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MS Hug
Can the MS hug cause death? When I saw the Oprah show with Montel Williams, Dr. Oz mentioned that the leading causes of death in MS were suicide (which sounds very likely) and the MS hug were the leading causes of death. Is this true? If not can you die from MS? I will certainly pay more attention to those chest pains if this is the case. Not worried, just would like to know to make sure I get myself the proper care . . .
Don't throw rotten tomatoes if you all have discussed this topic earlier . . . I've looked around on the forum and didn't find anything.
Deb
Don't throw rotten tomatoes if you all have discussed this topic earlier . . . I've looked around on the forum and didn't find anything.
Deb
I have to thank you for the drink of water suggestion. I've been plagued with these very painful spasms right below my sternum off and on since early May. After reading this thread, I tried the drink of water when one would come on and 3 out of 4 times so far, it's worked.
I'm waiting to hear back to get scheduled for an upper GI and small bowel, but in the meantime, the belladonna that was prescribed isn't touching them. Nor does the baclofen or Tramadol. They're so powerful. Even though they lasted for about ten minutes at a time, my ribs were very sore in the back this morning. It hurt to take a deep breath.
In the meantime, it's good to have a way to shut these down. It's such a gripping pain.
I'm waiting to hear back to get scheduled for an upper GI and small bowel, but in the meantime, the belladonna that was prescribed isn't touching them. Nor does the baclofen or Tramadol. They're so powerful. Even though they lasted for about ten minutes at a time, my ribs were very sore in the back this morning. It hurt to take a deep breath.
In the meantime, it's good to have a way to shut these down. It's such a gripping pain.
It's definitely not a wrap-around boa-style "hug," then. It's only happened a few times, all more than a year ago within a few months of one another. I'll assume it was acid reflux/GERD. Happened every time while I was sitting up, and twice while I was eating dinner.
I've had esophageal spasms since 1999. I think they're related to the lesions in my upper spinal cord. They started out as simple throat spasms - it felt like I had a chunk of chip or something caught in my throat. Drinking an entire glass of warm water would help relieve the spasm. Since my diagnosis, they've continued, and now the spasm will include my torso as well as my esophagus.
That's not to say that you have lesions in your spinal cord. When I first went to the doctor about it, they thought it was acid reflux. For a long time whenever I had one, I would take a acid reducer and drink a glass of water. Then I found out one day (when I ran out of acid reducer!) that all I needed was the glass of water.
The key is when these attacks happen - are they at night, or during the day? Are you in bed and reclining, or are you sitting up? Did you go to bed after eating a big meal? That sort of thing.
That's not to say that you have lesions in your spinal cord. When I first went to the doctor about it, they thought it was acid reflux. For a long time whenever I had one, I would take a acid reducer and drink a glass of water. Then I found out one day (when I ran out of acid reducer!) that all I needed was the glass of water.
The key is when these attacks happen - are they at night, or during the day? Are you in bed and reclining, or are you sitting up? Did you go to bed after eating a big meal? That sort of thing.
COMMUNITY LEADER
What your describing sounds more like how my mother describes her reflux problems than the MS Hug. You also can't forget because of your anxiety issues, the posibility that it was panic attacks, im asuming your heart was racing too if it was as you say "one of the scariest and most painful things I've ever experienced".
The MS Hug is a squeezing or banding feeling that goes fully or partially around your trunk area. Think of when you have your blood pressure taken at the dr's, the cuff goes around your arm and gets tighter and tighter (banding feeling) the pressure stops when the test is over but with the Hug it often starts squeezing again and can keep on repeating the cycle for hours or days or weeks. Its that type of experience but around your trunk area, what your saying isn't really the same thing and probably is more in line with reflux.
My youngest was dx with panic attacks but it turned out to be a side affect of his anxiety medication, once he went off them they stopped. At the time we didn't realise it was his meds until he went back on them, and within a couple of days the panic attack sx were all back. All i'm trying to say is that often the answer is the simplest, and not necessarily a more difficult situation or "falling squarely (most more than this) into symptoms for MS".
Cheers........JJ
The MS Hug is a squeezing or banding feeling that goes fully or partially around your trunk area. Think of when you have your blood pressure taken at the dr's, the cuff goes around your arm and gets tighter and tighter (banding feeling) the pressure stops when the test is over but with the Hug it often starts squeezing again and can keep on repeating the cycle for hours or days or weeks. Its that type of experience but around your trunk area, what your saying isn't really the same thing and probably is more in line with reflux.
My youngest was dx with panic attacks but it turned out to be a side affect of his anxiety medication, once he went off them they stopped. At the time we didn't realise it was his meds until he went back on them, and within a couple of days the panic attack sx were all back. All i'm trying to say is that often the answer is the simplest, and not necessarily a more difficult situation or "falling squarely (most more than this) into symptoms for MS".
Cheers........JJ
Hmm...some of you may recognize that I've been posting a lot of long what-if rants now that I am in my second "season" (literally) of very pronounced MS-like symptoms. I haven't been diagnosed with anything yet but anxiety and depression...but the medication doesn't help when my left leg doesn't want to work of I have double vision or vertigo...go figure.
Anyway, probably like most of you who first started thinking you might have MS, I've read everything I can find about it, and I kind of overlooked the "MS hug" because of the way it supposedly wraps around from the back to the abdominal area. But I read one account of a "chest hug" and ended up back here again...and I recall a mystery that I never addressed and thought was probably related to acid reflux (because it occurred two of three times while I was eating). About a year and a half ago, within a couple of months, I had three identical and really scary and painful sudden, crushing chest pains. All felt like, I don't know, maybe a cannon ball had landed square on my chest (although I was sitting up), crushing my bones from my sternum all the way up to the bottom of my throat. The first time it happened, I was eating out with my parents and I literally thought I was having a heart attack. I sat perfectly still for 5-10 minutes until it felt "safe" enough to move, and then I was just shaken after another five minutes or so. Then it happened again while I was in bed weeks later, and then about a week later while I was out eating (and drinking wine) with friends. And never again since then.
Could this describe a "hug"? I hope not because it was one of the scariest and most painful things I've ever experienced and I'm hoping my antacids will keep it from happening again...but it's fascinating how all these disparate "quirks" I've had since I was 25 or so are falling squarely (most more than this) into symptoms for MS.
Anyway, probably like most of you who first started thinking you might have MS, I've read everything I can find about it, and I kind of overlooked the "MS hug" because of the way it supposedly wraps around from the back to the abdominal area. But I read one account of a "chest hug" and ended up back here again...and I recall a mystery that I never addressed and thought was probably related to acid reflux (because it occurred two of three times while I was eating). About a year and a half ago, within a couple of months, I had three identical and really scary and painful sudden, crushing chest pains. All felt like, I don't know, maybe a cannon ball had landed square on my chest (although I was sitting up), crushing my bones from my sternum all the way up to the bottom of my throat. The first time it happened, I was eating out with my parents and I literally thought I was having a heart attack. I sat perfectly still for 5-10 minutes until it felt "safe" enough to move, and then I was just shaken after another five minutes or so. Then it happened again while I was in bed weeks later, and then about a week later while I was out eating (and drinking wine) with friends. And never again since then.
Could this describe a "hug"? I hope not because it was one of the scariest and most painful things I've ever experienced and I'm hoping my antacids will keep it from happening again...but it's fascinating how all these disparate "quirks" I've had since I was 25 or so are falling squarely (most more than this) into symptoms for MS.
The hug is a complex sort of thing, and is experienced differently by different people. We have had lots of discussions here about whether or not it can really be a cardiac issue. When in doubt, always go to the ER. Plenty of people here have done that, with very few learning it was a heart problem, but better safe than sorry. It's also good to find out our hearts are in good shape.
I don't think the MS hug can be experienced in the neck area. Similar things can be, though. It's possible that paresthesias could produce a squeezing feeling that would be pretty awful. Either that or muscle spasms could have the same effect. A brain and cervical spine MRI would certainly be indicated under the circumstances. I don't know a lot about lupus, but it's possible that another disease process could be going on too. So again, when in doubt, get quick medical care.
The best to both of you.
ess
I don't think the MS hug can be experienced in the neck area. Similar things can be, though. It's possible that paresthesias could produce a squeezing feeling that would be pretty awful. Either that or muscle spasms could have the same effect. A brain and cervical spine MRI would certainly be indicated under the circumstances. I don't know a lot about lupus, but it's possible that another disease process could be going on too. So again, when in doubt, get quick medical care.
The best to both of you.
ess
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