if your pain is "the hug", you will recognize it should it occur again. I know that's not really helpful advice, but that seems to be the way it goes.
And, we always recommend letting your doctor know about any new or worsening symptoms, but that can get overwhelming for you when you are experiencing lots of symptoms or EVERYTHING is a new symptom. It does tend to get easier as you and your body figure things out. Of course, MS loves to throw surprises a person's way, too.
You can always call, just to be safe. Or, you can ride it out and mention it at your next appointment, if you prefer. The choice is yours.
I do hope you don't experience anymore of these episodes and if your symptoms ever feel serious and are accompanied by other issues (shortness of breath, crushing chest pain, etc), we do recommend calling the doctor, just to be safe.
Best, Erin, MultipleSclerosis.net Team Member.
