Ok so ive had the lumbar puncture & the Mri ive got neuralgia and if i look to the left my eyes go all over the place (which my kids find hilarious) my neuralagist is 99.9% sure its MS but i havnt seen him since last year & my GP is more intrested in dealing with the neuralgia. So who gets to tell me if i have it & do i need to start informing people ie the link to the car insurance
Any ideas
dunno, id wait till you speak to the neurologist. If they diagnose you then id start phoning dvla and insurance mob. Whens your next appointment with neuro? Once they get results for Lp and mri they should have enough info.
Sometimes gp’s wait for another symptom then refer you back to see neurologist with a view to further testing. It used to be the case that two or more nerve pathways had to be affected before a diagnosis for definite was given and also relapses set apart in time, meaning residual damage from one relapse and then another with damage in a different pathway.
I believe its now slightly different for a diagnosis, however it is your gp who can send you back to neuro for a diagnosis, and he/she may not do that until something else shows.
Its best to inform the DVLA if you have visual problems. I assume your seeing opthalmologist at present, if you are they can test your visual acuity to see if you are still capable of driving. They usually give you a 3 year license if you do have problems which may stop you from driving. Best to play safe or your insurance will be void.
best wishes
bren
The diagnostic criteria for MS are called the McDonald criteria. In a nutshell, you need to have had at least two attacks and at least two areas of the central nervous system must have been affected (shown on MRI by at least one lesion in at least two areas typical of MS). I can only assume that you didn’t get a full diagnosis because you didn’t meet one or both of these criteria? If this neuralgia is new, then you may now satisfy the criteria, but only a neuro will be able to tell you this for sure as only a neuro can diagnose MS.
So, if your GP won’t refer you, then you need to get yourself a new GP. Seriously.
As far as the DVLA go, you have to inform them if you are diagnosed with MS. You only need to inform your car insurance company if your driving licence is changed and/or you are diagnosed with something that the DVLA would want to know about. If your driving is impaired then you shouldn’t be driving no matter what the diagnosis situation is though.
Personally, I wouldn’t tell anyone official until I got a diagnosis in writing. Which means a very firm conversation with your GP by the sounds of things!
Karen x