For anyone who has ever been tested for Multiple Sclerosis?

Question

Apparently I have some symptoms of MS, and a CT scan showed "areas of change" I'm being sent to a neurologist for further evaluation.

I was wondering if anyone can give me some kind of heads up on what kind of testing they'll be doing, and what to expect.

Thank you.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

There are several diseases/disorders that share symptoms with MS. It takes months to confirm a diagnosis and rule out other causes. Tests are done to look for MS and to rule out other possible causes.

Some diagnostic tests used are:

Blood work - look for Vitamin B12 deficiency and Lyme disease markers

MRI scans with intravenous gadolinium - identify and date lesions (plaques) in the brain. Newer lesions show up brighter.

Evoked potentials - hearing, vision, and motor impulses are tested to see if the impulses move normally or too slow.

Spinal tap (lumbar puncture) - cerebro-spinal fluid is tested to identify cells that suggest MS. Can also be used to differentiate MS from other diseases such as Lyme disease.

Answer 3

Hi ya' Winter Glory, The neurologist I had did an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) which is very non-invasive. This will give them pictures of your brain, and then they can look for the lesions which are indicative of MS. The lesions do not always show up right away, however. They will test your strength and your reflexes, the kind of stuff your gp probably has done already. Some neurologists also do a lumbar puncture to look at the spinal fluid. When you have MS the protective coating around your nerves (the myelin sheath) is attacked so they sometimes find the broken down organic compounds of that coating in the spinal fluid. I did not let my doctor do that test since the test can be painful and sometimes the remnants of the myelin never show up in the spinal fluid. It can be difficult to get a diagnosis early on in the disease. The other thing they can do if you have eye trouble which is indicative of MS is to look at the optic nerve which would be inflamed. Just keep in mind that there is no definitive test for MS. Some doctors will do other tests to rule out other diseases that mimic MS. Lyme disease is one of these. It took a good ten years after I began showing symptoms of MS for me to get a diagnosis. Good luck.