The autoimmune disorder MS is called ‘the great masquerader’ because its symptoms are so easy to brush off as something else. If you have any of these multiple sclerosis symptoms, get them checked out by a doctor.
Everyone has days where they show up to work wearing one black sock and one blue sock.
But if you frequently have a hard time telling colors apart, especially when it used to be easy for you, that is a red flag. Becoming partially blind, color blind, or blind in one eye is one of the primary symptoms of multiple sclerosis, says Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. ‘It’s called optic neuritis and it happens because of a loss of insulation around the optic nerves in the brain,’ he explains. Here are other surprising diseases your eye doctor could detect early.
YOU CAN DRINK A PITCHER OF MARGARITAS AND NEVER USE THE BATHROOM
While this might seem like a handy talent, drinking a lot and yet hardly peeing is not a good thing.
This painful symptom, a hallmark of MS, is often one of the first that drives people to see a doctor.
Any change in urinary frequency can be a sign of MS, Dr. Segil says, but most often it’s not being able to urinate for more than 24 hours. On the other hand, needing to urinate all the time could be a sign of diabetes.
YOU’RE COVERED IN BRUISES FROM TRIPPING AND FALLING
Clumsiness is one of the most overlooked MS symptoms because it’s kind of embarrassing.
People may just think they have bad balance but having weakness in one or both of your legs—which often first manifests as tripping, stumbling, unsteadiness, and falling—could be a sign that something is wrong with your motor nerves, Dr. Segil says.
YOUR CLOTHING FEELS FUNNY
‘My patients often say that their body just feels different, on a sensory level, from one part to the next,’ Dr. Segil explains. ‘For example, when they put on their shirt, it feels differently sliding over their chest than it does going over their stomach.’ The sensory issues can be hard to explain but he says you’ll know it if you experience them, as they’re a very strange sensation.
YOUR FINGERS ARE TINGLY BUT YOUR ARM HASN’T FALLEN ASLEEP
We’re all familiar with that prickly pins-and-needles feeling when we stand up after we’ve leaned on an arm or leg for too long, temporarily cutting off blood flow. But if you get numbness, burning, or a tingly sensation in your extremities for no apparent reason, that’s something you need to get checked out. It can be a sign of many illnesses, MS included.
YOU’RE DIZZY, NO ROLLER COASTER REQUIRED
Constant vertigo (for no apparent reason) is another symptom of multiple sclerosis, Dr. Segil says. The nerve damage from the illness primarily affects your motor, sensory, and coordination abilities, which can lead to feelings of disorientation and dizziness.
YOUR FRIENDS COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR TERRIBLE TEXTS
‘One of the first things we often see in MS patients is the inability to text, type, use a cellphone or tablet, or do other things that require fine motor control,’ Dr. Segil explains, adding that it usually means there is an MS lesion in the back region of the brain.
YOUR COFFEE CUP DOESN’T FEEL HOT—EVEN THOUGH YOU JUST POURED IT
Did you really just pick up that hot pan without thinking about it? Why does your coffee taste warm but you can’t feel it through the mug? The inability to feel temperature changes with your hands is another sign you may have MS-induced nerve damage, Dr. Segil says.
