Multiple Sclerosis Quiz: Assess How MS Is Impacting Your Life

Multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms can be unpredictable. If you have relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), the most common type, symptoms might come and go, making it difficult to pinpoint if you’re experiencing a flare-up or the condition is getting worse. Approximately 50 percent of people with RRMS eventually transition to secondary progressive MS (SPMS).

That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on any big shifts in symptoms and let your neurologist know about any changes.

“There is not, as of yet, a concrete marker or a line in the sand for when RRMS becomes SPMS,” says Sammita Satyanarayan, MD, a neurologist at the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis and assistant professor of MS and neuroimmunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “It’s more based on observations that you make about worsening symptoms and your physician examining them and corroborating that something is truly worsening.”

What makes the shift even more challenging to spot is that worsening RRMS doesn’t always signify the transition to SPMS, Dr. Satyanarayan notes. “It could be that the RRMS is not well controlled and is still relapsing, not that it’s becoming SPMS,” she says. “When physicians are thinking about progression, we are looking for things that have steadily worsened over many time points, which is usually on the scale of months or years, not hours or days.”

Not sure if symptoms have been changing for you? Answer these questions to assess the current state of the MS symptoms you’re having, so you can discuss this with your doctor at your next checkup.

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Resources

Brevia L et al. Current Challenges in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Diagnosis, Activity Detection and Treatment. Frontiers in Immunology. March 20, 2025.

Additional Sources

Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Types of MS. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Van Egmond EEA et al. Self-Reported Work Productivity in People With Multiple Sclerosis and Its Association With Mental and Physical Health. Disability and Rehabilitation. October 5, 2021.
4 Hobbies You Can Modify for Accessibility. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. December 1, 2023.
Find Doctors & Resources. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Cree BAC et al. Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: New Insights. Neurology. August 24, 2021.
Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS). National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Jason Paul Chua, MD, PhD

Medical Reviewer

Castle Connolly Top Doctor

Jason Chua, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Division of Movement Disorders at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He received his training at the University of Michigan, where he obtained medical and graduate degrees, then completed a residency in neurology and a combined clinical/research fellowship in movement disorders and neurodegeneration.

Dr. Chua’s primary research interests are in neurodegenerative disease, with a special focus on the cellular housekeeping pathway of autophagy and its impact on disease development in diseases such as Parkinson disease. His work has been supported by multiple research training and career development grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the American Academy of Neurology. He is the primary or coauthor of 14 peer-reviewed scientific publications and two peer-reviewed online learning modules from the American Academy of Neurology. He is also a contributing author to The Little Black Book of Neurology by Osama Zaldat, MD and Alan Lerner, MD, and has peer reviewed for the scientific journals Autophagy, eLife, and Neurobiology of Disease.

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Kerry Weiss

Author

Kerry Weiss is a New York–based freelance writer, editor, and content strategist specializing in health and wellness. She has contributed to a variety of online publications, including Healthline, WebMD, Sharecare, Twill Care, and What to Expect.

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Are Your Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms Changing?

Question 1