Hi everyone,
After MRIs and spinal fluid tests, confirmed MS but by my GP. I have a 3 month wait until I see MS specialist at nhs hospital (st George’s) - I assume this is to confirm diagnosis before starting any treatment? My gp is telling me to start dmt asap.. so the 3 months wait is worrying. Has anyone tried private route and how would that work with nhs ?
@leigh.walters Hi, I am sorry to hear your tests are most likely showing MS, it’s not nice to hear that.
Word of caution, your GP is unable to give a diagnosis of MS, although they can suggest it is a possibility based on test results. An MS specialist is the one who will look at the lesions and other tests and confirm they are that of MS type.
It could be worth tracking down a MS Neurologist that is private but also in your NHS trust to have an appointment with them to speed things up. The appointment itself isn’t too costly, however treatment for the DMT would have to be via the NHS.
If you were out in the sticks and there was only one MS neurologist specialising in MS for miles, I would suggest looking a private appointment with him her. In my (not MS) recent experience specialists can call up NHS scan test results ahead of the private appointment, which makes that appointment more likely to be good value. If it’s a big teaching hospital, I’m not sure which individual you would pick, but the hospital CVs tell you who the MS specialists are and your GP is likely to be a useful source of local knowledge. Even if you don’t get to see the person you’ll eventually see on the NHS I think that would probably be a good investment. As others have said, when it comes to treatment plans and drugs and so on that’s definitely NHS business, but a private consultation earlier might give you some useful pointers on things you can usefully be thinking about ahead of any formal dx and treatment plans.
Hi Leigh,
I’ve been diagnosed with MS privately and was referred to St georges to start DMT end of April. I was lucky enough I could get all of my tests,MRI, LP and bloods via medical insurance but my private neurologist cannot speed things up for me in NHS. I hope you managed to get an appointment already in st george’s but I can see that it is a long wait tho. Wish you all the best!
Thanks so much Maria! In the end I had a similar story to you , private insurance for all the tests and now have a MS nurse assigned at St George’s)may see you there!) due to start dmt once I have a few vaccines out of the way. All the best!