klc23mom
06-02-2007, 09:57 AM
Hi, I'm new here and I have not been diagnosed, I didn't even think of MS being a possibility until I put some symptoms I had into a symptom checker and MS kept coming up over and over again.... I have tried to find those similar things that people keep talking about MS being like but I can't find anything, nothing else comes up when I list my symptoms except for MS and diabetes.... but my doctor explained yesterday that MS was hard to diagnose and she ordered an MRI but only requested the report and this actually worries me because of some things I've been reading on here.... I wish she would have requested the film as well.... I also had some blood work done yesterday to check for other things as well as diabetes.... I am just getting worse everytime another flare hits I get a new symptom and the flares are coming closer together now.... it's making it really hard to take care of my kids and my house work.... I just wanted to talk to someone even though I don't know if it is MS.... I know it's something.... Thanks for letting me vent...
Kristen
Kristen
Sponsor
Bearygood
06-02-2007, 10:35 AM
Hi, Kristen. Your doctor is right -- more typically the road to a conclusive diagnosis is a longer than short one.
A report is only as good as the radiologist's interpretation. However, it's the same with the films. If your doctor is not a neurologist or MS specialist, she might not be best equipped to read the films so intricately and perhaps that's why she didn't request them. Her first step is probably wanting to see if there are any lesions present. That should show in the written report. That said, you should get a copy of your report AND have the films sent to you so you can bring them along to any additional doctors you see. (In reality, she should have requested them for that reason alone.) My MS specialist wants (as he should) to see all the films but it's also because he's trained enough so that he might see something the radiologist didn't. To complicate the issue even further (sorry!) there are different pictures, different angles, etc. a neuro or MS specialist might order that a regular doc wouldn't. Even after my first brain MRI where lesions were found, when I got to the MS specialist he ordered more/different photos. And as you've most probably read, it's MS that causes the lesions so it's possible for the condition to be present before lesions show up.
So welcome...and vent away! Keep a good list of your symptoms. Think of it as being a reporter -- "when, where and how" --but you're looking for someone else to supply the "why"! Keep us posted and good luck!
A report is only as good as the radiologist's interpretation. However, it's the same with the films. If your doctor is not a neurologist or MS specialist, she might not be best equipped to read the films so intricately and perhaps that's why she didn't request them. Her first step is probably wanting to see if there are any lesions present. That should show in the written report. That said, you should get a copy of your report AND have the films sent to you so you can bring them along to any additional doctors you see. (In reality, she should have requested them for that reason alone.) My MS specialist wants (as he should) to see all the films but it's also because he's trained enough so that he might see something the radiologist didn't. To complicate the issue even further (sorry!) there are different pictures, different angles, etc. a neuro or MS specialist might order that a regular doc wouldn't. Even after my first brain MRI where lesions were found, when I got to the MS specialist he ordered more/different photos. And as you've most probably read, it's MS that causes the lesions so it's possible for the condition to be present before lesions show up.
So welcome...and vent away! Keep a good list of your symptoms. Think of it as being a reporter -- "when, where and how" --but you're looking for someone else to supply the "why"! Keep us posted and good luck!
klc23mom
06-02-2007, 11:36 AM
Thank you, I made a list of symptoms and I felt so silly because it was an entire full page and I even wrote on the back a little.... you feel crazy when you have so many symptoms.... then they may start to ease off and calm after a week to a month and when they do that you really think your crazy... I have actually been dealing with this for 4 years but it started with muscle pain and fatigue that would come and go and I just made excuses for it every time and said to myself that everyone aches even though my aches were sometimes indescribeable....
Bearygood
06-02-2007, 12:06 PM
Being aware that so many symptoms CAN be MS (or just not in your head) makes you ultra-sensitive. I'm sure most everyone here will completely understand. Your long list can probably be made into a shorter one though -- I'd try to categorize them, ie; "Visual Disturbances" would be one symptom and then under that header, explainations of how it manifests itself (and again, at what times or always, description, etc.) These doctors start from an empirical platform and the way that you convey what you're experiencing will definitely impact their initial impressions and spur questions.
Just suggesting this because at least for me, it seemed to be a better way to talk to doctors and make them understand. Finding it especially true with specialists, who tend to be very busy and often a little less tolerant. :) In general, I believe that figuring out HOW to talk to your doctor in a language to which they'll be receptive is a very big first step. Kind of not what you say but how you say it -- and hopefully as succinctly as possible. I know that can be a pretty tall order when you're confused and distraught. :)
Just suggesting this because at least for me, it seemed to be a better way to talk to doctors and make them understand. Finding it especially true with specialists, who tend to be very busy and often a little less tolerant. :) In general, I believe that figuring out HOW to talk to your doctor in a language to which they'll be receptive is a very big first step. Kind of not what you say but how you say it -- and hopefully as succinctly as possible. I know that can be a pretty tall order when you're confused and distraught. :)
julieleaps
06-02-2007, 06:04 PM
"Even a long journey begins with one small step"
That message was given to me recently - twice in a matter of days! In a fortune cookie, and on a billboard!!
When Beary mentioned that the road to a diagnosis is long, it reminded me of this message.
While I'm a Christian and don't believe a fortune cookie plans my future like God does, I do believe that He uses messages like this to get our attention!
So here we are....one small step at a time... :)
That message was given to me recently - twice in a matter of days! In a fortune cookie, and on a billboard!!
When Beary mentioned that the road to a diagnosis is long, it reminded me of this message.
While I'm a Christian and don't believe a fortune cookie plans my future like God does, I do believe that He uses messages like this to get our attention!
So here we are....one small step at a time... :)