Newbie awaiting diagnosis

[Newbie01]

I am a 61 yr old woman who just got an MRI due to month
long episode of numbness tingling and pain in left arm and
hand and over a year of extreme, extreme fatigue. I also have had at least two other troubling symptomatic phases over the last three years. During the first I had numbness tingling loss of balance with 6 falls that year and tremors in left hand and arm. The second episode involved my knee giving out and needing leg braces and a cane. I am diabetic have sleep apnea high BP. I have candidiasis. I know diagnosis is rare at my age for MS but I've had almost all symptoms of MS including bowel and bladder issues brain fog eye and face pains and lots of episodes of numbness and tingling. Is it possible I could have undiagnosed MS at my age? What is my prognosis with such a late onset. Also have had a lifetime of extreme stressors.

[22cyclist]

Hello Newbie01 and welcome to MS World! To answer your question, yes it is possible for you to be diagnosed at your age, and usually the older you are when you are diagnosed and you have not had many episodes then you will go ahead and have a pretty benign course. However, no matter what age it starts, its MS and its going to bother you so you have to get on a medication that can help keep the exacerbations away or at least at a minimum.

Some of your symptoms could be due to your diabetes but not all of them. You will have to wait and see what the MRI says. You can then talk about your diagnosis whether it be MS or not with the neurologist and the prognosis.

Let us know how you are doing and what happens, OK?

For now, look around, post read other peoples posts, go into one of the chat rooms, or the arcade.

Take care
Lisa

[PattiHNC]

Diabetes and MS

I have had diabetes for about 18 years, and was recently diagnosed with MS at the age of 59. I have heard of many people who were diagnosed in their 60's. I find it very difficult to determine if some of my symptoms are due to diabetes or MS, or possibly both. Looking back, I realize that I've probably had MS for years, but I blamed everything on diabetes. It wasn't until I started experiencing extreme weakness on one whole side and started falling a lot that I started thinking something more was going on. That is when I began the roller coaster ride of neurologist visits, MRI's, misdiagnosis, more neuro visits, blood tests, more MRI's, etc., etc., until I was officially diagnosed with MS. I am now on Amprya, which helps me a lot with balance and walking, and Tysabri, which has kept flare-ups at bay. From my own experience, diagnosis can be a very lengthy process, as everything that MS mimics must be eliminated first. Hang in there, keep pushing for answers, and please let us know how you're doing!

[rdmc]

In the Senior's Sanctuary of the message board (it's in the I Can Relate section) there are several threads about age of diagnosis. There are quite a few folks diagnosed in their late 50's and early 60's.

Here are the links:

http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthr...-at-time-of-Dx

http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthr...-Late-Onset-MS

[Newbie01]

Newbie awaiting Diagnosis MRI results but no neurologist yet

Thanks for previous replies. I got a CD of my MRI results but no written report until I hear from my internist on Monday. Should I be concerned that my internist is reviewing the MRI and not a neurologist? My main concern is getting on Meds asap if needed especially for the fatigue which is hugely impacting my daily life right now.

[jreagan70]

Should I be concerned that my internist is reviewing the MRI and not a neurologist?

It isn't standard procedure for a neurologist to review an MRI until the patient has actually been referred to one. Your internist will most likely not have the experience to know how to look for MS lesions on an MRI and will rely on the radiology report. Be sure to get a copy of the report for yourself and read it yourself.

If the radiology report notes any abnormalities, and whether or not your internist knows what to make of the report, you're entitled to ask for a neurology referral.

As for the fatigue, your internist can prescribe an anti-fatigue medication now based on your fatigue alone without waiting to see if MS is the cause. Whether your doctor will want to, and whether your medical insurance will pay for it without an underlying diagnosis, is another issue.

The MS treatment medicines don't treat symptoms, so you would need a separate medication for fatigue anyway. So there's no reason not to ask for an anti-fatigue medication now.

[Newbie01]

Newbie here again

thanks for responding. I am going to ask about Amantidine or Ritalin as I think I have adult ADD but I worry about addiction issues as I am a recovering crack addict. What is least expensive med for fatigue?