One of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis which may seem innocuous to people who don’t live with MS is numbness. People outside of the disease bubble may think that not feeling something is better than feeling pain or discomfort. For those of us on the inside know that numbness can be dangerous, difficult and – this being the part that is current medical thought – is permanent. Sure, numbness could be temporary due to an acute flair and accompany inflammation. The longer we experience lack of sensation, however, can be sign of axonal damage (“permanent” nerve damage). There is current research underway to re-grow myelin insulation around the nerve which is promising. Repair of dead nerve tissue may be further down the slalom course to a cure. Pain can be deadened (to a point), spasticity can be softened (to a point), fatigue can (to a point) be masked and many other MS symptoms can be managed. Feeling, however, - long term loss of sensation in the form of numbness - can be damned near impossible to reverse. It’s important to understand the difference between “numbness” and “pins & needles”. We may think of the buzzing of bumble bees in our legs or the prickling notes of an arm ‘waking up’ as numbness. The numb feeling we are talking is complete, dead weight nothingness. This tingling may be a precursor to further damage, but it could just be crossed wires and a nerve scrape rather than permanent damage. We just don’t know (bugger of a disease, this MS). I hope we can all look back on my cautious opening statement and see it as an old and outdated way of thinking. Until then, numbness can be permanent and an ever-present reminder of the losses which multiple sclerosis can inflict. Wishing you and your family the best of health. Cheers Trevis Don’t forget that you can also follow me via our Life With MS Facebook page, on Twitter, and our new group on MS Connection.org. Check out our bi-monthly blog for the UK and look for our Very Special new monthly blog for the National MS Society.
