Gastrointestinal symptoms and conditions in MS. Some people with multiple sclerosis will never have bowel problems, but up to 7 out of 10 people with multiple sclerosis will have a bowel problem at some point, either constipation or incontinence (dripping). The “multiple sclerosis hug” is a symptom of multiple sclerosis in which you feel pain or tightness around the chest or stomach area. It's not dangerous, but it can be scary, especially if you haven't seen it before.
The “embrace of multiple sclerosis” is a symptom of multiple sclerosis that feels like an uncomfortable, sometimes painful, feeling of tightness or pressure, usually around the stomach or chest. The pain or tightness may spread all over the chest or stomach, or it may only be on one side. The embrace of multiple sclerosis can be different from person to person. It's also known as knotting or girdling, but people describe their embrace for MS in many ways to help others understand it, including their MS team.
Embracing MS can be one of the first symptoms of MS, or it can occur years after diagnosis. Not everyone with multiple sclerosis gets the hug of multiple sclerosis. But you should get a checkup if there's something else that's causing that feeling and needs treatment. And contact a doctor or nurse right away if you're ever concerned about chest pain.
Many people with MS share their experiences and suggestions about embracing MS in our online community. And people in your local Multiple Sclerosis Society group might have similar symptoms. A doctor or nurse can help you learn more about embracing multiple sclerosis, its causes, and how to treat it. You may be referred to a specialist pain clinic.
Read Ann's story about living with the embrace of multiple sclerosis on our community blog. You might notice that something seems to be triggering your MS embrace. A hug for multiple sclerosis can be triggered by fatigue, changes in temperature, eating a large meal, discomfort, or stress. Not everyone discovers what triggers their embrace for multiple sclerosis, but if you find it, you may be able to avoid or reduce it.
If the trigger isn't obvious, you could try keeping a diary of how hot, stressed or tired you feel, what you eat, and so on. Then you can see if there's a link to when your multiple sclerosis hug occurs. Tight clothing seems to cause the embrace of multiple sclerosis in some people and can worsen it when it happens. So it makes sense to try loose-fitting clothes.
This could include not wearing bras with rings. Some people take off clothing to feel more comfortable, when the situation allows it. On the other hand, tight-fitting clothing actually helps some people deal with the embrace of multiple sclerosis. This may be because the grip of tighter clothing distracts the brain and makes the hugging sensations of MS less obvious.
Whatever the reason, it might work for you. When you hug, it may help to move, stretch, or sit with your back straight. If going to bed makes things worse, it might help to sleep a little while leaning on pillows. On the other hand, it helps some people to lie down.
Like tight, loose-fitting clothing, the opposites of temperature seem to help different people. Hot water bottles and hot towels in the affected area may provide some relief. Or you might find that a cold compress helps. It can be an ice pack wrapped in a towel or a damp cloth cooled in the fridge.
You may find that physical treatments help your MS to embrace. These include physical therapy, some complementary therapies, or TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). Learn more in our information on how to manage pain and unpleasant sensations. If the embrace of multiple sclerosis is due to unusual sensations (dysaesthesia), drug treatments for pain may be helpful.
If muscle spasms are the cause, different drug treatments may be useful. When the embrace of multiple sclerosis is a symptom of a relapse, steroids can help speed recovery. You may need to try some treatments before deciding on the one that's right for you. And it could be a combination of drug treatments and other techniques that best helps you control your MS (hug).
People describe their embrace for multiple sclerosis in different ways. For some it's uncomfortable, for others it's painful. If you need to describe your MS embrace, use words that make sense to you. For example, is it a tingling? Some people say it hurts to touch their ribs or that they feel like their skin has been stung by a nettle.
You may feel as if you are making it difficult to breathe, as if there is an elastic band around your chest or a tight corset. People sometimes call it a ring or girdle. Some people prefer to call it a “multiple sclerosis squeeze” because it's certainly not a friendly hug. There is no single medical name that describes the embrace of all people with MS, because MS can cause these types of feelings in different ways.
This will help them rule out causes other than multiple sclerosis and suggest the best ways to treat it, whatever the cause. If it's a symptom of multiple sclerosis, they might describe it as dysaesthesia (unusual sensations) or muscle spasms, two different ways in which MS can create a hugging and compressing effect. Learn more about how to describe these sensations to your doctor in our information on how to control pain and unpleasant sensations. Ann shares her experience with the infamous Hug multiple sclerosis, a painful condition that some people living with multiple sclerosis suffer from periodically around the chest and torso.
There are many ways to manage MS. Learn about drug treatments, diet, exercise, and complementary and alternative therapies. We offer a wide range of information that everyone living with MS. can trust.
Learn how we ensure the quality of our information. The most common intestinal dysfunction in MS is constipation. It is usually due to poor diet and lack of physical activity. Incontinence can also be alleviated by making some positive lifestyle changes.
Do you suffer from painful abdominal bloating? Aren't you alone?. Up to 30 percent of people with multiple sclerosis report symptoms of indigestion, compared to 8 percent of the general population. Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience gastroparesis, a feeling of fullness, nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain soon after consuming food. Women are more likely to develop gastroparesis than men.
Sometimes called spastic colon, irritable bowel syndrome is the name of several conditions that cause alternating diarrhea and constipation. Other symptoms include gas pains and abdominal cramps. Scientists don't fully understand IBS or its causes. However, it's a common condition and is thought to be even more so in people with multiple sclerosis.
Some research has found that about 20% of people with multiple sclerosis have symptoms of IBS. That's more than double the rate of the general population. Gastroparesis is a disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine. When symptoms are more difficult to control, nutritionists suggest pureed foods, soups, and other mixed foods.
Once diagnosed, multiple sclerosis stays with you for life, but there are treatments that can help you manage your symptoms. The small device uses gentle electrical impulses that stimulate stomach muscles to move contents through the digestive tract and relieve symptoms. It's unlikely that you'll experience all of these symptoms with constipation, but some people may experience a combination of them. In primary progressive multiple sclerosis, symptoms gradually worsen and accumulate over several years, and there are no periods of remission, although people often have periods when their condition seems to stabilize.
There is some evidence that alternative treatments, such as acupuncture or cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD), when legally available, can help relieve nausea and other symptoms. In some studies, botulinum toxin (Botox), a nerve-blocking agent, has been shown to provide modest improvement in the symptoms of gastroparesis. The Overcoming MS program incorporates scientifically researched dietary recommendations for MS and will not only help relieve intestinal problems, but also other symptoms of MS. It belongs to a class of drugs called prokinetics or promotility, agents that help the stomach empty more quickly.
Serious symptoms that are more difficult to treat may require surgical procedures to maintain nutrition and reduce symptoms. Diarrhea can be caused by a stomach virus, infection, medicines, antibiotics, or food poisoning, as can people who don't have multiple sclerosis. Many people find it difficult to talk about bowel problems, but with the right information and support, you can successfully manage your symptoms and live well with little impact on your daily life (if any). Treatment options, including dietary and lifestyle measures, medications, and surgical procedures, are aimed at long-term symptom control.
I haven't been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but I have a lot of symptoms, so I've been checking pages and forums. .
