i went to see a nuroligist on friday, after expericeing different symtoms…
at the examination i fully expected her to tell me nothing was wrong, so was very shocked when she said she wants me to have a mri and lumbar puncture, she said the first thing they will look for is ms, but will also screen for auto immine disease and that i have weakness on my left side so i might have had a small stroke at some point.
im in a bit of shock, even though a few months ago i was wondering if t could be ms, i really had put that out of my head. i have been diagnosed about 7 months ago as having slightly low b12, vitamin d, and calcium but not extremly low and have been on treatment for these since then
i dont know whether to panic, or convince myself it could be to do with the vitamin b12…i have 2 teenagers, 2 babies and a husband who works away from home, i struggle to cope just now when things are bad, and really dont know how i will if things might get worse
sorrr i dont even knw what im asking, i guess im wondering if nueros are usually cautios and test u or is it because it does look likley to be ms?
I would say that there are different types of neuros just like there are different types of people in any profession: some are very thorough and test everything, some are the opposite and need a rocket up their proverbial to do anything and the rest are somewhere in between. Wherever your neuro is normally, it sounds like she is doing the right thing in your case and hopefully the tests will reveal what’s going on.
Lumbar punctures are not normally painful, no, and most people have no problems at all with it. They can cause a terrible headache afterwards in a small percentage of people - this can be reduced by lying flat and drinking lots of fluids, especially containing caffeine (unless you can’t take it of course). I found out just the other day that the chance of the headache is greatly reduced if they use what’s called an “atraumatic needle” so you could always ask about that before the appointment if you wanted to. But hopefully it will be absolutely fine.
With any luck it will turn out to be the vitamin B12 deficiency and/or a small stroke, both of which can be helped by meds and diet, but if it is MS, then it’s not as scary as most people imagine: it does bring a fair few challenges our way and we have to learn to do some things differently, but we still get to do the important things in life and most of us live long, happy and fulfilling lives. MS really isn’t the end of the world.
But for now, just take it one step at a time. No point in worrying about something that might never happen!
I can’t answer the LP question as I never had one but neuros are cautious before diagnosing as they want to rule out any other possibility first. It is certainly not unusual to be sent for many other tests as the symptoms of MS are similar to many other illnesses, not sure of them all but I had tests for lupus, vitamin deficiency etc. I’m sure if you read other posts on here you will see many others who have had years of testing. Hope this puts your mind at rest
thank you very much for your replys, i seem to have somehow posted my question twice!
i am trying to keep positive but cant help myself looking up things, i guess its natural to want to know as much information as possible, i have to wait about 4 to 6 weeks as she doesnt want me seen at my local hospital and would rather i waited a bit longer as the other hospital has a far better unit.
