Early Symptoms of MS - Things to Look Out For

Early symptoms of MS usually appear between the ages of 20 and 40. The onset of multiple sclerosis can be dramatic or can be so mild that a person does not recognize the symptoms until much later when the disease is far more advanced. The problem with many of the early symptoms is that they are common to many conditions, so it is difficult to determine what may be early symptoms of MS or another disease or condition.

The following is a brief outline what may be early symptoms of MS. These are the symptoms reported by ms sufferers that they experienced early on at the onset of their disease.

Fatigue is a major symptom of MS but since fatigue is present in so many disease processes, and in fact in our fast paced busy life styles it may not be recognized as one of the early symptoms of MS until paired with other symptoms. Fatigue for the MS individual may be insidious and may not resolve with rest. It may seem that no matter what you do you are always exhausted and run down.

Uncharacteristic clumsiness is a hallmark sign of MS, with a difficulty maintaining balance, tripping or falling. This clumsiness can cause a person to knock things over or frequently drop things as well. Unexplained weakness is another common early symptom of MS usually affecting both the arms and legs.

Verbal skills can also be affected early on, with slurring of words or being unable to come up with the right words to say being common. This symptom will often be discounted to other things or will not be severe and dismissed altogether. Along with this is the inability to concentrate, and although these particular symptoms maybe mild and not a warning flag of something wrong, they will cause considerable frustration for the person afflicted.

Depression is another hallmark sign of MS but since depression can have so many other causes or stand alone on its own it is often missed as part of a diagnosis.

Other early symptoms of MS include Urinary incontinence and visual disturbances such as blurring or eye pain. Visual disturbances in fact are usually one of the signs that send many individuals into the doctor first. Usually this symptom along with numbness or falling will be the warning signals that alert a doctor to look for MS.