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    Taking a second kick at this can...

    Hi all,

    I'm not sure the best place to post as I do have a question, but since I'm introducing myself, I figured I'd start here

    My name is Jo & I'm a 43 year old female from Ontario. 15-16 years ago I had a lot of funky symptoms that eventually resulted in an MRI & neurologist telling me he thought I have ms but I needed another relapse to get a diagnosis. MRI showed lots of white spots but he said they could also be migraine damage

    About 7 years ago, I went gluten free & have been diagnosed with celiacs. Since celiacs can cause a lot of the same symptoms as ms, I was hoping that was the cause of my problems

    A year ago, I started getting fatigue. Some days ok, some terrible. My current dr put me on B12 but I haven't noticed any improvement.

    In Feb my right eye went wonky. Lots of pain with movement, colours looked off, vision blurry. By the time I dragged myself to an optician (2 months later), most of it cleared up except for some pain & my vision is worse in that eye

    In the last 3 months, my fatigue has gotten much worse. My hands & feet have started tingling/numbness - spreading up to my elbows. I have had a few episodes of bowel incontinence.

    I have been worried that the neuro was right about MS. I have an appointment with my dr (gp) on Tuesday. He is not the same dr I had back then. I did not have any of my records shipped to him as my old dr always made me feel like I was a hypochondriac or crazy/depressed. It was a terrible time in my life & I preferred to bury it.

    So, my questions - should I try to dig out my old records or start fresh with my new doc?

    Is it easier to get testing/diagnosis now compared to 16 years ago in Ontario

    thanks to to anyone who made it thru my novel

    #2
    Hi Bambismom,

    Welcome to MSWorld, but sorry why you are here. To answer your question, it's always best to bring your records. Your GP may order additional bloodwork, and send you for a new MRI. But you will be referred to a neurologist. GPs aren't qualified to diagnose MS (although they may have suspicions for it.)

    There's no single test used to diagnose MS, and other possibilities are ruled out first. There's also something called the McDonald criteria, which is used to diagnose MS. It was first written in 2001, then updated in 2005 and 2010. Here is some info: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Sym.../Diagnosing-MS

    Good luck and please keep us updated.
    Kimba

    “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ― Max Planck

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      #3
      Hi good luck with your doctors visit hopefully you will get to see a good Neurologist and get some results, sometimes getting a DX even if the result isn't what you want is half the battle then you can begin treatment and nowadays there is a lot of research and new treatments going on good luck Craig

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        #4
        Thanks very much Craig!

        The appointment with the GP is tomorrow. As much as I'd like answers, I'm dreading it. Going thru all the testing (& waiting) 16 years ago was a terrible time for me between my then GP looking at me like I was nuts to my ex husband treating me that way.

        New GP seems to be better & new partner is much, much better, however, I have celiacs already & I don't want my symptoms to be written off as stress or celiacs.

        Anyway, I know I won't get answers tomorrow, but fingers crossed that the GP pursues this & doesn't brush it off

        thanks again,
        Jo

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