Some of my problems that I thought were MS related were actually side effects to some of the medications that I take for MS stuff.

Back in december, I started taking Baclofen regularly because I had a couple of bad charley horse leg spasms a few nights in a row. About two weeks after that, I started to notice that my left thumb, index finger and middle finger were tingly numb. (tops of my feet also have felt weird, but that's not as irritating for some reason)

I was blaming the MS for it for the past month or so, and then remembered that I have problems with numbness getting worse when I take antibiotics, so I checked the side effects for the baclofen. Numbness in the extremities is a apparently a common side effect. I mentioned it to my neuro, he asked me a few questions about the leg spasms I had, and he suggested that I go off the baclofen (slowly, even tho I dont use it full strength) and see if the numb, tinglies get better in my left hand. Said that I could always start back up on the baclofen if I needed to.

It has helped some, my index finger was almost totally numb at the tip of the finger last week. It's been since about last thursday since I started to back off on the baclofen, and I havent had any since friday or saturday. The numbness is now pretty much just in the pad of my thumb, and the tinglies are no where near as bad in the rest of the affected fingers as it had been. (tingly fingers are really annoying, especially when I'm trying to knit or crochet)

The tops of my feet dont feel as weird now too.

So, I guess my neuro was right that it might have been the baclofen that was causing me numbness in the fingers.

What annoys me about that, is if some of the medications that I take for some of the MS symptoms can seem to cause other MS-like symptoms....then how do I know if it's an actual MS symptom, or some bizzaro side effect from one of the symptom management medications?


I also tend to panic when I get brand new symptoms or when something that gave me a lot of problems before decide to fire up again and cause me more problems. (I kind of panic more for vision problems, but I really really whine when something goes completely numb. I hate the really bad numbness. Vertigo sucks too...I'll beg for steroids if I get vertigo that doesnt go away)

I was diagnosed in 1977.... 32 years ago, and I still don't know for sure what symptoms are MS and what aren't.

It's become more of an intuition thing for me over the years, and if I'm unsure, I get my GP to check me over. If she can't find an answer for my symptoms, then I look to MS for a reason and go see my neuro.

I know that doesn't help you Natalie, but as others have said before me, it's just so hard to define MS symptoms. So hard to clump them together under an easy heading.

Being in a family with a lot of interesting things in it's med history
(like cancer), I always get stuff checked out. My PCP understands and will rule stuff out for me to make sure it's the 800lb gorilla called MS.

My general rule of thumb has been: would I complain to doc about this before I had MS? If yes, he's my first call.

I will admit that it is something you have a tendency to learn over time and I'm still learning . When I had electric shock-like pains, I knew that had to be the MS and directly called the neuro.

It is hard to tell. At 53 I know the wrinkles are probobly not MS but the STM memory loss sometimes differs. I'm slowing down and sight and hearing are changing but why? I blame things on MS but maybe shouldn't. Who knows sometimes. My doctors are just a phone call away, but sometimes they don't know.

I started haveing some urinary problems, talked to my PCP, at my age and a twin birth in my past, seemed normal to her. I kept insisting it was neurological. Just to shut me up, she referred me out to a neurologist, securing my promise I'd stop looking after that. He said MS. My PCP is so great she could accept being wrong and called me knowing females cry.

Here's Granny, and having grown old with MS, I can tell you, it's both.. Your body just gets a little weaker with age and that of course adds to your MS sx.

LDN helps a lot with my MS symptoms, but does nothing to halt the aging process. Always treat your symptoms, because it's not always MS....and don't forget to smile..

When I was first dx I used to panic over every little symptom I'd have. I attributed everything to my MS. Now.....almost four years later....very little rattles me anymore. I figure it's going to be what it's going to be regardless of how I react to it. I just go with the flow.

Thanks to LDN I have few of the sx that I had when I was first dx. That stuff is a true sx reliever.

I think the problem is that I am just much more aware of my body -- too hyper-aware. For example, I may have numbness in my foot and freak out thinking oh boy, it's the MS, it's progressing, I'm getting worse, new symptom, holy cow, what do I do? panic, panic, panic. Then I realize well hey, I was sitting on my foot the wrong way on the couch for an hour and maybe that's why it's tingling.

I'm glad to know that over time less seems to rattle some of you. I know ultimately you have to learn to go with the flow and just "be" with the disease. I'm just resisting because maybe I'm still stinking mad I got this crappy disease!! And sometimes the fear just overwhelms me and I'd like to be able to take a break from it now and then. Maybe that also changes over time??