Hello,
I would like to know why it takes so long (years sometimes) to get the correct medical diagnosis, an MS diagnosis?
I know it doesn't just "appear one day", and for me it has caused years of serious neurological symptoms from trigeminal neuralgia and optic neuritis to bladder incontinence, spasticity in my legs, pain, serious olfactory malfunction and damage, sporadic speech problems, "cognitive problems (as I was trying to find the correct words or terms to explain my cognitive issues I sat here staring at my keyboard drawing a blank on what to say and having problems between my brain, fingers and the keyboard)" , there is numbness and sometimes painful prickling sensations throughout my face, head, hands, legs and feet. I am forever scratching my skin because it feels like there is a terminal, chronic itching everywhere on my body. Oh, and one last tidbit... I am partially deaf.
I know MS has no cure, but if doctors would aggressively examine patients and send us for tests early in our symptomatic flair-ups, we might get to be treated with medications earlier we would have longer relief times, fewer flair-ups. My doctors (all 5 of them) individually suspected MS years ago, but none of them would make the call (diagnosis), It got to the point where I seemed to always be at one doctor's office or another, every additional symptom sounded more like MS to them, finally they ordered the brain scan (many lesions are present) I asked for the lumbar puncture and they fully agreed to order it, again the bands were in the fluid, a blood serum test was done at the same time.
A week later I get the phone call that tells me what I already suspected (I have MS) It didn't just show up! It was developing and damaging my body for years. Why can't doctors diagnose earlier?
Thank you,
Sally Brown YYYY@YYYY