Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder in which a person’s immune system attacks and damages the protective sheath of nerve fibers, called myelin. MS symptoms and disease severity can vary dramatically from patient to patient, depending on the type of MS they have and the area of the nervous system being affected. MS can come on slowly, and the initial multiple sclerosis warning signs can be subtle. If you or someone you know is experiencing any of the symptoms on this list, talk to your doctor about prescription medications—like Ocrevus, Aubagio, Ponvory, and Zeposia—that can help relieve MS symptoms. Here are the common early warning signs of MS:

1. Bladder issues

Other early multiple sclerosis warning signs that are often easily missed are bladder issues such as more frequent urination and difficulty regulating bladder control. This can result in the need to get up to urinate multiple times during the night, sudden urinary urgency, or leaking urine.

2. Cognitive problems

When nerves in the parts of the brain that process thought and memory are damaged, cognitive challenges occur. A patient with cognitive problems caused by MS may experience difficulty processing sensory information, difficulty acquiring and remembering information, and attention challenges, or they may struggle to find the right word. Cognitive problems accompanying MS are usually mild and a person’s intellect, personality, and long-term memory typically remain unchanged; however, they may make it difficult to continue working.

3. Balance issues

As myelin is damaged or destroyed, communication between nerve fibers is impaired. One of the first places this can show up is in the ability to balance. Signals sent by the brain are misinterpreted, leading to challenges with coordination, and other multiple sclerosis symptoms. These MS symptoms include tremors, spasms, stiffness, or muscle weakness, which are likely to contribute to the problem and make a patient more likely to stumble or experience a fall.

4. Vision problems

MS can affect all the nerves in the body, including the eyes. This can cause a problem called optic neuritis, which affects the optic nerve. Patients with optic neuritis can experience blurry vision, dim vision, pain with eye movement, or a “washing out” of colors. Often these symptoms only occur in one eye. With enough time, the affected eye may completely lose vision. These visual disturbances can contribute to the balance problems described above.

5. Numbness and spasms

Patients with MS may experience numbness or tingling throughout the body, similar to the feeling experienced when a limb “falls asleep.” Muscle spasms are also common, in which a particular muscle contracts, often painfully. Over time, many people with MS experience spasticity, a condition in which the muscles stiffen up and become more difficult to move. An overall feeling of weakness is also a common warning sign of MS.

6. Treatments and medications to consider for MS 

While there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, certain MS treatments typically aim to speed the recovery from attacks, manage symptoms, and slow the progression of the disease. There are several disease modifying therapies (DMTs) for relapsing-remitting MS and medications such as Ocervus, Aubagio, Ponvory, and Zeposia that can help reduce symptoms and flare ups.