Hello folks
Both self and neuro are sure that I have MS.
‘Which flavour’ is now the issue to resolve.
What I have is a letter with a ‘presumptive diagnosis’ of MS.
This is a kind of limbo situation, for which I am now hoping you can help tease out the benefits.
There must be some, right? Right?!!?
It proves to people that you aren’t mad,there is something wrong even if they can’t see it andespecially because you find it difficult to express whats happening…who else but us would understand the cold water trickle down your leg,the buzzing…need I say more.
Glad youve come to us on the other bits of the forum
Pip
It isn’t a very long list, admittedly!
But Pip makes a very good point, I think. Even if the people close to you understand how things are at the moment, there are times when a piece of paper that says, ‘I am not making this stuff up,’ or words to that effect, can be useful.
Also, knowing what the doc thinks is probably the matter, but isn’t sure yet, can be useful psychologically, I think. It can give a person a chance to do some mental adjustment so that formal dx, if and when it comes, isn’t a bolt from the blue.
Out of ideas now.
Alison
x
Thanks both.
Here’s what I can come up with:
Without a ‘formal’ diagnosis I don’t have to…
Tell DVLA?
Tell my insurance company?
Tell my employer, if such disclosure is a required in the terms of my contract?
(I work in the ‘bad bank’ sector, being diagnosed with anything other than pathalogical greed and a huge sense of self-importance is career limiting, trust me)
I’m sure you are right about DVLA and car insurance too. Worth checking the small print of your employment contract about your obligations there. I don’t know what the law says these days. For sure, normal employment contracts do not require disclosure, but I don’t know what yours says, or whether any disclosure clause you had signed would be legally enforceable now. You would not be obliged to disclose to a new employer during the recruitment process, nor would they be allowed to ask, but you probably know that already - it is the legal status of anything you have signed up to already that it the issue here, and I don’t know the answer, but someone else reading this might.
Alison
Got a feeling that you should clarify exactly what the neuro means by that. Sorry, but I don’t think the DVLA cares about which type of MS it is, just that you are neurologically impaired 
I think “presumptive diagnosis” usually means “pretty certain it’s this because there’s not really anything else that it could be” - which is as close as some neuros will go with MS anyway (because there are no definitive tests and there’s always a risk of being wrong).
Karen x
Thanks Alison and Karen.
I will therefore keep shtum until a beneficial time…or it becomes noticeable.
And having my pic on here probably doesn’t help keep it on the down-low, but if any work colleagues stumble on this…go and get me a coffee. One sugar, latte. No, not a skinny one. Go!
Hi, I like your upbeat attitude, hope it all goes well for you. As far as your pic’ goes it’s nice to see a face for a change!
Janet
[quote=“rizzo”]
Got a feeling that you should clarify exactly what the neuro means by that. Sorry, but I don’t think the DVLA cares about which type of MS it is, just that you are neurologically impaired
I think “presumptive diagnosis” usually means “pretty certain it’s this because there’s not really anything else that it could be” - which is as close as some neuros will go with MS anyway (because there are no definitive tests and there’s always a risk of being wrong).
Karen x
[/quote] Crikey, good point there, Karen. It’s a trickier situation than it looks - even. Alison x