Aa
what is MS weakness
i am curious about others discription of what their weakness with MS feels like. weakness was one of my first symptoms and i still have problems with it. right now my right arm is very weak. i can not carry anything, including my purse for more than a minute or so before it feels like it will fall off. brushing my hair or blowdrying takes me a very long time. i can only fold 2 articles of clothing before i have to rest.
it seems very clear weakness to me but whenever i see a doctor and they check my strength they say it seems normal. how is it that i can not carry a plate from the salad bar or my own purse but they tell me i have no weakness. is this something else...fatigue or something.
what does your weakness feel like?
it seems very clear weakness to me but whenever i see a doctor and they check my strength they say it seems normal. how is it that i can not carry a plate from the salad bar or my own purse but they tell me i have no weakness. is this something else...fatigue or something.
what does your weakness feel like?
My muscle weakness has been documented by my neurologist. What he did was take my right arm, and told me to try and bend the elbow, while he pulled on the arm to straighten it. My arm started jerking really fast, like the muscle wasn't firing continuously. He did the same thing with my leg, and it jerked too.
While he believes my spine is clear, I think I've got some sort of involvement with the spinal cord causing my muscle weakness in the legs. Both legs are weak, although the right is worse.
When I first started having symptoms of muscle weakness, the arm was easily fatigued. Initial examinations showed it as normal, but after a few minutes of use, it became weak and useless. Now it's definitely weaker, even when testing at rest. The neuro doesn't know whether it will come back, or whether it will stay the way it is.
While he believes my spine is clear, I think I've got some sort of involvement with the spinal cord causing my muscle weakness in the legs. Both legs are weak, although the right is worse.
When I first started having symptoms of muscle weakness, the arm was easily fatigued. Initial examinations showed it as normal, but after a few minutes of use, it became weak and useless. Now it's definitely weaker, even when testing at rest. The neuro doesn't know whether it will come back, or whether it will stay the way it is.
About 2002 I started having a buzzing/tingling at my waist on the right side, like my cell phone on vibrate, without the cell phone. I had lost weight at that point, and continued to do so until last year.
Over the years it became more of a burning that tingling, until it got to the point where I have to wear pants that are at least a size too big, and with stretch to the material, even the jeans (thank heavens for Gloria Vanderbilt jeans!).
Then things got so sensitive that I had to choose my undies carefully; no seams on the inside to irritate my waist, a couple sizes too big so they don't bind, etc. I've had various doctors and physical therapists suggest things from muscle spasms to nerve entrapment, but no one can help stop it.
As for the bra thing; I haven't been able to wear a supportive bra for many years. I used to wear these stretchy things made by Hanes Her Way, but they stopped making them. I have one left that I've had to take a few stitches in because it's stretched out. I really shouldn't go bra-less, especially since I gained some weight back.
I actually went to see a plastic surgeon to see about a breast reduction, hoping it would make it easier to find an undershirt or something like that to substitute for a bra. There was just no way I could afford it, and I wasn't quite large enough for insurance to cover it.
I've tried numerous times to find a bra that I could tolerate, even bought a couple, but usually I can tell in the dressing room that there is no way I can tolerate the pain and discomfort.
I have an old compression fracture about bra-strap level, but none of my doctor's have thought that would cause the pain I describe. None of my neurologist's seemed to think much of it, either.
At least we crazy limbolanders have each other to understand and sympathize!
Kathy
Over the years it became more of a burning that tingling, until it got to the point where I have to wear pants that are at least a size too big, and with stretch to the material, even the jeans (thank heavens for Gloria Vanderbilt jeans!).
Then things got so sensitive that I had to choose my undies carefully; no seams on the inside to irritate my waist, a couple sizes too big so they don't bind, etc. I've had various doctors and physical therapists suggest things from muscle spasms to nerve entrapment, but no one can help stop it.
As for the bra thing; I haven't been able to wear a supportive bra for many years. I used to wear these stretchy things made by Hanes Her Way, but they stopped making them. I have one left that I've had to take a few stitches in because it's stretched out. I really shouldn't go bra-less, especially since I gained some weight back.
I actually went to see a plastic surgeon to see about a breast reduction, hoping it would make it easier to find an undershirt or something like that to substitute for a bra. There was just no way I could afford it, and I wasn't quite large enough for insurance to cover it.
I've tried numerous times to find a bra that I could tolerate, even bought a couple, but usually I can tell in the dressing room that there is no way I can tolerate the pain and discomfort.
I have an old compression fracture about bra-strap level, but none of my doctor's have thought that would cause the pain I describe. None of my neurologist's seemed to think much of it, either.
At least we crazy limbolanders have each other to understand and sympathize!
Kathy
Kathy & Rachel,
I know this is going to sound totally crazy.............well, you know me....hahaha
For the last couple of years my bra just worries the heck outta me. I bet I have 10 bras in my drawer, but they all hurt when I wear them. My daughter bought me an expensive bra from Victoria Secret cause she knows how comfortable they are................nope, can't wear them either.
Needless to say I just have to suffer through it.........me without a bra............ nope...... won't happen..............heeheehee
I wondered if it was something to do with these other crazy things.....itching...
buzzing....cold spots, etc, but this is the first time I've heard someone else having a problem like this. Oh well, another limboland symptom, I guess.
Have a great day ladies.
doni
I know this is going to sound totally crazy.............well, you know me....hahaha
For the last couple of years my bra just worries the heck outta me. I bet I have 10 bras in my drawer, but they all hurt when I wear them. My daughter bought me an expensive bra from Victoria Secret cause she knows how comfortable they are................nope, can't wear them either.
Needless to say I just have to suffer through it.........me without a bra............ nope...... won't happen..............heeheehee
I wondered if it was something to do with these other crazy things.....itching...
buzzing....cold spots, etc, but this is the first time I've heard someone else having a problem like this. Oh well, another limboland symptom, I guess.
Have a great day ladies.
doni
the comment you made about the fannypack...that it hurt to wear...i think i may be having that too...the last few weeks i have had this feeling around my waist, the left side anyway that feel like my pants are extremely tight...like they are digging into my waist and it feels like a burning sensation. my waistbands are not tight but i can not stand to wear pants half the time because of the discomfort. i wonder if that is what this is, a parathesia. it is just a really weird feeling, like someone has cinched a tight elastic all around my waist. i know i am overweight and have outgrown some of my clothes recently but they do not feel tight when i check the waist bands...
I am such a ditz. For years I have been saying things like, my arms feel they are going to fall off, or my arms hurt if I have to hang clothes, etc. Never once did I consider it to be something neurological. Until this past weekend when I was try to fold a bunch of tee shirts. I thought I would never get through them my arms hurt so bad. As to the neuro's test I think they s**k. I can't lift my legs to put my feet on the coffee table. I have to pick them up. My neuro has never mentioned any weakness on my part. So I fight on, trying not to drop my plate, manage to blow dry my hair and all the other things I need my muscles for. All those muscles I once took for granted.
Happy Holidays,
terry
Happy Holidays,
terry
I've often wondered about those neuro tests for strength. I KNOW I can't mix up a batch of cookies or chop veggies like I used to; holding up my arm to blow dry my hair ends up with me dropping the brush at least once, and when I'm not doing well, I just about cry when I try to fold sheets or towels.
I guess our weakness, incoordination, easily fatigued body parts, etc., are different than what they look for in a standard neuro exam. I think they are looking for the inability to use the muscle they are testing due to a faulty signal to that muscle from the CNS, where you would be unable to keep them from holding your knee up, or keep your fingers spread out, or resist at all when they pull/push your limbs and etc.
So, I've wondered what it is that causes the kind of weakness we are talking about. Is it the MS (or other neurological) Fatigue? Is there a test for that, so they won't continue to tell us we're normal?
I notice in my chart notes that my neuro notes that I state I have difficulty blow drying hair, slicing tomatoes, etc., but that's all.
Rachel and doni, I used to use a fanny pack, but when I got the parasthesia in my lower right abdomen, I found it hurt to use one. Now I use small, light purses with long straps, so that depending on how I'm doing, I can hang across my body or wrap the strap around my wrist so I don't drop it. I still drop them sometimes.
I have a rolling cooler that I got at Costco to carry my groceries from the car in; can't carry the bags like I used to. Heck, I used to shop on foot, carrying groceries for a few miles sometimes. Sigh.
Kathy
I guess our weakness, incoordination, easily fatigued body parts, etc., are different than what they look for in a standard neuro exam. I think they are looking for the inability to use the muscle they are testing due to a faulty signal to that muscle from the CNS, where you would be unable to keep them from holding your knee up, or keep your fingers spread out, or resist at all when they pull/push your limbs and etc.
So, I've wondered what it is that causes the kind of weakness we are talking about. Is it the MS (or other neurological) Fatigue? Is there a test for that, so they won't continue to tell us we're normal?
I notice in my chart notes that my neuro notes that I state I have difficulty blow drying hair, slicing tomatoes, etc., but that's all.
Rachel and doni, I used to use a fanny pack, but when I got the parasthesia in my lower right abdomen, I found it hurt to use one. Now I use small, light purses with long straps, so that depending on how I'm doing, I can hang across my body or wrap the strap around my wrist so I don't drop it. I still drop them sometimes.
I have a rolling cooler that I got at Costco to carry my groceries from the car in; can't carry the bags like I used to. Heck, I used to shop on foot, carrying groceries for a few miles sometimes. Sigh.
Kathy
Hi Rachel,
I'm undx, but weakness was one of my first problems. Started with my right arm, couldn't hold it up to fix hair, at times picking up a drink cup was like lifting weights.
Second weakness problem was the right leg, didn't want to go up steps, etc.
Now after many years both arms and legs are weak. Can't walk most days, and if I use my arms much at all they get so weak I feel like there just hanging there being useless. Even if I'm on here for too long and typing, they get weak.
I would still think that when tested this would show up. I haven't had any of the tests yet so I can't speak with experience. Will have the nerve conduction test in Jan, I'm curious as to what it will show.
Take care and get you a fanny pack or a shoulder purse, that's what I did.
doni
I'm undx, but weakness was one of my first problems. Started with my right arm, couldn't hold it up to fix hair, at times picking up a drink cup was like lifting weights.
Second weakness problem was the right leg, didn't want to go up steps, etc.
Now after many years both arms and legs are weak. Can't walk most days, and if I use my arms much at all they get so weak I feel like there just hanging there being useless. Even if I'm on here for too long and typing, they get weak.
I would still think that when tested this would show up. I haven't had any of the tests yet so I can't speak with experience. Will have the nerve conduction test in Jan, I'm curious as to what it will show.
Take care and get you a fanny pack or a shoulder purse, that's what I did.
doni
When I have weakness, it happens mostly in my hands and arms, but recently it's been in my legs as well. When I first noticed it, it was when I was trying to take my two-year-old up to bed. I tried to get up from the chair and it was like someone had tied a giant lead weight to my body. It took me about 5 minutes to actually get out of the chair. Then, when I tried to pick up the boy, it felt like he was as heavy as a house. I eventually got him into my arms, but couldn't make it to the stairs. My wife had to take him to bed that night. It was a very upsetting moment for me, since I'm "the daddy" and it's my job to tuck in my kids; it's what I do - it's "my thing". It's just always been the routine and now it's getting harder for me to fulfill my role.
It's also difficult to open bottles, pull open bags of chips, and hold on to things. When I'm experiencing weakness in my hands and arms, I drop stuff all the time and have a hard time sustaining any kind of activity.It usually (but not always) coincides with fatigue. It comes and goes, just like all my other symptoms.
I feel the same way Meg does when it comes to doctors telling you "that's normal". No, it's not normal. What's normal is being like I used to be and not dropping stuff, being able to walk straight and tall, being able to move like I have purpose and not wondering if I will feel better or worse tomorrow than I do today.
I'm learning to take it in stride, though. My thoughts are with you and I hope you can find some relief.
God bless,
Jason
It's also difficult to open bottles, pull open bags of chips, and hold on to things. When I'm experiencing weakness in my hands and arms, I drop stuff all the time and have a hard time sustaining any kind of activity.It usually (but not always) coincides with fatigue. It comes and goes, just like all my other symptoms.
I feel the same way Meg does when it comes to doctors telling you "that's normal". No, it's not normal. What's normal is being like I used to be and not dropping stuff, being able to walk straight and tall, being able to move like I have purpose and not wondering if I will feel better or worse tomorrow than I do today.
I'm learning to take it in stride, though. My thoughts are with you and I hope you can find some relief.
God bless,
Jason
Good morning,
I have weakness too. it gets worse all the time. I just told my husband he may have to pour my coffee eventually. Its in my hands and legs...and also numbness in my hands too. I cant take off tops or caps, cant pick things up. And i drop things a lot too. I also call it uncoordinated to
It is so much worse in the morning when i wake up, sounds normal though, i cant mve my right hand for awhile and my legs are worse now too. i have to take baby steps in the morning and hold on to things.. I hate when Drs. say things are normal when you know they are not. If they would just spend 24 hrs with one of us they would see how it really
is
hugs, meg.
I have weakness too. it gets worse all the time. I just told my husband he may have to pour my coffee eventually. Its in my hands and legs...and also numbness in my hands too. I cant take off tops or caps, cant pick things up. And i drop things a lot too. I also call it uncoordinated to
It is so much worse in the morning when i wake up, sounds normal though, i cant mve my right hand for awhile and my legs are worse now too. i have to take baby steps in the morning and hold on to things.. I hate when Drs. say things are normal when you know they are not. If they would just spend 24 hrs with one of us they would see how it really
is
hugs, meg.
hey, this sound like what i get too, but with out the purse, it comes and goes, and sods law i am not in the middle of an attack with im checked so its all normal when im tested, weakness is a weird way to discribe it, id say more numbness and unco-ordinated, i get this in the shower and when im shaving... thats fun.... keep your chin up...x
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