How long does your HUG last?

[marti]

I'm not sure if this is the usual HUG, but I'm trying to find out. This is going on 4 days now of almost constant chest pain. Right in the middle. I know some of this is costochondritis, which I have often. I also have chronic Gastritis, Spondylosis and a bunch of disc problems in my spine. So this could be something else.

I've had all the usual heart tests so I don't think it's that. Guess I would have known by now if my heart was in trouble right?

I've heard people say their HUG sometimes feels like a heart attack. So I wonder if you all feel the pain in the center of your chest... between the breasts. Last night I was up most of the night, trying everything I could think of. Tylenol, Gas X, Zantac, Xanax, Baclofen, Solonpas with Lidocaine ( a rub on ) and Mylanta. I got some relief for a short time. Then it started again and again. This is how I've been feeling for 4 days now.

Can anyone give me a good description and background for HUG? If I knew more about it I might be able to deal with this better. Appreciate it.

[oceanpride]

Jeez Marti that’s a lot of dope to be trying in one night. I’m thinking Baclifen might get you some relief if it is in fact an “MS Hug “ but to my understanding you kinda have to take it regularly for a while before it kicks in. I’m sure that’s what I get but it wraps right around my hips like a real tight band. So tight it hurts. I’ve never experienced any thing like that in the chest but a lot of people do. Pain around the chest should be checked out just to be sure it isn’t your heart. Hoping it’s not. Sorry I probably wasn’t much help.

[Seasha]

Ugh Marti - the "hug" is painful for sure. I felt like a boa constrictor was wrapped around my torso, making it hard to breathe. Mine lasted a couple weeks and was one of my first symptoms. Thankfully, it never happened again.

NMMS says "Burning, aching or “girdling” around the body (sometimes referred to as the "MS hug") all have neurologic origins. The technical name for them is dysesthesias.

These painful sensations—dysesthesias—typically affect the legs and feet, but may also affect the arms and trunk (such as the feeling of constriction around the abdomen or chest area known as the "MS hug"). They can be very uncomfortable—even quite painful—but are not dangerous or necessarily disabling unless they are severe enough to interfere with a person's activities.

Here's more information abut dysesthesias - https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.c...s/dysesthesia/

Hope your's passes quickly enough and you find some relief!

[limppy]

My Hug

Hi Marti I have had 3 hugs and I know the pain and scary thing they are . I also tried everything at home to stop it but by 8 pm I could not breath just kept gettin worse.. so wife drove me to the ER .. They freaked out thinking heart attack but after telling them what to do for MS they called my neuro,, I needed steroids(solumedral ) and some narcotics after 1 hr (about 11 pm ) everything went back to normal ( breathing and heart rate ) but they kept me all night and released in morning .What a night Sometimes you can not fight this on your own . Thanks for lettin us know

[hobbit]

Esophageal spasms

Yes, it's a thing. Went through the same thing in 2013, thought it was a heart attack at first but despite my pulse dropping to 40, the heart checked out fine. My Neuro used the process of elimination to determine diagnosis but by that point it was too late to treat as a typical exacerbation.

It is one of my most painful MS symptoms, the kind that leaves me rocking and whimpering. I chew a percocet and hope it kicks in, this is one pain I don't know if I can learn to live with. I am so sorry for you.

Contact your Neuro and tell him you are having a new exacerbation and see if he will start steroids. If not go to the ER and see if they will give you dilaudid, that stuff is like magic. You need relief now.

Peace,
Anna

[marti]

Yes, it's a thing. Went through the same thing in 2013, thought it was a heart attack at first but despite my pulse dropping to 40, the heart checked out fine. My Neuro used the process of elimination to determine diagnosis but by that point it was too late to treat as a typical exacerbation.

It is one of my most painful MS symptoms, the kind that leaves me rocking and whimpering. I chew a percocet and hope it kicks in, this is one pain I don't know if I can learn to live with. I am so sorry for you.

Contact your Neuro and tell him you are having a new exacerbation and see if he will start steroids. If not go to the ER and see if they will give you dilaudid, that stuff is like magic. You need relief now.

Peace,
Anna

I've been in the E/R for Esophageal spasms but they never told me it was related to the MS. Are you saying these spasms are a MS symptom?

They gave me a combo of Maalox and Lidocain I think... can't remember what they called it and something in the I/V which helped. I have chronic Gastritis which leads to this kind of thing too.

I really appreciate your post. Can you tell me if ES is another symptom of MS? I know the Gastritis can be a result of MS. Like IBS. I have that one too. In fact, I have several autoimmune problems.

On day 4 it finally let go to a point that I can tolerate it now. Thanks so much.

[hobbit]

Yes.

Yes. It is due to MS.

It took being scoped through every orifice and numerous blood tests to rule out a host of other possibilities but ultimately it has been attributed to MS.

Basically, any body function controlled by muscular response can suffer from nerve damage due to MS. In 2013 when this became an issue we discovered swallowing dysphagia and esophageal dysphagia. Liquid diet was the only relief I could find I lost 80 lbs. in 3 months. Eventually I was able too determine my better swallowing times and consistencies that worked until 2015.

In 2015 I started vomiting bile several times a day and chronic constipation became unmanageable. Two GI's insisted on antacids and fiber which resulted in no change except now I was severely bloated. GI #3 did an ultrasound and revealed a gall bladder filled with gallstones. It required 2 surgeries to remove everything (stones were trapped in bile duct). A few months later I started vomiting again.

2016 my sister had a stroke leaving her hemiplegic and me her primary caretaker, my health went on the back burner and it was easy to blame stress. This year I couldn't deal with the never ending constant stomachache and constant nausea. I did a smart pill. I have a constant stomachache because food is fermenting in my stomach. , it is taking a day for my stomach to empty from one meal. I have severe gastroparesis. I am on a liquid diet until I lose too much weight and then I get a J-tube. Not "if" but "when".

This is all MS related, per my GI and my Neuro. We believe the lesion on the C1 pressing against the brain stem is the culprit. I wish I had better news or at least more uplifting but this is all I've got.

Peace,
Anna

[angel22_99]

Dealing with this now

My Hug symptoms started last Wednesday where I felt this terrible painful gripping around my waist. It first hit me while I was driving to an appointment for a new MS study drug that I was in two weeks ago. The pain was so bad that I had to unhook my bra, even though the pain was much lower on my waist. Today is my first day wearing a real bra and so far, not much pain.

The study doctors really didn’t bat an eye or consider it a relapse as they found out I was severely anemic, which can cause a whole host of neurological problems. I also have Restless Leg Syndom, which they believe is from the anemia, which was causing me not to sleep, thus stressing me out, thus the MS hug. It’s a very viscous cycle.

I'm not sure if this is the usual HUG, but I'm trying to find out. This is going on 4 days now of almost constant chest pain. Right in the middle. I know some of this is costochondritis, which I have often. I also have chronic Gastritis, Spondylosis and a bunch of disc problems in my spine. So this could be something else.

I've had all the usual heart tests so I don't think it's that. Guess I would have known by now if my heart was in trouble right?

I've heard people say their HUG sometimes feels like a heart attack. So I wonder if you all feel the pain in the center of your chest... between the breasts. Last night I was up most of the night, trying everything I could think of. Tylenol, Gas X, Zantac, Xanax, Baclofen, Solonpas with Lidocaine ( a rub on ) and Mylanta. I got some relief for a short time. Then it started again and again. This is how I've been feeling for 4 days now.

Can anyone give me a good description and background for HUG? If I knew more about it I might be able to deal with this better. Appreciate it.

[Thinkimjob]

It's a flare of sorts. I've had it three times and it really does hurt like a great big python squeezing you, every breath the old snake squeezes harder.
The only thing that helped was a drug called Buscopan - it's for stomach cramps and it's "over the counter".
Have a look on Dr Google for the US version.