That is normal for me. My doctor put me on an anti-depressant. He calls it Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) refers to a neurologic disorder characterized by involuntary crying or uncontrollable episodes of crying and/or laughing, or other emotional displays. PBA occurs secondary to neurologic disease or brain injury. Patients may find themselves crying uncontrollably at something that is only moderately sad, being unable to stop themselves for several minutes. Episodes may also be mood-incongruent: a patient might laugh uncontrollably when angry or frustrated, for example.

Sorry for the long post. Just remember you are not alone. I hope it gets better for you.

I do this from time to time. I think because we keep so much bottled up all the time with trying to just deal with our daily challenges, it is only natural to have to just let it all out.

I like to get thing sout of my system with a movie that will let me have a really good cry, or a whole lot of laughs. There is always the treadmill too. And just beating up the pillow, the towel, or something that is of a healthy RELEASE.

I think it is very important to release all this pent up energy so that it doesn't accumulate, build us in and then end up exploding at inopportune moments. :)

You're human. MS helps to add to our frustrations in this life. Let them loose so they don't explode from within. :) (That's my 2 center, lol. - seems to work for me!)

I'm the same way. I cry at everything and can't seem to control it so I gave up trying. I just let the emotion out and those who know me well understand. If they don't know me, who cares what they think! Be you.

Hi I suffer from this as well.
Here is some info from the Canadian MS society about it

Inappropriate Affect
(also known as pseudo bulbar affect, emotional incontinence, involuntary emotional expression disorder-IEED)

Uncontrolled or involuntary laughter and/or crying can be a distressing symptom in MS. Once it starts, it can be very hard to stop. This can cause distress and much embarrassment for the person experiencing it, and can also result in mistaken information cues for the person observing it. It can occur in up to 10% of people with MS. It is thought to be related to lesions in the cortex responsible for emotional control aspects, the bulbar nuclei, the physiological effector, and the hypothalamus which integrates the two. In this context, people can exhibit sudden and exaggerated expressions of emotion (laughter and crying) that may or may not be demonstrative of their mood at the time. This condition, though not caused by depression, can be effectively treated with relatively small doses of a number of drugs including some members of the tricyclic and SSRI families.

I used to cry at a drop of a hat for no reason and got upset very quickly.
They put me on Celexa and I am allot better.

I live in a long term hospital & there is a guy who laughs at everything you can tell him the sadist story ever and he will laugh and people think badly of him. But he can not help laughing any more then I can help crying.

I hope this info answers your ?
Take Care
Kayce

Welcome to the club. This is normal MS symptom. My doc doesn't want to give me the drug so I just deal with it. It doesn't happen all the time, just when there is a teary movie or life has a hard moment.

I never used to cry back in the day before MS. It happened rarely. Now it is very common for me.

I agree with ezone - it's a very common MS symptom. And it comes with the depression, the helplessness, the feeling of a complete lack of control...

I cry all the time. I used to laugh all the time, and make smart-ass comments that would make everyone else laugh, too. People used to always marvel at what a happy person I was. I would get nicknamed "sunshine" by co-workers. People always told me they were happy to see me because I was always smiling.

MS sucks.

I didn't know that this was a symptom, though I am learning more and more everyday of new ones..... but I have been crying like a crazy woman lately....like you said a commercial could get me crying... Driving in my car and have a thought and just start bawling... also I have been having very absurd outbursts of uncontrollable laughter.... I talked to my Dr. about it because it is always at inappropriate times and very strange but as I said uncontrollable....I just start laughing until I am in tears...it is embarrassing...I honestly have no control over it.... So, my Dr. said that I should talk to my Psychiatrist that it is probably a symptom of depression..... I don't think so, but guess I will give it a try.... just thought I'd share that you are not alone in your crying....and hope you don't start this laughing thing, God bless!

I cried all through church the other day, but really couldn't think of a solid reason why. I really tried to hide it because it can be upsetting to others. My husband seems to understand and doesn't worry too much. I was much worse before, but take Celexa to help even things out a bit. I still cry, but not like I'm losing it. I am a sensitive person, but the MS has brought it to a new level.

This happens to my best friend also. She was always a stiff-upper-lip type who found displays of "too much" emotion to be embarrassing.

After she had a nasty setback, my husband and I went out to visit her in the hospital to see her. She burst into tears. (In "the old days," such behavior would have horrified her.) After a few days and lots of medication, she was much better - clearer mentally in general, and not as emotionally up-and-down. The medication clearly made a huge difference.

Good luck!

I also cry for what seems like nothing. My husband tells me I use to be so easy-going, but now everything makes me so sad. At my neurologist appt. I told my MS nurse (she is much more in-tune with what is going on in the field of MS than my Neurologist) that I thought getting depressed and might need a different med. or a higher dosage of Lexapro. She however didn't agree. She said I was suffering from Pseudobulbar which she then prescribed medication to control it. However, I stopped taking it after 2 days because I was becoming gassy, and with a 13 year old boy in the house I wasn't going to release any gas. (I hope u understand what I am saying.)

For anyone who is interested I have a great piece of property on the coast of Florida for sale at a terrific price.

What???

Please ignore the advertisement. It's either a mis-post or a troll, neither of which deserves our attention.

And thank you, all, for making me feel not-the-fool for bursting into tears at a commercial or because I couldn't, in my mind, move off from the red light change fast enough.

JCStormy, I apologize for inserting my sick humor into your thread. I imagine you are a sweatheart and that you must have such an awesome personality. I am sorry.

Although if anyone ever did take my post seriously they would certainly have quite a few tears.

i have to say I did laugh at Ravenous Wolf. It sure beats crying.

JCStormy, if the crying is bothering you enough, there is a medication directed at that specific symptom.

And yes, crying is a common MS symptom. It may not have anything to do with depression or anything like that. It is a separate MS symptom called psychobulbar (hopefully I got the name correct) effect. It has a name to describe uncontrollable crying or laughing, both of which are MS symptoms. There is a medication for it. But I won't add any more meds to my already long list so I just deal with it.

But thanks for the laugh Ravenouswolf. And mjideas was funny too.