What questions to ask?

[AngieLynn]

Went for a run a few weeks ago and had a tingling sensation down my right side every time my right foot hit the pavement. Didn't think anything about it until it happened again when I was walking. When I looked this up on the internet (as all docs are thrilled about), I found MS. As I looked at the symptoms, I had most of them but had shaken them off to old age, menopause, and a mew med I was on.

When I saw my PCP who knows me well, he suggested an MRI. Since I have also been having a nerve pain in my neck of sorts for a while, I asked if I could see a neurologist as our hospital is not very hi-tech. He gladly referred me.

When I saw the neurologist, he almost laughed at me because of my age and the fact that I am 'not weak'. I am 47 years old and exercise almost daily when I am able. I am also very educated and had read quite a bit about MS which is why I was there to see him in the first place. However, he did order MRIs of my spine and brain which was weird since he did infer that I was crazy about the MS.

I am scheduled to have these MRIs on Wednesday. I assume I won't know anything that day and will have to go back to this neurologist that I would rather spit on. My question is this.....What questions should I ask him if it shows evidence of MS? What should I ask if it doesn't as I have seen many times on this forum that it took some time for these poor individuals to finally have answers?

Thanks for any direction you can provide.

[Seasha]

Hi AngieLynn and welcome! This link will give you a run down of questions and advice at your next appt. - http://patients.aan.com/go/preparingforanofficevisit

It's generic in nature and not necessarily MS related, but helpful for any condition. Unless you are an excellent note taker, asking someone to be there and take notes is important. It's hard to remember everything that was said. The list of information/questions you bring along should be prioritized. Oftentimes, neuros don't allow much time allowed per patient, so be sure to ask top priority questions first.

Good luck to you and let us know how it goes.

[JerryD]

Hi AngieLynn,
I am glad that you came to us on this site. I will get right to it. If your current neurologist is NOT an MS specialist, you need to find one. That is to say, if you are confident that you have MS. Your best chances of finding one is at a university hospital location. Regardless of the qualifications of the neurologist, they should be applying specific diagnostic criteria.
The questions that I would ask are: What are my vitamin D levels? Are those vitamin D levels sufficient for me to feel healthy? Do I have elevated JCV levels? Do you know how to use the currently applicable McDonald criteria ? Should I have a range of MRI's? With and without contrast?
I wish you the best of luck on your journey to get a diagnosis.