Questions about MS diagnocis

[my2bumbaloos]

My mother had MS and I had an MRI last Thursday and my doctor called me right away to tell me that I also had it.  The only symptom I have had is slight balance issues some of the time since my daughter was born a little over a year ago.  I had actually gone to my family doctor about the balance issues because I think that I probably have some problems in my knees and hips (arthritis perhaps-my father has it)
Now that I am reading more about it I think that perhaps my family doctor should not have 'diagnosed me' immediately as I have not had other issues...but there were "numerous lesions" so perhaps that made him feel that he could diagnose it right away.
Just really need some advice.  I am supposed to be having an appointment with a neurologist at some point-where I will probably get a whole lot more information I know-butI can't wait!

Thanks so much for reading this!

Kimberly

[Guitar_grrrl]

The only things I can think of to ask are - "why did my doctor say right away I have MS? Are there indications on my MRI that jump right out?  Could it be anything else?"  Putting together a brief (1 page) timeline of your symptoms is helpful.  If your MS specialist is anything like the ones around here, s/he is going to want copies of MRIs, reports, labs, etc.  S/he will order any additional tests from there.

Your hip sounds like a totally separate issue.  Your family doc can order a hip xray, and an ortho consult.

Cheers,
Lisa

[my2bumbaloos]

Thank you everyone!  I have still not seen a neurologist yet...just waiting on the appointment with the one in my town who specializes in MS.  Please let me know what questions I should be asking when I finally see him.  I don't want to miss out on anything that I should be getting checked.  I still have not had any symptoms...but am always thinking that everything 'may' be a symptom.  Still having trouble with my hip popping out so I may have to go back to the family doctor to see if I can't get in for an x-ray or something to see what is happening!
Really happy that I found this group of people that I can ask things when I have questions.
Kimberly

[supermum_ms]

Hi Kimberly and welcome to our little corner of the web, you might like to have a read through our health pages, found just to the right of your screen, especially those relating to the diagnostic process. We may not have updated the changed Mcdonald Criteria yet but you can still get a good idea of what its all about, if you have a look at those too.

I'm not sure a GP can actually give anyone an official dx of MS, i'm sure he or she can 'suspect MS' and refer you on to a neurologist for dx but from my understanding you wont as yet have a dx of MS. So take a deep breath because there are a lot of steps you need to get through, before you'll know for sure what the problem is. There are many MS mimics, and a lot of them also show MRI lesions too, lesion location, size, type etc are important in determining what is causing them, MS is just one possibility.

We are more than happy to help support you through the diagnostic process and answer any questions you may have, the health pages will help answer some and probably make you think up a few more besides lol I know we'll do our best!!

Cheers........JJ  

[UnsureMS]

Kimberly, you are doing the right thing by going to a Nero. Ask questions and never be scared to let them know what you think. Doctors sometimes are quick to judgement based on family history. To be honest it really doesn't seem like you need advice. You have done the research and are getting a second opinion from the Nero. May God bless your journey. And by the way that is a beautiful name... But I may just be saying it cause its mine too.

[tomas2729]

Hello and welcome to the community.

I just want to say that you are doing the right thing by going to a neurologist. There are more tests that he/she can run to determine whether or not you have MS. It is not impossible, but it is going to be really hard for your family doctor to diagnose MS especially if they have not done all the tests.

I know that wait is hard, but it's what you have got to do. I hope that you find the answers that you are looking for and I hope they include something way less severe than MS. And even if it is MS, there are ways to manage it.

Best,

Tom