Stroke or MS?

I am a 41 year old female. I recently had an episode where I woke up and had a roaring and buzzing in my right ear. I referred to it as a "bionic ear" because I could hear noise from far away and it was loud and almost like swimmers ear. I was very dizzy and when I walked I kind of leaned to the right side and my husband had to help me. My blood pressure was also very high and I was admitted to the hospital. The doctor there said that the MRI showed lesions and told me it was MS. I also heard from someone else though it could have been a stroke. How can I  tell the difference?
I am due to go for my first MS visit in October.

[nagrajjain]

My wife is diagonised having stroke. But I also feel she must be having MS too. Effects of MS were visible in very mild form over many years. But stroke she is having recently. Stroke too is very mild. If some-body can high-light. My wife is having left caratid artery completely blocked. Since when can not be ascertained.

[violetopia]

Hello,

I've been reading up on stroke vs. MS because my neurologist thinks both are possibilities for me. (My symptoms are different than yours but compatible with both dxs, and my MRI was ambiguous.)

From what I've learned one MRI is not sufficient to diagnose MS. The type of lesions MS causes can be caused by plenty of other diseases (not just stroke). Those possibilities have to be ruled out before you can be given a definitive diagnosis of MS. This requires plenty of bloodwork and possibly a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

It is often, though not always, the case that damage from a stroke will look different on MRI than MS lesions. The doctor who read your MRI may have had enough evidence to rule out stroke, or maybe not. Either way, the diseases known as "MS mimics" still have to be ruled out too.

You should be evaluated by a neurologist, ideally an MS specialist. Sounds like you are doing that this month. There's also lots of info in the MS community here--what I wrote above is described on their health pages, in much more detail and by people who know more than I do.

Best wishes to you for getting a dx and treatment plan.

Violet