I just found out I have a lesion on my spine at the T3-4 region. It is suspected that I have MS. I also have a strong feeling that there is something squeezing or crushing my right lung and sometimes feel like I can't get enough air. Could the lesion be causing this? Last year I had a chest x ray for a respriratory infection, and it showed increased density at the bottom of my right lung. Could this be causing the sensation I'm feeling?

Keep a log of your symptoms to let your Doctor or Neurologist know.

Sometimes it can be a long journey to a diagnosis and sometimes not but there are plenty of folks here who know what you are going through.

Hi, Ralph, welcome to NT!

What you are describing sounds a lot like what is called the "MS Hug" or the "Girdle Sensation". If you do a search for those terms, you'll find discussions all over the net about it.

Ralph, I have returned to this post to add that I should have mentioned that I've never heard of this lung density issue as directly related to MS. Definitely ask your neuro if these are two separate things or if he/she thinks they are related. Sorry for any confusion.

I hope you get some answers and treatment quickly, it's very uncomfortable to feel that way.

Thank you so much for your input. I had never heard of the MS Hug but now feel this very well may be what this is all about. I have a follow up with my doctor just in case to discuss the lung density thing. I've never in my life done this kind of chat room and I have to say, I can't believe how quickly I go an answer! Thanks again!

You're quite welcome, Ralph, it is perhaps NeuroTalk's great hallmark that we're all struggling with the confusion and uncertainty of difficult health concerns.

Fortunately, we also suffer with profound chattiness and love to offer any experience or knowledge that may save another from even 5 of those frustrating moments.

Look around and let us know if we can help you further, or just hang in one of our many off-topic amusement zones.

My spinal lesions are pretty big, and they cause lots of symptoms when they are active, including the hug. For me that feeling normally comes with a sense of numbness & burning too.

It may very well be the hug (everyone describes it differently), but because you have a lung issue, I think it is worthwhile being checked out by your doc at this time. Being a smoker, I decided to (get checked out; COPD testing), but all was well. It seems it was just a sensory symptom, whereby I "percieved" I was having difficulty getting a full breath . . . but really I wasn't.

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with the diagnosis process, Ralph.

Cherie

Thank you, Cherie. I appreciate your input. I went to my GP this morning and they did a follow up chest x ray just to make sure there is nothing going on in that realm. I have never been a smoker, but have a 40 year old friend who has never been a smoker either and she was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. I guess you can never be sure about these things, but I am betting that this will all be neuro related after all and I will soon start treatment for MS. Have a great day and thanks again.

Hi Ralph,
Welcome!

I like this MS site, link is below. Some stuff is old but still valuable information. I get the MS Hug everyday. I think they named it because it feels like a big old bear came up behind you, and squeezes you around the upper middle, then lets go and does it again and again.

Sometimes it is non-stop at night for me. It is painful, like your ribs are being crushed. That's how it is for me.

Other people get it around the waist, a leg or even an arm. That feel like a tight band is wrapped around the area. They call it banding, girdling (like a tight elastic band) or The HUG. Not a pleasant pain to have, but it is invisible pain to the doctor, only you feel it.

This link is to:

Invisible Symptoms: Fatigue and Pain

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/J...eSymptoms.html

Copied from the site.
MS HUG
Band-like pain in torso or extremities (Jeffery, 2000)
Caused by a lesion in the spinal cord, this pain is characterized by intense pressure or squeezing in a girdle-like pattern around the torso.
May respond partially to phenytoin or gabapentin.
For resistant cases, benzodiazepines may be helpful.

I hope you don't have MS, but if you do, there are medications for a lot of the symptoms.

Thank you for your input. I am still waiting to get the results from my follow-up chest x ray, but I feel pretty sure that this "Hug" is what is going on. The only confusion I have is that this intense crushing feeling is only around my right rib; the left side feels completely normal. Has anyone ever experienced this on just one side of their body?

Hi Ralph! Welcome to NT!

Like both Lady's (Lady Express and Lady), I get the hug too, only I don't call it a hug at all. I dubbed it the MS Vice Grip. It is pretty much a daily thing for me but to varying degrees. Catching a good deep breath can be difficult and I have found that putting my arms over my head helps.

In addition to what Lady said, I also show evidence of nerve damage in the rib cage area when they do a neurological exam. Some areas on my left side are hypersensitive to a pin prick and other areas I don't feel anything. My reflexes vary from have no reflex in my stomach to being hyperreflexic. This varies as well but during a spinal lesion flare, it can be full on. Neurontin helps quite a bit.

I will keep you in my prayers as you go through all of this and hope the chest X-ray comes back negative.

BTW - Mine is on the left side.