MS Hug

In the last blog post I mentioned the MS Hug so thought would develop this further and explain it more. 

MS Hug – what is it and why the name?

MS hug gets its name from certain sensations felt during an episode of muscle contractions. Some people report no pain, but a sense of tight pressure around the waist, torso or neck. I don’t get pain just the tight pressure of the muscles tightening - sometimes it’s my stomach and other times it’s the chest. Like I said, there is no pain but it’s very annoying and very hard to hide that it’s happen as it makes my body and face twitch.

Other people may experience band of tingling or burning in the same area. Sharp, stabbing pain or dull, widespread aching are also possible symptoms of MS hug. Words often used to describe MS hug include:

• ·         squeezing

• ·         crushing

• ·         ants crawling under the skin

• ·         hot or cold burning

• ·         pins and needles 

From these symptoms, I experience the squeezing and crushing but thank goodness not the ants crawling under the skin. As the going hot and cold – this is something that happens to me but not really related to the hug. And I have pins and needles a lot in my hands and feet. 

What triggers an MS Hug?

The triggers of an MS Hug are the same as triggers for most other symptoms of MS and are

Heat, stress, and fatigue—all situations in which your body may not be running at 100 percent efficiency

So this means that someone with MS should really avoid stress, stay in cool places though we also need to be in the sun as Vitamin D is good for us as it is for everyone. Heat does disagree with people and it does affect me and at times during this hot weather I have had to go to bed with a wet face cloth over my face as I was burning up and felt like I had a fever.