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Seriously confused and need help, do i have MS or not ?

New diagnosis and before diagnosis
#1

Hello everyone, i’m a 19 years old male who’s been suffering with MS symptoms for quite a while now. I’ve almost suffered from all the symptoms except vision loss and bladder problems, but other than that, i’ve experienced all of them and for a prolonged amount of time.

Anyways, i’ve been convinced for like a month now that i have MS. To the point where i’m not freaking out and i considered myself as someone with a serious incurable neurological disease. But i wanted to make sure that i 100% have MS and i wanted to know what type of MS do i have to start treatments and try to deal with it.

I went to a neurologist a week ago and i told him about my symptoms, he also commented that it sounds like MS and i should get a brain MRI to check it out. I then went to get a brain MRI like he asked, and i was honestly shocked when i saw it coming as “normal”. I checked all the scans of my brain, but then i saw one of them with a typical MS lesion and i was really confused about this whole thing and whether i have MS or not. They included a DVD disc and i checked it out, but i saw the brain scan with no lesion on it

Now i’m seriously confused and i don’t know what to believe anymore, i’d honestly be more relieved if someone just told me “you have MS, deal with it”, but now i’m just confused and feel just worse because i don’t know which ground i’m standing on.

MRI scan on the file
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/547775653580242946/582931847080706049/capture-20190528-160142.png

MRI scan on the DVD disc

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/547775653580242946/582931780152328201/capture-20190528-153101.png

#2

Have you had a follow up appointment with the neurologist?

#3

Hi Stan

I’ve not looked at your scans, because I’m not a doctor or radiologist, thus incapable of reading them.

But, if the neurologist has said your scans are clear, then you don’t have MS.

Whenever someone says on here ‘I have virtually all’, or ‘I have all’, the symptoms of MS, I am concerned. No one has all, or even virtually all, the symptoms. MS isn’t like that.

MS has within its’ diagnosis, many, many symptoms. But we tend to all experience our MS slightly differently. So not everyone has vision problems, pins and needles, Lhermittes sign, the ‘hug’, foot drop, fatigue, bowel or bladder problems.

And some people have many of these symptoms, but not have MS.

What I suggest you do is start to keep a diary, go back in your memory as far as possible, write down your symptoms, when they began, how long symptoms lasted, whether they completely go or stay.

If in 6 months time you still have the same symptoms, you can return to the doctors. Explain exactly what you’ve experienced, not in the light of a single diagnosis, but just as symptoms. You can then leave it to the doctors to consider your symptoms and whether a specific diagnosis might fit.

Believe me, it may not feel like it right now, but the chances of it being MS despite a clear brain MRI are slim, but even if I’m wrong (along with your neurologist), it won’t change the ultimate outcome.

Best of luck.

Sue

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#4

Not yet, but there’s one on thursday. But i honestly can’t wait because i feel very confused and curious right now. I also feel like he too might also be confused about the lesion only appearing on the scan in the file and not on scan in the DVD disc. That’s why i wanted to hear people’s opinions here first.

#5

Hey Sue.

I’ve not yet shown those scans to my neurologist, but the doctors from the Scan Lab i’ve been to say they’re normal. Problem is, they say that based on the scan i found the DVD disc they gave me, but the scan on the file appears to have a very clean white spot, which in most cases is an MS lesion. If i didn’t find that suspecious white spot on the file scan while not finding it on the DVD disc scan, i wouldn’t be posting about it online or worrying about MS anymore.

I truly wish what you’re saying is true, but i’m just too confused right now and i’m afraid at the same time because i don’t know what is the truth. I’ve had the symptoms for 6 months or over as far as i remember, but i know that MS is sneaky and is hard to diagnose. I just want to make sure that that white spot is not anything serious or not the true scan and what the doctors said is actually the truth.

Thanks for your replay Sue, hope you’ll have a good day.

#6

you really need to wait for the appointment on Thursday.

There are so many illnesses/ diseases that mimic MS so it could very easily be something else, which your neurologist might be able to help you explore

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#7

Only a neurologist can say that you have MS they will not just look at the scan but do a lot of tests asking questions about your whole life, some tests are done in the office some have to be done in the hospital, all this takes time. As you say your confused at the moment everything seems bad, I have been there although the neurologist said that my LP is clear I do have the shakes in my hand and a weakness on my left side he wants to see me in a years time. He may ask me to have more tests, the funny thing is that I had an appointment in April and I have the next appointment with the neurologist in April 2020. Try not to get to upset if you can but make sure that you write down all your symptoms it helps plus take someone with you to the neurologist so that if you forget a question they might not. Good luck. Kay

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#8

I am curious as to how you just went off and got scans done? I had to pay for my first one and it had to approved by the neurologist i went to cheltenham cobalt centre. I had films back then and a large cluster of high signal foci in the deep white matter of my brain, which radiologist said could be demylinating but more likely down to my age.

It still took about 2 weeks to get results.

Then they changed the policy and the DVD went straight to my neuro so I never got to see it and if i did i wouldnt have understood it.

What I do know though is that could have been an arc on the film. They may have seen it, and decided to take another shot. The second shot showed nothing, so they put that one on file, as they realised the first was an arc.

You should never read into things, your convinced you have MS, and cant wait until Thursday for appointment. So your winding yourself up on here. Which is so not healthy.

Yes we want answers but hey I had to wait 10 years even with positive stuff on all my tests.

Tomorrow is Thursday so i would just wait and discuss this with the experts. Even if it is an MS lesion i doubt you will be given a diagnosis it doesnt work that way, it could be a CIS.

Good luck and please I know your scared and anxious but worrying about it is not going to help. x

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#9

HI stan22 hope it goes well for you today.

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