Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a long-lasting disease that affects the nerves in your brain and spinal cord. It's often hard to diagnose because symptoms can vary so much from person to person. They can be mild or severe. They may come and go, or they may get worse over time.
There are many other diseases like MS. They can share symptoms such as:
- Fatigue (feeling tired even after resting)
- Weakness
- Numbness
- Vision issues
- Trouble walking
Your doctor will likely need to rule out other health issues before they can diagnose you with MS.
Epstein-Barr Virus
One condition that can cause long-lasting fatigue similar to that found in MS the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). It's a common type of herpes virus usually spread through body fluids, like spit. It's probably best known for causing mononucleosis, or "mono." Most people will get Epstein-Barr sometime during their lives.
Epstein-Barr virus symptoms
Along with feeling tired for no reason, EBV symptoms can include:
- Head and body aches
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Swollen spleen or liver
- Inflamed lymph nodes in your neck
- Rash
EBV often infects children, who usually have mild or no symptoms. Teenagers and adults may show more clear signs of EBV. Most symptoms tend to clear up in two to four weeks, but the fatigue may last for many weeks or months. Once you have this virus, it stays in your body. It can reactivate, and it may or may not cause symptoms.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
If you don't get enough vitamin B12, you could also end up with symptoms similar to those of multiple sclerosis.
Vitamin B12 helps your body make red blood cells, DNA, and nerves, among other things. Your body doesn't make this vitamin naturally. You get it through animal foods (like meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy), foods with B12 added to them, or supplements.
Most adults need 2.4 micrograms of B12 each day. But some people either don’t take in this much or their bodies don’t absorb enough.
Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms
If you have a B12 deficiency, you could:
- Feel tingling or numbness in your hands, legs, or feet
- Get very tired and weak
- Have a hard time walking
- Have trouble thinking
- Get a swollen tongue
- Become anemic (have a low amount of healthy red blood cells)
These symptoms can come on quickly or slowly over time.
Diabetes
Diabetes, when you have too much sugar in your bloodstream, is another disease that mimics MS.
Diabetes symptoms
With this condition, you may:
- Be very tired or cranky
- Feel hungrier and thirstier
- Pee more
- Lose weight for no reason
- Have blurred vision, slow-healing wounds, or repeated infections
Diabetes can also damage your nerves, a condition called diabetic neuropathy. This can cause numbness, tingling, or pain in your feet and legs. You might also have issues with your urinary tract, heart, digestive system, or blood vessels.
Like MS, diabetes may also lead to vision problems. This happens due to damaged blood vessels in your eyes and is a condition is called diabetic retinopathy.
Type 1 diabetes usually starts when you're a child or in your teens. Type 2 diabetes is more common in people over 40.
Nerve Damage
Nerve cells (neurons) are the foundation of your nervous system. They send electrical signals to each other to help your body function properly. If they stop working the way they should, you may start having symptoms similar to those of MS.
What is neuropathy?
The medical term for nerve damage is neuropathy. It can affect you at any age, but people over 65 are more at risk.
Nerve damage causes
Over half of all people who live with diabetes have neuropathy. That's by far the most common cause. Other reasons for neuropathy include:
- Severe Injuries
- Immune system disorders like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
- Infections (such as shingles, Lyme disease, and HIV)
- Certain medications (like chemotherapy)
- Being around toxic substances like lead
- Autoimmune conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Kidney or liver conditions
- Tumors (cancerous or noncancerous) that press on your nerves
- An underactive thyroid
Neuropathy symptoms
Signs of neuropathy can vary, depending on where in your body the damaged nerves are. Some of the most common symptoms are:
- Tingling
- Numbness
- Muscle weakness
- Pain
- Loss of balance
- Muscle twitches
- Not being able to move a part of your body
- Sweating too much or too little
- Very low blood pressure (which could make you dizzy)
- Feeling very sensitive to touch
- Bladder or bowel issues
Eye Problems
Many eye issues can cause blurred vision or vision loss, which are also symptoms of MS.
Eye conditions similar to those of multiple sclerosis
Some of the most common ones are:
- Refractive issues (nearsightedness and farsightedness)
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Diabetic eye damage
- Amblyopia, or "lazy eye"
- Cataracts
- Glaucoma
Eye symptoms similar to those of multiple sclerosis
Your symptoms will depend on what eye condition you have. But they might include having a hard time reading or driving, trouble seeing at night, or cloudy-looking eyes.
Stroke
You have a stroke when one of the blood vessels that carries nutrients and oxygen to your brain gets blocked or ruptures. This kills some of your brain cells. In serious cases, strokes can leave you disabled or lead to death.
Stroke symptoms
Symptoms of a stroke include:
- Weakness or numbness (especially on just one side of your body)
- Trouble walking
- Confusion
- Problems with speaking or understanding others
- Vision trouble
- Dizziness
- An intense headache for no reason
Stroke symptoms happen very suddenly. Get medical help at once if you have them.
Anyone can have a stroke. But they're more likely in people over 55 and those with other health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Lupus and Other Autoimmune Diseases
Several autoimmune diseases have symptoms that are common to MS. Your immune system is supposed to protect your body from germs and other foreign invaders. But sometimes, it mistakenly attacks your tissues and organs.
Lupus symptoms
One of the more common autoimmune conditions is lupus. It causes inflammation that affects your skin, joints, brain, kidneys, heart, blood cells, and lungs. In some cases, you get a rash across both cheeks.
Symptoms of lupus include:
- Extreme fatigue
- Fever
- Joint inflammation or pain
- Fingers or toes that turn white or blue at low temperatures
- Chest pain
- Dry eyes
- Shortness of breath
- Headaches
- Feeling confused
- Memory loss
If you're assigned female at birth, you're more likely to get lupus. It's usually diagnosed when you're 15-45 years old.
Parkinson's Disease
Like MS, this nervous system disorder affects your movement. It happens when nerve cells in your brain slowly break down. This affects parts of your brain that help control different body functions.
Parkinson’s disease symptoms
Symptoms can start slowly and get worse over time. They differ from person to person but may include:
- Trouble walking
- Tremor (shaking in your hands, jaw, or feet)
- Slowed movement
- Muscle stiffness
- Stiff posture
- Issues with balance
- Changes in speech (like talking softly, slurring words, or hesitating before you speak)
- Changes in writing (For instance, your words may look much smaller than they used to.)
- Trouble sleeping (Some people may act out their dreams.)
Symptoms usually begin on one side of your body and affect that side more intensely, even when you have symptoms on both sides.
Most people who get Parkinson's are 50 or older. It's more common in people who are assigned male at birth. Having a parent or sibling with this disease raises your risk of having it, too.
Lyme Disease
You get this disease through a bite from a deer tick. These types of ticks, which live in wooded or grassy areas all over the United States, often carry a type of bacteria that makes you sick. If not treated, Lyme disease can affect your heart, joints, and nervous system.
Lyme disease symptoms
A skin rash is usually, but not always, the first sign of this condition. It may appear around the area of the tick bite and look like a bull's-eye. It could itch or be tender to the touch. Other common symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Numbness or tingling in your arms, legs, hands, or feet
- Headache
- Fever
- Stiff joints
- Swollen glands in your neck
Symptoms of Lyme disease can take a while to show up. You may not start feeling ill until three to 10 weeks after a tick bite. Many people don't even remember coming into contact with a tick.
Myasthenia Gravis
This immune system disorder is also similar to MS. It causes a breakdown in communication between your muscles and nerves. Doctors aren't sure why it happens, but your genes may play a part. Myasthenia gravis (MG) leads to chronically weak muscles, especially in your:
- Face and throat
- Eyes
- Neck
- Arms and legs
Myasthenia gravis symptoms
Signs that you have MG can include:
- Fatigue
- Trouble speaking, chewing, or swallowing
- Drooping eyelids
- Vision changes
- Finding it hard to make facial expressions
- Trouble walking
The muscle weakness tends to ease up after you rest. So symptoms can come and go. But they usually get worse over time.
You can get myasthenia gravis at any age, but it's more common in women under 40 and men over 60.
ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) causes damage to nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord. They stop "talking" to your muscles, so you can no longer control them. Over time, this can cause severe issues with breathing, speaking, and eating. Some people with ALS are also diagnosed with a form of dementia that makes it hard to remember things and think clearly.
ALS symptoms
You may first notice twitching muscles; weakness in your arms, hands, or legs; or slurred speech. Other symptoms include:
- Trouble walking
- Muscle cramps
- A hard time swallowing
- Changes in your behavior
- Random laughing, crying, or yawning
ALS may run in families, but many other things could also raise your risk. It's most often diagnosed in people ages 60-85. There's no cure yet, but some treatments are able to slow down the progress of this condition.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
This rare immune system disorder attacks your nerves, causing parts of your body to feel numb, weak, or unable to move.
It's still unclear what causes Guillain-Barre. Most people who get it have had a recent infection like the flu or hepatitis. Having surgery or a severe injury may also raise your risk.
Guillain-Barre syndrome symptoms
The most common type in the U.S. begins with tingling or weakness in your legs, then spreads to your upper body. You could also have:
- A feeling like your fingers and toes have "fallen asleep"
- Trouble walking or climbing stairs
- Double vision
- Loss of facial expression
- A hard time eating
- Body aches and cramps
- Bladder and bowel issues
- A fast heart rate
- High or low blood pressure
- Breathing issues
Doctors are still looking for a cure for Guillain-Barre, but many people recover over time with treatment and physical therapy.
ADEM
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a rare brain and nervous system disorder that can follow a viral or bacterial infection (like an upper respiratory infection). Doctors believe your immune system confuses your own body with the germs that it's trying to fight.
Anyone can get ADEM, but it most often affects children.
ADEM symptoms
Headaches and fever are common Other signs include:
- Weakness in your arms and legs
- Tingling and numbness
- Vision problems
- Loss of balance
- Confusion
- Trouble swallowing
- Feeling sick to your stomach
- Throwing up
These symptoms tend to come on suddenly. With treatment, many people start to get better in days and are fully recovered within a few months.
Takeaways
Many conditions similar to MS can cause your immune system to attack your nerves by mistake. Your doctor will have to run tests to figure out the cause. While autoimmune disorders don't always have cures, different treatments can help manage your symptoms or possibly slow down the progress of your condition.
Diseases Like MS FAQs
What is the difference between MS and Sjogren's syndrome?
Both of these are autoimmune disorders. But if you have Sjogren's, your immune system first attacks the glands that produce spit and tears. That's why early symptoms include very dry eyes and a dry mouth that can make it uncomfortable to swallow or speak. Over time, Sjogren's can spread to other parts of your body like your joints, skin, and nerves.
There's no cure for Sjogren's. But your doctor can suggest lifestyle changes, over-the-counter treatments, or prescription medications to help you manage your symptoms.
