I'll apologise in advance here Tkrik, as I'm hijacking your thread for just a minute. Please forgive me. I hope you don't mind just this once, seeing my following question is for Cherie and the topic is so similar to your own.

I too thank you Cherie for that great explanation....but....I've been suffering from something that's more like acute short stabs of pain in the intercostral spaces/muscles.

In your explanation you mentioned the following, and I've only quoted the relevant part from your post...

Quote:

Originally Posted by lady_express_44 What Does It Feel Like? - Described as sharp pain, dull pain, burning pain, tickling, tingling, a crushing or constricting sensation or intense pressure....

On another website I'd asked about the rib pain that I suffer because it really is debillitating while it lasts, but as it's only for a few seconds at a time, no-one seems to think it's anything to be concerned about.

I did break 4 ribs in a fall a few years ago in that same area, and my pain is now said by other MSers who I've asked, to be solely due to spasms in the Trigger Points and that I should see a Myofacial Pain Therapist! (I've actually not heard of one here in Australia)

My own doctor has dismissed my complaints of pain in the ribs when I mention it, even though the pain is agonising and makes me scream out on movement. He says that I probably trapped a nerve during the bone healing process.

Could this old injury be acting as a trigger for MS pain or the hug, or is it more likely to be due to the answers I've already been given as above.

Thank you Cherie if you reply, and thank you Tkrik for allowing me to hijack just this once.

Hijack away Koala. I never worry about hijacks as they can be really positive hijacks. This thread seems to be opening quite a bit of good discussion and I am all for it.

Cherie and I have had discussions on the hug before and she has lots of knowledge as well as experience with the hug. She has been a great resource for me regarding this issue.

I'm leaning towards the explanation you've gotten as it really does make the most sense, Koala.

The thing with the hug is that it is apparently due to spinal lesions. In my experience, when the hug comes on, there are several other sensations (as tkirk mentioned) that come on at the same time; sensitivity to touch, burning, numbness and it is often very, very intense.

I have had the hug on it's own, when I was in the final healing stages of a spinal lesion attack, that just felt like pressure with difficulty breathing (like heaviness on the chest). However, the only sharp pain that I've had associated to the hug is the way my skin felt. I've had no sharp pain internally.

It may be a spasm of some sort that you are experiencing, which I get BETWEEN my ribs, internally . . . that's not due to MS though, it's from Ulcerative Colitis.

The hug spasms don't feel like other spasm at all (to me). That's what they ARE, apparently, but the only indication that it is a spasm (for me) is little jittery feelings inside; nothing sharp, and nothing like the charlie horse spasms I get from spasticity in my legs.

Maybe others have experienced something similar to what you are saying though, and can relate. I would at least be getting that checked out for another potential cause though, if I were you . . .

Cherie

When I was at the neuro's last week confirming that I was having an exacerbation I did ask if this was from spasms or nerve as to me it felt more like nerve. What he said was that it is both but since I had the sensitivity to touch I was experiencing a lot of nerve pain, hence the increase in Neurontin. This actually makes sense as if the nerves are "whacked" then they in turn don't communicate with the muscles or over communicate causing spasms. (This last part was my own logic, not his as I was in too much pain to really care to hear a full on explanation. LOL)

i hope you are feeling better. unfortunately i never really understood if i was having a flare or just a bad day or what. i have days where i can feel wonderful one minute then absolutely awful the next. i can't remember a day where i woke up feeling great and made it the entire day feeling great. like i told my neuro...i don't know what normal is anymore.

It's so frustrating isn't it? You can't fully plan. Everything is tentative. UGH!

I too had numerous tests done including an EGD which showed sensitivity of the nerves which was causing stomach spasms. Now, thanks to all my board buds and my new neuro, I understand what is causing all of this.