what is "white matter disease"?

[babyatlas]

i cannot find anything "good" on this.  sometimes i think it is some horrible disease that strips one of all of their cognitive ability (this freaks me out of course) and other times it sounds like more of a symptom of MS, Lyme's Disease and others, instead of an actual disease in and of itself?

i have tried to look online but there doesn't seem to be much and none of it seems to be in agreement.
thanks, r

[Wobbly]

that is a question that many of us on this forum are waiting for answer too.. join the "Limbolander"... I know it not easy and waiting for more tests and waiting for more symptoms etc etc..

hang in there.. take care
wobbly
undx

[samandsprout]

Hang in there.  I know it's scary.  Ess is right, even if this is MS or something else, you WILL be OK.  

My mom was diagnosed with MS when I was 10.  Besides walking a little more slowly, I didn't even notice a difference in her.  I am sure inside, she was doing her best to hide her fear and challenges from us (which I am a little torn about now to be honest...I feel like it enabled us, her family, to brush off her complaints in the later years too easily, and now I have a lot of guilt about the way I treated her, knowing as much about MS as I do now).  But for all the years she cared for me and my brother, she was most definitely capable, happy, a regular and wonderful mom.

Laurel

[babyatlas]

ess
okay i will.  thank you for the perspective.
r

[essdipity]

This is a very  nonspecific term  and doesn't have a lot of diagnostic meaning. I'd say your neuro doesn't want to call it MS until all the test results are in. But you have another appointment coming up, so be sure to write down this and other questions as well, so you can ask.

But you really REALLY need to stop awfulizing. I have never met an MS victim stripped of all their cognitive ability. Yes, the mental processes can slow down and memory can become a problem, but people find ways of coping. Personality is NOT destroyed. You are torturing yourself with all these thoughts, especially when the odds are overwhelming that nothing remotely like your worst-case scenario will happen to you.

Your doctor sounds thorough, and you are moving along at a pace many members here can only envy. You will get your answers soon. Give yourself a holiday from worrying, meanwhile. It does absolutely no good, and could be all for nothing.

If you need a reason to do this, it's that your small children can sense that something is very wrong, and they'll start worrying over a situation they can't possibly affect. Give your kids a break and just be their loving, happy mom. No matter what diagnosis you get, you will still be yourself and you will be able to cope.

Okay?

ess