How young can someone get DX?

[Wobbly]

I wonder how young someone can get Dx.. I see 8 - 12 year olds get DX.  I wonder if anyone here got Dx young or had symptoms that never got Dx.  

I got Dx in my early 50s.  But have had symptoms from when I was a child, I never put it together and I don't really know if it symptoms from MS or other things?   I had Vertigo and could never stand heat in the summer time.  I never could stand crowds and noise?  

I don't know it's something someone ask, my sisters remember me having weird symptoms of whatever it was?  

anyone?
wobbly

[Wobbly]

WOW, thanks for all the info and Alex you sure have gone through alot.  
when I was a child, I was always different then others and never fit in.  Not sure why?  And they said I had depression and I went through alot of different dr and counsellors in my teen them thinking depresssion for all my Vertigo and stuff?  

DB thanks for all this info, very interesting.

wobbly

[doublevision1]

Some info from the MS Society on this topic:

Pediatric (Child) MS

Although multiple sclerosis occurs most commonly in adults, it is also diagnosed in children and adolescents. Estimates suggest that 8,000-10,000 children (defined as up to 18 years old) in the United States have multiple sclerosis, and another 10,000-15,000 have experienced at least one symptom suggestive of MS.

Facts:
Studies suggest 2 to 5% of all people with MS have a history of symptom onset before age 18.
Diagnosis in children is more challenging than in adults due to the frequency of other childhood disorders with similar symptoms and characteristics.
Increasing evidence suggests that the disease-modifying therapies (FDA approved for use in adults) are safe and well tolerated in children; however large clinical trials are needed to assess treatment efficacy.
Most symptoms of MS seen in children are similar to those seen in adults. There are, however, symptoms experienced by children that are not typical in adults, such as seizures and mental status changes (lethargy).
Increasing evidence suggests a slower disease course in children with MS, but significant disability can accumulate at an earlier age compared to individuals with adult onset MS.
Psychosocial consequences of MS in children and adolescents may affect academic performance, family relations, and specific adolescent issues including self-image and relationships with peers. An evaluation by a trained professional can help determine appropriate interventions.
Pediatricians may not be familiar with MS because they are not expecting to see it in children.
Because of the critical need to better understand pediatric MS, the National MS Society established the first-of-its-kind network of Pediatric MS Centers of Excellence. Each of the six centers offers comprehensive services through multidisciplinary teams including pediatric and adult MS experts. Financial assistance is available for travel, accommodations and care so families can access these services, regardless of their ability to pay or proximity to one of the centers.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/pediatric-ms/index.aspx


There is also an interesting article published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  It's long but informative:

http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/EpidemiologyMS/NaturalHistory.pdf

[HVAC]

I was sent to the Mayo Clinic in 1965 at age 2 for a Mysterious Neurological disorder. I could not eat (swallow). What ever it was mysteriously went away. No one could figure it out. Of course MRIs did not exist.  No one thought children got MS in those days. They knew I had some damage to the brain stem from then on because of my Neurological exams. I was told this by my parents who were dead by the time I started being diagnosed for MS.

I saw top Navy Neurologists all my childhood and was sent to Neurologists at Duke at age 6 by the Navy because of my symptoms such as permanent double vision.  At 15 they knew something was cutting signals in my brain. They had some stupid explanation. Finally it was decided I had organic brain damage when I was 15 and I ended up on psyche wards loaded up on heavy drugs for decades. The drugs added to the problems.

I learned to stay as far away from Doctors as possible. I decided they were all nuts with these theories. Instead of being bitter I became very self-reliant.

Growing up with MS you think your symptoms are normal. Mostly I could not understand why I had trouble with everyday tasks. I was labeled learning disabled. I did not learn to read until I was in college. Learning to drive with double vision was a nightmare no one understood. My fatigue was thought of as depression.

In 2007 my GP decided I had MS during my yearly exam. I thought she was nuts. It took two more years to be diagnosed even though all the Neurologists saw MS on the tests.

The reason I was not diagnosed with MS in those two years is Neurologists knew I had symptoms all my life and until recently they did not think children got MS that young.

Even with Dawson's fingers on my first MRI, abnormal VEP and everything pointing to MS I did not fit the norm. Looking at my old records and my LP with 12 o-bands lead the Neurologists at Duke to believe I have had MS since early childhood. He said the o-bands are like tree rings showing the disease has been there a long time.

I have my own non medical theory on PPMS that it is there all along but progresses so subtly it does not get recognized until later life. I also think that is why it is harder to diagnose and that the progression has been going on so long it is harder to treat the progression. This is just my own theory.

I have medically documented Neurological symptoms for 46 years.

Alex

[Wobbly]

Hi Ess.. thanks for the reply.

I also wonder if anyone here that is Dx with MS, can remember back when they were young.... if they had any symptoms that might have been an indication that it could be MS?

I know when I was young, they didn't even have a disease called MS.. so?

thanks
wobbly

[essdipity]

Hi, Wobbles. I have read of diagnoses as young as 18 months old. Don't know how a child that young could describe symptoms, so maybe it was MRI, LP and clinical exam.

ess