Numb

New experiences, new symptoms, are a constant with Multiple Sclerosis. Sometimes they are only inconvenient, other times they can be a big concern. Mostly, they are somewhere between the two. I will occasionally post about them here. Keep them in perspective. This time it’s about a numb feeling in the right arm.

Some History

It started with mild pain in the right arm around a year ago. The sort of pain where the word itself seems overdramatic. Not so much pain as dull irritation. It got worse, I got it checked by the doctor who sent me for a scan and the shoulder and arms were fine. Just MS doing its thing. 

Numb

Fast forward and it is not so much pain as… nothing. Moving my hand gets progressively more difficult as the day progresses. Typing with the right hand becomes a single finger affair. Holding a pen becomes a real challenge. And I feel very little. No pain, little feeling, a mild aching at most. More numb than anything.

This is not constant. Exercise and stretches help. I need to remember to repeat these exercises through the day. If I think about it, keep it in perspective, it is not that bad.

It just feels like another step towards MS taking the overall victory, winning the war. Numbness. Lack of feeling. In itself it is nothing much to be concerned about. An inconvenience. 

The numb feeling is something that is difficult to explain, like the muscles are there and I can flex them but… they just don’t want to. Muscles should ache as you strain them. One more sign of MS progressing and continuing to slowly dilute what I can do.

Postscript

This was written a couple of days ago and a bit in the thick of this particular symptom. Today the numbness is still there but much reduced. Yesterday I was able to go on a short cross-country, or gravel, cycle ride which is something that the arms need to be in good shape for. This is the nature of the condition. Symptoms just come and go. How to control them? No idea. Working on that one!

There is more on MS Numbness here and here.