What do you know about early stages of Multiple Sclerosis?

My mother used to work at a respite centre for MS sufferers, the only early symptom I know of is chronic fatigue. But that really is all I know, there may be others.

I know pot helps relieve the physical pain without the side effects of the major prescribed medications.

Encourage your friend to go to a doctor to see if she does indeed have MS or not. Then, whatever it turns out to be, continue to be a good friend. Let her vent as needed, run errands for her when she needs them run, and learn from her when it is time to call the doctor.

If your friend seriously considers that she may have Multiple Sclerosis, there are tests that she can undergo to determine whether that is actually the case. The first stop would be to speak with her general practitioner who can then refer her/him to a neurologist. It is very hard to deal with something that may or may not be, it is much easier to know what you are facing. There is no point agonising over the possibility needlessly. Multiple Sclerosis is an illness of which symptoms vary considerably from person to person and therefore can be very difficult/impossible to diagnose purely from a subjective standpoint. Some early signs of the illness might be chronic fatigue, tingling in limbs, problems with balance, problems with vision, clumsiness, tripping up more easily these are only some of the possible symptoms that may be experienced I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis myself in 1992 but only consider myself to be an expert in my own illness.

@RareDenver I experimented with smoking cannabis about 10 years ago quite a number of joints were smoked to see if it would relieve my muscle spasm, which is sometimes rather annoying, but it did not help. Pain is not an issue with me so I never tried it for that purpose.

@Adagio Good advice. Sorry to hear that you have to deal with this illness yourself. :(

@augustlan Thank you.

Thank you so much for these responses. My friend is saying she is no longer concerned about the leg numbness since she does not feel those sensations anymore. she complains to me that she is tired, but does not realize it could also be a symptom. Any suggestions? she is 27 and when she described her leg issue to me she said it felt like boiling hot water dripping down the sides of her upper thighs. if she is not feeling this anymore, should she still go see the doctor? How can i encourage her to do so?

@ellesee Your friend’s symptoms sound very general and un-specific. Tiredness can be a symptom of so many different things including just not getting enough sleep, believe it or not I am wondering why she even considered she might have MS in the first place. Is there someone in her family that has MS? If you feel you want to encourage her to see the doctor you could offer to go with her. If she does not take you up on the offer but the leg-related symptoms return and she becomes concerned again you could discuss it with her and see if she wants to talk to her doctor this time round. You’ll have to play it by ear I guess. Do remember though that your friend’s health is her responsibility; don’t carry that responsibility yourself, it is not yours. Best of luck.

Thank you, that is great advice. Yes her mother has auto-immune disorders which puts her at high risk.

@ellesee It is would probably be more correct to say that your friend has a higher risk, as opposed to a high risk. There is a significant difference between these two categories. And if her mother does not actually have Multiple Sclerosis she may not be at any increased risk of having the illness herself.

To quote the Mayo Clinic website:
The risk of multiple sclerosis is higher for people who have a family history of the disease. For example, if one of your parents or siblings has had multiple sclerosis, you have a 1 to 3 percent chance of developing the disease — as compared with the risk in the general population, which is just a tenth of 1 percent.

you can see that the risk is still very low