I'm on pain meds. They are a life saver! Of course there's always going to be the skeptics because I look "fine". But I have to live in,this body. So I dont let others get me down . MS hurts!!

I agree with what everyone's description is. I have experience all as I was diagnosed 23 years ago. I still get the MS hug but not as often as I used to. Now I get random shooting pains all over my body; feels like knitting needles trying force there way through my body, especially joints and it's very painful. I get the side pain often like you describe and the same thing, the organs are fine. Charlie horses that just come when they feel like it. All of this is painful but you have to realize that it eventually goes away. If it doesn't, don't feel bad about taking pain meds. What we experience is real and if your MS doctor questions it, find yourself a new doctor! Be strong and be your own advocate. Good luck and God bless you all!!!

My last message hit on muscles and the MS hug, this one will hit on a couple of things I've found that can be helpful.

One, learn the 2 different styles of breathing: the deep breathing with your diaphragm, and the shallower breathing with your chest that doesn't use the diaphragm. (Breathing with your diaphragm is what is considered "normal" and preferred, what is taught in yoga classes, etc.)

When you feel weird things and your chest tightening from the MS hug, puff your chest out and breath shallow keeping your chest as large as possible. Keep that big chest for 30 seconds or so. Then relax and breath normally.

IMO (I haven't talked to physical therapists or doctors about this, but IMO it just works!) what is happening is that "stretches" the inter-costal muscles, and then when you go back to normal it feels better. Try it when the MS hug is acting up.

Another thing that I discovered that IMO is worth its weight in gold is an inversion table. You can find these only for $120 or so. Many also fold up nicely so they don't take up much room when you're not using them.

But I swear, spending 30 seconds or more upside down, leaning a little this way and that way, "resets" the MS hug for anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours! It's unbelievable how muscles are reset and act normal and pain goes away -- highly recommended. (But due to the cost try one first if you can to see if I'm talking trash or not.)

And as @A MyMSTeam Member mentioned, eating a ton of Baclofen is a norm for me.

Mentioned Users

A MyMSTea...

The "classic" MS Hug is said to be only your inter-costal muscles acting up, those muscles between your ribs, like the "rib meat" we eat when we eat ribs. The inter-costal muscles can spasm or go spastic and do the "normal" weirdness we MSers get.

But often the MS hug is used generically to refer to any weirdness happening in your torso.

Mine started as the classic MS hug with the inter-costal muscles. Only occassionally do I get the "banding/bearhug" sensations that many talk about. Mostly it's in one area or another.

But my "MS hug" also impacts muscles that are not inter-costal muscles. My pectoral (chest) muscles, for example, or my abs or oblique ab muscles (those muscles on the sides of your body).

I'm not sure if it falls into the category of the "MS hug" but I've had MS impact my heart. From what I understand, this is due to lesions in our cerebellum and can impact the timing between the 4 parts of the heart, the opening of the valves which let blood go through the heart, things like that. MS impacting the heart and/or lungs are one of doctors' biggest concerns since that can obviously be lethal.

Fortunately for me mine were intermittent and not too big of a deal.

But with that said, I can get weird feelings/muscle oddities through my entire torso, both near the surface and in-depth. Not pleasant, but it is what it is,

Mine started around my lower back and stomach. Eventually, I felt like I couldn't breathe, I was nauseous, but couldn't sit still. I took my cocktail of baclofen, IBU, and Tylenol and it eventually subsided. But, only after walking around a campground for over an hour.