Treating MS symptoms can help people not only stay on their disease-modifying drugs but also feel better. And effective symptom management, Dr. Crayton says, starts with good doctor-patient communication. In an MS center, the neurologist will oversee symptom management, but outside of a center, the neurologist might refer a patient to other specialists or to the primary care doctor. Healthology talked with Dr. Crayton to get an overview of MS symptoms and to find out how addressing even minor symptoms can make the difference.
What are the most common MS symptoms?
Most people have symptoms from their MS that affect their quality of life on a day-to-day basis. Probably the most common symptoms are fatigue, spasticity, bladder and bowel dysfunction, cognitive dysfunction (problems with thinking and remembering), sexual dysfunction and pain. The symptoms can occur by themselves or in conjunction with other symptoms and when they build up, MS becomes a lot more disabling.
How do you approach the treatment of such a wide range of symptoms?
Doctors and patients often get very overwhelmed and are not quite sure where to start. It really is a kind of a negative feedback loop. For instance, if somebody's fatigued and depressed, they're not very likely to exercise. And, as the level of exercise decreases, spasticity increases and so does constipation. And if you're more spastic and constipated, you have a full colon, so you usually develop bladder problems. And if you have bladder problems, you're probably not getting good sleep. And if you're not getting good sleep, then you usually experience cognitive deficits. And cognitive deficits feed into fatigue and depression. So it is a very vicious cycle and you just have to dive in.
