Multiple sclerosis - Symptoms (2024)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) can cause a wide range of symptoms and affect any part of the body. Each person with the condition is affected differently.

The symptoms are unpredictable. Some people's symptoms develop and worsen steadily over time, while for others they come and go.

Periods when symptoms get worse are known as relapses. Periods when symptoms improve or disappear are known as remissions.

Some of the most common symptoms include:

fatigue
vision problems
numbness and tingling
muscle spasms, stiffness and weakness
mobility problems
pain
problems with thinking, learning and planning
depression and anxiety
sexual problems
bladder problems
bowel problems
speech and swallowing difficulties

Most people with MS only have a few of these symptoms.

See a GP if you're worried you might have early signs of MS.The symptoms can be similar to severalother conditions, so they're not necessarily caused by MS.

Find out more about diagnosing MS

Fatigue

Feeling fatigued is one of the most common and troublesome symptoms of MS.

It's often described as an overwhelming sense of exhaustion that means it can be a struggle to carry out even the simplest activities.

Fatigue can significantly interfere with your daily activities and tends to get worse towards the end of each day, in hot weather, after exercising, or during illness.

Visionproblems

In around 1 in 4 cases of MS, the first noticeable symptom is a problem with one of your eyes (optic neuritis).

Abnormalsensations

Abnormal sensations can be a common initial symptom of MS.

This often takes the form of numbness or tingling in different parts of your body, such as the arms, legs or trunk, which typically spreads out over a few days.

Musclespasms, stiffness and weakness

MScan cause yourmuscles to:

contract tightly and painfully (spasm)
become stiff and resistant to movement (spasticity)
feel weak

Mobilityproblems

MS can make walking and moving around difficult, particularly if you also have muscle weakness and spasticity.

You may experience:

clumsiness
difficulty with balance and co-ordination (ataxia)
shaking of the limbs (tremor)
dizziness and vertigo, whichcan makeit feel asthougheverything around you isspinning

Pain

Some people with MS experience pain, which can take 2 forms.

Pain caused by MS itself (neuropathic pain)

This is pain caused by damage to the nervous system.

It may include:

stabbing pains in the face
a variety of sensations in the trunk and limbs, including feelings of burning, pins and needles, hugging or squeezing

Muscle spasms can sometimes be painful.

Musculoskeletal pain

Back, neck and joint pain can be indirectly caused by MS, particularly for people who have problems walking or moving around that puts pressure on their lower back or hips.

Problemswith thinking, learning and planning

Some people with MS have problems with thinking, learning and planning, known as cognitive dysfunction.

This can include:

problems learning and remembering new things – long-term memory is usually unaffected
slowness in processing lots of information or multitasking
a shortened attention span
getting stuck on words
problems with understanding and processing visual information, such as reading a map
difficulty with planning and problem solving – people often report that they know what they want to do, but can't grasp how to do it
problems with reasoning, such as mathematical laws or solving puzzles

But many of these problems aren't specific to MS and can be caused by a wide range of other conditions, including depression and anxiety, or even some medicines.

Mentalhealth issues

Manypeople with MS experience periods of depression. It's unclear whether this is directly caused by MS or the result of the stress of having to live with a long-term condition, or both.

Anxietycan also be a problem for people with MS, possibly because of the unpredictable nature of the condition.

In rare cases, people with MS can experience rapid and severe mood swings, suddenly bursting into tears, laughing, or shouting angrily for no apparent reason.

Sexualproblems

MS can have an effect on sexual function.

Men with MS often find it hard to obtain or maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction).

They may also find it takes a lot longer to ejacul*te when having sex or masturbating, and may even lose the ability to ejacul*te altogether.

For women, problems include difficulty reaching org*sm, as well as decreased vagin*l lubrication and sensation.

Both men and women with MS may find they're less interested in sex than they were before.

This could be directly related to MS, or it could be the result of living with the condition.

Bladderproblems

Bladder problems are common in MS.

They may include:

having to pee more frequently
having a sudden, urgent need to pee, which can lead to unintentionally passing urine (urge incontinence)
difficulty emptying the bladder completely
having to get up frequently during the night to pee
recurrenturinary tract infections (UTIs)

These problems can also have a range of causes other than MS.

Bowelproblems

Many people with MS also have problems with their bowel function.

Constipationis the most common problem.You may find passing stools difficult and pass them much less frequently than normal.

Bowel incontinenceis less common, but is often linked to constipation.

If a stool becomes stuck, it can irritate the wall of the bowel, causing it to produce more fluid and mucus that can leak out ofyour bottom.

Again, some of these problems aren't specific to MS and can even be the result of medicines, such as medicines prescribed for pain.

Speechand swallowing difficulties

Some people with MS experience difficulty chewing orswallowing (dysphagia) at some point.

Speech may also become slurred, or difficult to understand (dysarthria).

Further information

Page last reviewed: 22 March 2022
Next review due: 22 March 2025