What's going on in there???

[dyin_myelin]

I was working with a friend's family member to get me whole life insurance. He was even able to get me a competitive rate with an AM Best A+ rated company.

Today he emailed me that the neuro sent Dec. MRI results to the company and they want to drop me to table 6 based on the result and my self-reported short term memory issues.

Can your MRI be riddled with disease activity and you not get a phone call from anyone? Appointments are 3+ months out at this neurology office. I'm assuming that there is progression from May based on the above, which may be pre-Tysabri, but if not I am scared to death. How can I find out before mid-summer? Do DMDs only show full effect after some saturation point? (I know they don't claim to fully arrest disease activity.)

Also, arg. She tells me I'm doing really well and one of the healthiest people she's working with, and then one of her staff tells the insurance underwriter I'm circling some progressive toilet.

[MSW1963]

dyin_myelin, regarding insurance: first thing is that any abnormal MRI, even one that never leads to a dx of anything-ever, can and probably will result in difficulty aquiring certain types of insurance coverage, particularly Individual Life and Disability Insurance coverage.

If a precautionary, routine MRI following a fall from an office chair results in any kind of non-diagnostic, non-specific abnormal findings (other than a brain injury from falling off a chair), even if you never receive a copy of the MRI or advice to follow up with a neuro and are completely unaware of, you will probably not be approved for individual life/disability insurance coverage. It's one of the biggest problems that result from long periods in Limbo with 'possible' MS, when MRIs are abnormal but don't meet a doc's standards. Many doc's think withholding the MS diagnosis will not harm insurability which is completely untrue.

Also, routine MRIs for MS evaluation, even if there are changes from your last images, you would expect a call if you are symptamotic and depending on the severity of sx's and MRI changes.

My doc has gone both ways when it comes to changes on MRIs. If there is something significient on the MRI, and I'm symptomic, I can expect a call from him personally for a follow up appointment pretty soon after he reviews the MRIs, usually a matter of days.

I hope this helps.

[dyin_myelin]

It does, immensely, thank you for your time.

[Goldfinch]

Oh...Dear....God.
You poor thing. First off, give NO credence to ANYTHING an insurance underwriter or actuarial says about your MS. They are only as informed as their last training session. When I went looking for a policy, I wasn't even diagnosed yet, and the genius at the first agency I contacted nearly sent me around the bend. That agency was covering my car insurance at the time. I told the genius I was waiting for results but in the meantime wanted to cinch in a competitive premium on life insurance. He proceeded to tell me about a family he know whose three kids had all been diagnosed with it and, "the kids' minds have gone...downhill....so sad." He told me I'd be denied by his company for a policy. So I canceled my car insurance with his comapny that day.

The second and thrid companies I talked to accepted me for a policy: MetLife, and later, Erie Life. They didn't even bnlink, just put me in the same risk class as smokers. The premiums were still reasonable and I still have my policy with Erie today. (MetLife got kind of silly with my car insurance rates, so when I switched, I lost a break on the life insurance prices for having multiple policies. ) I decided at that point to keep the policies for life insurance separate from the policies for home and auto. Seems simpler that way.

Good luck- they're out there.