Could it be MS?

Hey, I’m new here I hope everyone is doing okay. I am really just after some advice as I’m not really sure if I’m just over thinking or not. In the last 3 years my health has rapidly declined and I’ve been diagnosed with various things which now after seeing something on MS made me think… What if all my diagnosed illnesses are actually just one illness? I’m now waiting to have surgery as that is my last option in terms of my health but i do wonder that if my diagnosis s is wrong and is being treated wrong then could surgery impact me more? Just being in this site and looking at the signs and symptoms it’s crazy! I have pretty extensive Bowel and bladder problems, Fibromyalgia, Cognitive and memory problems, Chronic Migraines, Nystagmus and that is all what I’m already diagnosed with. Maybe there is absolutely no link but who knows. My neuro us an absolutely #%@= so I don’t have much help from her and has just passed me on. Curious as to what people think as I have no idea what ms symptoms are actually like other than reading tgem from a page online. Thanks =)

Hello,

Welcome to the forum. MS is a weird disease. It is sometimes called a ‘snowflake’ disease, because we are all so different, sometimes sharing symptoms, but no one person is exactly like another. This is one reason why it’s relatively difficult to diagnose.

For information about MS, it’s symptoms, diagnostic tests, actual diagnosis, types of MS and treatments, I suggest you stick to this site (the About MS tab at the top of this page), or the MS Trust. Then you will have reliable information.

For example: https://www.mstrust.org.uk/about-ms/ms-symptoms/signs-and-symptoms

The biggest problem of course with MS having so many varied symptoms is that while some of your own symptoms may fit into MS, they could also be part of another disorder. You’ve said you already have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, that is a common diagnosis of people later diagnosed with MS or vice versa.

The only way to definitively diagnose MS is by MRI scans of the brain (and often the spine), possibly plus lumbar puncture and visual evoked potentials tests. The neurologist has to satisfy the McDonald Criteria: https://www.mstrust.org.uk/a-z/mcdonald-criteria in order to diagnose MS. Have you already had a brain MRI? Or any other neurological investigative tests?

So in your case, unfortunately, you’d have to see your neurologist and persuade her to revisit your diagnosis. There are some physical signs that a neurologist should already have seen if you were to have MS, but it might be worth talking to her again. It would help if you had an outline list of what has happened to you, with approximate dates, a kind of timeline of your health.

You’ve said you’re waiting for an operation, what is the op (unless you’d rather not say)? I’m curious simply because you’re concerned that if you’ve been misdiagnosed it might make things worse.

Sue

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