Does MS (multiple sclerosis) feel like being numb?

MS patients may feel numb; they may also feel tingling sensation. Turns out that “liberation therapy” doe snot work long term, though.

Multiple sclerosis is caused by damage to the nerves. Widening the veins has no effect on it and “liberation therapy” has been definitively shown to be of no benefit.

My mom always said she had pins and needles, but as time went on she said her right side just felt dead.

Multiple sclerosis is different for every sufferer. I myself have this condition. I get fatigued (muscle weakness) when I try to walk/run longer distances than I know I can. I have an internal battery that loses its charge and can only be recharged by lying prostrate and napping.

I also have tremors in my hands but my doctors have not tied that to the multiple sclerosis or anything yet, they do not know why I have them.

@squirbel Do you get the tremors after using your hand? After you have tired the muscles in your hand, and your muscle tires very quickly now? Pretty much all your muscles? When you get the tremors, if it is after using that hand for an extended period (maybe it’s cleaning, knitting, gardening, anything) then once you rest your hand for a few hours the tremors pretty much disappear?

@jleslie my tremors are constant. The tremors in my left are essential and are controlled with medication and the tremors in my right are postural and uncontrollable and I will be undergoing a deep brain stimulation surgery this summer.

The muscle fatigue from walking attacks my thighs and back and causes me to be unable to
be able to fight gravity like a normal person.

@squirbel Then it’s different than what I had. I used be unable to hold a beverage glass (for fear of dropping it) I was so shaky after using my hands for an hour on a specific task. I had trouble all over my body, but in my hands it was so visible. I also had jaw pain, I couldn’t chew gum anymore, and after walking for a few hours, or an hour of exercise like Zumba, I had to rest my legs a little to feel stable enough to drive home, because I was so weak in my legs, and sometimes shaky.

Getting my vitamin D levels up in normal ranges was like a miracle for me. But, I didn’t have an MS diagnosis. One doctor gave me a fibromyalgia diagnosis, but I ignored it.

I really believe the doctor who diagnosed my D deficiency possibly saved me from developing an autoimmune disease, or at least helped me push it off for many years.

I don’t think D is the end all be all for MS, Parkinson’s, and other muscle and nervous system diseases, but I mention it, because any little thing that might help is worth trying, even if it’s only partial relief. I assume all MS patients are being tested for Vitamin D deficiency now since for years now there has been some question about a possible relationship.

I do take vitamin D, but only because my doctor saw I was deficient and she said it was common in Michigan.

@squirbel It’s common in Florida too. It’s common all over the US, but you do live where it’s almost impossible to get enough, and the upper Midwest is where there is high prevalence of MS. That’s why there is a theory that lack of D might contributing to MS cases. Now, all over the US, for the past 30 years, people have been protecting themselves from the sun daily, so it will be interesting to see if the stats change a little. I am my whitest when I live in FL. No tan lines, no D. Doesn’t matter what color you start as.

If I can offer some advice, make sure your blood serum number is above 40 (I think the normal range is 30–80, but look at the labwork, don’t just trust me on it). In fact, if I were you, I’d try to get up to 60+ to really test it out.

Just taking D isn’t good enough to make you feel better if it’s not a therapeutic dose. It’s like an adult taking a baby aspirin for a fever, the person is taking the med, but it’s not enough to bring down the fever.

I’m not a doctor, as you know, just someone who went through a lot of crap with muscle problems, I know more than one person who was almost crippled, and improved tremendously on D, and my endocrinologist sees D deficiency and muscle pain all the time in her office.

However, I do know people who aren’t helped from the D, so no guarantee. Although, I have to say, with a lot of those people they tried it once their disease process was already very severe, and when I asked them what their blood serum number was for D, they never know. Which means they rely on their doctor to decide if they are in normal range—don’t do that. I think the D is worth a try. If you are low, give it a real power hit for three months. Triple your dose if it’s below 30. Double it if it’s below 40. Working with your doctor, I’m not a doctor. Get the blood test, or look back at your most recent, don’t guess.

And, Go Green!