Hi Carol,
Totally agree with what has been said so far. I think it was irresponsible and premature of your GP to mention MS, as you are nowhere near being diagnosed with it, and there are at least 100 conditions that can present similarly, ranging from infectious diseases, to simple vitamin deficiencies.
I certainly don’t think it’s a good idea to try to research everything it might possibly be, in advance of your appointment.
Google is not such a great research tool when it comes to things like that, as it effectively only tells you what is most talked about - NOT what is most likely in your particular case.
As MS is a big, much talked about disease, all symptom searches tend to come up with that, and not with the dozens of lesser-known, less dramatic, alternatives.
Many a poster here has got themselves utterly convinced they have MS, based only on what Google says, and a few have had the decency to come back and tell us no evidence was found, or that they were diagnosed with something completely different. Others have just disappeared off the radar. One would assume that if they’d gone on to be diagnosed with MS, they would have liked to stay around. So although it’s not proof, the conclusion is they were probably diagnosed with something else too, and decided an MS forum was no longer the place to be hanging about.
I think you will only frighten yourself if you try to spend the next couple of weeks researching “everything” - especially using Google, as it always places worst case scenarios at the top.
It’s good to stay informed, but only when you have some definite leads - which, at the moment, you don’t - as there are so many things, both common and rare, it might still be. It’s impossible for a lay person, in just over two weeks, even to identify, let alone “research” the 100+ things it might be (I know the names of only five or six).
Try giving yourself a bit of TLC, and using (pleasant) distraction tactics, instead of spending the next two weeks in a hell of trying to answer questions only exhaustive testing will answer.
I do think it will be the neurologist asking you questions, at this very early stage, and you do not need to go armed with a list for them. I’m certainly not saying consultants are God (though some of them think they are!) and should never be questioned, but for the moment, at least, the ball is in their court. They will be on the evidence gathering mission, not you. Your part of the bargain is just to explain as clearly and accurately as you can what’s been happening, and to cooperate with any examination.
Tina
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