Symptoms of MND vary from person to person and depend on the area of the body where the muscles are affected first. MND is a progressive condition and so, over time, symptoms are likely to spread and involve different parts of the body.
These are some of the symptoms of MND:
- Weakness and wasting of muscles can occur in the arms or legs. Stiffness, cramps and rippling of the muscles can occur. These muscle twitches are known as fasciculations.
- Changes in quality of voice, ability to speak and swallow, and excessive salivation can occur due to wasting, weakness or stiffness of the tongue.
- If the muscles that are involved in breathing (respiratory muscles) are affected one can experience early morning headaches, unrefreshing sleep and excessive daytime tiredness.
- Some people can experience a change in thinking and judgment abilities and sometimes with a loss of social skills. Around 35% experience mild cognitive change, with specific deficits in executive functions, language and/or social cognition. Up to 15% develop frontotemporal dementia (FTD), either at the same time or after diagnosis of MND.
- Some people can also experience problems with controlling their emotions and have bouts of poorly controlled crying or laughter.
Find out about how to manage symptoms of MND here: How symptoms of MND are managed