I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS BUT THE DOCTOR SAID I WAS EXPERENCING THE MS HUG. IT STARTS IN THE MIDDLE OF MY BACK AND COMES AROUND MY RIBS. IT IS A HORRIBLE PRESSURE.
I HAVE NOT HAD ANY TROUBLE WITH IT THIS WEEK BUT IT WAS AN ISSUE LAST WEEK. IT DOES LAST FOR SEVERAL DAYS. IT IS NOT ALWAYS REALLY INTENSE THOUGH. TODAY I AM FINE.
I HONESTLY THOUGH MAYBE SOMETHING WAS OUT OF PLACE IN MY BACK. WHEN I AM GETTING THAT FEELING I ALWAYS WANT MY HUSBAND TO RUB MY BACK. IT IS WEIRD THAT IT CAN BE SO INTENSE FOR A FEW DAYS....AND THEN IT IS GONE AND I FEEL FINE!
LA
Welcome if you are new. We have a great group here and many others will pitch in with comments.
Would you please go to the main page and start a new thread, just about yourself and your history of symptoms? Your story could get lost here. Also please read lots on this forum about testing and so on. Your problems have lasted way too long!!
ess
I have an undignosed nerve condition that has been getting gradually worse for 3 years now. I am on a combition of lyrica and oxyconn very low doses to control the pain, but it breaks through. I get allsorts of symptoms, eye trouble, headaches, shoulder and neck pain, and wrist pain, especially when i try to write. It varies and changes. Inflammation too. The most troubling thing recently is this very uncomfatable and painful squeezy feeling i get in my front ribs and sometimes the sides like someone i pushing me in, or cruhing me. I recently had a nurse ask if i have been tested for ms. Does ms really have all these things?
Craig has that crushing rib pain that starts in his back and wraps around his ribs and across his stomach. it has made him vomit too as the spasm crushes his stomach. He had it over Thanksgiving weekend, several days from Christmas eve through to a few days after Christmas, and still gets it a few times a week.
He has told doctors about it, but they do not say anything. He is un-diagnosed.
Elaine
By all means, call. I got fed up with my facial pain recently, and other stuff, so, I made a call to the neuro I haven't seen in over a year. He saw me, and I asked for another mri, as the one over a year ago was clear, but things are different now, again. Plus another evoked potentials.
I'm certain these tests will come back clear, and within normal realms, but, I told him if he scheduled the tests, I'd leave him alone for a year again, lol. He told me sure.
If you feel like you need to call him, do so. Otherwise, you'll keep wondering if you should. You can just ask his receptionist what she thinks, she can tell neuro, who can decide whether or not you need an appointment.
I waited only because I have no diagnosis, and have learned patience, for the most part, anyways, lol.
Good luck
Erica
Does it warrant "yet another" call to the neuro . . . or do I just wait it out since it's just uncomfortable?
Sherry
Mine was transitory the first week I had it, I thought I had pulled a muscle or something, then it got terrible. Brought me to tears, I couldn't stand / sit /sleep comfortably, it was a nightmare. It was constant for a few weeks.
Right now, it's just uncomfortable. Just to let me know it's still there I suppose. Kind of it, lol. I have discovered I can deal with pain much better than when I was well. It's not nice, but it's tolerable at present. If it gets bad again I have my lyrica in the cupboard.
It can be any way it chooses, apparently, lol. Also, it, like all other ms symptoms, will vary from person to person.
Erica
My brief episodes have been agonizing (thought it was my heart the first time), but this one is simply uncomfortable. Can the MS hug simply be uncomfortable, or will it always be excruciating?
Sherry
Hi, I am undiagnosed, been looking for answers for a while, now.
I went to my gp about this agonizing constrictive pain in my ribs, almost two years ago, he said I should talk to my neurologist. He didn't tell me what it was, just suggested we put me on gabapentin. It wasn't until I got a computer, and learned how to search for stuff that I found out what it was, the nasty old, 'MS Hug'.
It lasted for over a month, in fact, it hasn't ever completely gone away, it waxes and wanes in strength over a few weeks to over a month. I am experiencing it right now.
One thing which helps, is exercise. I take as many exercise classes as I can through the week, at 43 I'm one of the youngest in my classes and sometimes it's hard to keep up with the rest of the ladies, lol. I started these classes after working my way up from senior citizen strength training, over a year ago. It has improved my balance and coordination, increased my endurance, and eased my pain, to a degree. Not saying it's easy, lol, I had to drag my sorry butt up there today.
Putting pressure on the site of the spasm seems to help, to some extent, at least momentarily. It alters the sensation.
I have also had that banding sensation all the way around my ribs/back, and in my upper right arm. You get used to stuff, well, sometimes, at least, lol.
I now have lyrica for the pain, but as it's in it's waning state at present, I'm not taking any. I wait 'til it gets bad, unfortunately, it takes a while to start to work, took a few weeks last time, but, I just hate taking stuff if I don't need to. Years of anti-seizure meds made me sick, literally, lol, of taking pills.
Good luck with it
Erica
Last October I also experienced rib cage pain in the form of MS hug. It felt like my entire middle section was being squeezed. 'Hug' is an understatement.....
It came on gradually over a few days in the middle of a flare up, and lasted a couple of weeks. At its worst it was difficult to sleep. Like you, I would roll over in bed, back and forth trying to find a comfortable position. It even made talking and and breathing more difficult. A course of Solu-Medrol provided relief, and I haven't had this sensation since that time.
db1
Sherry Doni
I also havet this pressure /constriction in left foot and calf ( very intense ) Lasts for weeks, months at times. I also have face pressure ,, around eyes, brows, over nose into right cheek??? Weird S***. !!
Jo
A true symptom of MS, happens for longer than a few hours. If you are in the middle of a relapse, you can have fleeting symptoms, but they are normally in conjunction with other symptoms that last throughout the attack.
The MS Hug that I experienced, lasted for more than a week, before it finally abated. This was during the middle of an MS Flair-Up. What both of you may have experienced is a true chest wall spasm. Definitely not unheard of....
Heather
I too am not dx, but have had the same things happen to me. Last summer I had a week of extreme pain, I would say an 11 on a scale of 1-10, ha ha. Mine was mostly in the right side, but moved around at times.
Been having some of the same problems for the last couple of days, but the pain is only kinda at about a 3. Really unconfortable though.
Hope both of you are feeling well today.
doni
I've had one episode of severe constricting all the way around my rib cage, which lasted about 15 minutes. I do believe this was a "sample" of the MS hug. Like you - I do not want to deal with that again. I have also had several episodes where the same type of constricting pain occured in a softball-sized area on my ribs (also short duration). When I posted this question, I had MS hug in the back of my mind. So many symptoms present slightly different from person to person and/or from time to time. If this is a hug, it has lasted longer than the other episodes . . . but has not been as intense- thankfully!
Hi Sherry,
I'm not dx.d I've been experiencing rib pain for a few weeks off and on , more on. Sometimes its the whole rib cage , back and front left side, and sometimes just parts. I just keep hoping it doesn't progress into the dreaded Hug.
Yes , MS does cause rib pain My understanding is it causes the tiny muscles in between the ribs to contract or spasm . There will be others who know about this coming along
Take care . Feel Better
Jo