Multiple sclerosis (MS) usually first appears in early adulthood and affects the nervous system. Over time, nerve cells increasingly lose their ability to transmit electrical signals. People with MS experience worsening difficulty with movement and sensation. Different forms of the disease progress at different rates, some more rapidly than others. All forms vary in pattern with flare-ups followed by periods of remission. Scientists have not yet narrowed down the cause or cure, but research continues.

The disease evolves uniquely for each individual, but certain classic signs and symptoms usually emerge as early indicators:

1. Vision problems

Flare-ups in optic nerves affect vision in eye movement and sensory ability. Blurriness in one or both eyes is common. Some patients report that colors appear dull. Muscles controlling eye movements may become uncoordinated, resulting in jerky tremors. Other symptoms include pain behind the eyeball, double vision, and light sensitivity.

2. Tingling and numbness

Sensory input enters the brain via nerve and spinal cord impulses. Neuropathy, or nerve damage, is common. Patients with neuropathy experience numbness or other abnormal sensations such as tingling, especially on legs and feet. Part of our body’s defense system involves detecting changes in the immediate environment. Imagine yourself stepping on a shard of glass or feeling ants crawling up your leg. These are vivid examples showing how our nervous system helps us sense danger.

3. Pains and spasms

Knowing that MS affects muscle function as well as sensation, you can understand that spasms interfere with a person’s ability to perform many activities. If you’ve ever had a charley horse, you know how painful a spasm can be. Often there’s a vicious cycle of pain triggering spasms which in turn cause more pain.

4. Weakness or fatigue

Clearly, no sign or symptom stands alone – they’re all interconnected. Challenges from MS cause physical fatigue. Lack of physical activity over time causes muscles to lose bulk so movement becomes more difficult. Another vicious cycle. A word of caution: you need to let your healthcare practitioner know about any new, unexplained pattern of general weakness or fatigue.

5. Balance problems or dizziness

One of the more dangerous early symptoms of MS involves balance problems or dizziness. In early stages of the disease, such attacks may be the cause of unexpectedly dropping things, falling, or even running into things.

6. Bladder issues

Although we expect urine dribbles as we get older, incontinence can be severely embarrassing when we’re only in our 20s. In addition, most MS patients eventually suffer from urinary retention when bladder muscles spasm in a way that prevents urine from being released. The pain of the filling bladder can increase the strength of the spasm.

7. Cognitive problems

Any chronic disease condition will affect individuals’ emotional status by causing some degree of anger, frustration, fear, depression, and hopelessness. MS, by impairing the transmission of signals in the brain, also causes cognitive changes such as slowed thinking, trouble focusing, and mental fatigue. None of this is unfamiliar to any of us, but here it is directly caused by the disease process.

All of these conditions can be devastating to a person’s daily life and sense of self. Be sure to keep the lines of communication open with your healthcare provider to learn how to best manage your MS.