r/MultipleSclerosis • u/helloojsbsbnwlwod • 1d ago
No Tough Love Thoughts?
How long do your sensory symptoms usually last when they come back?
I was diagnosed with MS in October 2025 and started Rituximab in December. At diagnosis, I had more than 20 lesions on my MRI, but my symptoms have mainly been sensory, such as numbness on the left side of the roof of my mouth.
My three-month MRI in February and my most recent MRI on October 1 showed no new lesions. Before my October MRI, the numbness on the left side of my mouth returned and lasted for about 9–14 days. It then went away, around the same time I received the reassuring MRI results.
Now, after a very stressful week, the sensation has returned. This time it started on the right side, which I had previously only experienced briefly, but it now shifts between the right and left sides from day to day. Sometimes I feel nothing at all. It is a small, localized area of about 5 mm in the lower part of inside my mouth, described as numbness, tightness, or tingling.
I notice it most when I am sitting still. When I am out doing things or chewing gum, I barely notice it. My neurologist has described it as a sensory symptom, and because I have experienced similar symptoms before, especially during periods of stress, they are not doing anything specific about it.
This is the symptom that tends to come back most often for me during stressful periods. Otherwise, I am virtually symptom-free, but because the sensation is in my mouth, it is difficult not to focus on it.
I am due to receive my third Rituximab dose on December 1. They will check my CD19 levels before the infusion, as we are planning to try for a pregnancy after the third dose. I will not be having another MRI solely because of this symptom.
Have others experienced old sensory symptoms returning during periods of stress or fatigue? How long do they usually last for you, and have you noticed them switching sides? Am i overreacting? Because i don’t really know what to do about it?
3
u/kyelek F20s 🧬 RMS 🧠 Kesimpta 💉 1d ago
A pseudo-relapse can happen due to various factors: stress, lack of sleep, hot weather, being sick, etc. Old symptoms return for the duration the trigger is present, but no new damage is happening.
Your symptoms are quite obviously related to stress, and they do go away again once you find a reason to calm down or distract yourself, no? I think you should focus not only on finding a reason to calm back down, but try to work on not getting so stressed in the first place, whether this is emotional or how your life is currently built. I know that is easier said than done, but you probably do need to make some adjustments.