Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Support Group
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I know this has probably been discussed a thousand times but I'm new....so can you all please explain to me what the MS hug is like for you? I've had some localized pain in my upper right abdomen (I do not have a gallbladder) but it seems to move. It doesn't stay always stay in that one spot. It's almost like a tightening, it hurts if I breath too deep. I've also had some trouble with pain in my upper back in a couple different spots for a year or so now. It's just like a gnawing type pain and it switches from one side of my spine to the other. Last but not least I've had some fluttering in my chest. It feels like heart palpitations but I get it on both the left and the right side so it can't be my heart. There is no heart to be had on the right side. Then, of course, I panic. Thinking I'm having a heart attack, even though I only have one heart and it's not on the right side and that just makes things worse. Could it all just be muscle spasms or twitches??? I mentioned the heart thing to the doc and he brushed it off.
deleted_user
I get the hug all the time. I walk around like some Frankenstien monster. I have found that stress brings on the hug. Major problem when dating. The drug baclofen helps.
deleted_user
My neurologist told me an MS hug is caused by the muscles between your ribs spasming and contracting so it can affect your chest area and your back.. It doesnt always feel the same for everyone but can be mistaken for angina pains, heart attacks etc., The hard thing is knowing the difference at times. I have found the best way for me to make it settle is relaxation. When it starts i will stop what i am doing and do some deep slow breaths, even meditating when I can. I went to hospital once with a bad MS hug and they gave me an injection of a very strong muscle relaxant , the name escapes me. I slept the afternoon away in the ER and it was gone when i woke up. One thing i realise with MS ...everyones experience can be different and the same . It is great though to come on here and not feel so crazy because other people are going through the same thing as you are.
FichenDich
I experience it about once every two years or so on average. It has lasted from a few seconds to 45 minutes. It appears and disappears completely without warning. The very first time it happened it felt like an invisible seat belt (shoulder belt mainly, crossing chest) in a haunted car had tightened itself far too much. The severity ranges from minor annoyance to extreme annoyance.
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