Maybe the first person here to correctly diagnose myself

[melfish]

It can take two or three years to diagnose PPMS. There are very strict criteria to be met, including brain and spinal lesions. You are very far from a diagnosis. I hope your upcoming tests are clear.

[FamilyPicnic]

Hi - I'm sorry that you are going through such a scare right now. Doctors often have a way of saying things that can be interpreted in so many different ways and we often don't hear exactly what they mean. For him to say he strongly suspects ms because he doesn't know what else it could be might mean . . . hmmm, I'm stumped, I've never seen symptoms like this, I suppose it could be ms or it could be anxiety or the patient might be fixating on one little symptom that means nothing. I'm going to take my best guess and that's ms because there's an easy test to rule this out.

I've been having unusual and distressing neurological symptoms for two years and the doctors haven't been able to figure it out. Neurologist thought I had parkinson's or myasthenia gravis (sp?) but tests ruled those out. Another doctor thinks I have MS despite a clean MRI for "someone my age" (gotta love those last 3 words).

Is your MRI scheduled yet? Try to remember that just because the doctor is referring you for an MRI doesn't mean he thinks you have MS, more likely because it's an easy way to rule out what he thinks is a slim possibility.

[ariana95]

He said he could feel the weakness in my limbs and that the numb patches would be long gone if they were anxiety. I also have terrible balance, the fact that my symptoms have been getting worse for 7 months without a break is what's pointing to PPMS

[swajj]

If you do have MS you will deal with it. I think you will deal with having it a lot better than you are dealing with the fear of having it. If your boyfriend leaves you because of it then he was the wrong guy for you anyway.

[tan235]

Yeah look I'll be honest, MS is probably the one I don't fear. Out of all the neurological disorders this is the one I'd have if I had to have one. There is so much you can do and Dr's can do to help you through this IF it is that.
Are you close to your family can you talk to them?

[tryingtosurvive1]

I have an hereditary neuropathy called Charcot Marie Tooth that causes numbness and some clinical weakness. Unlike PPMS there's a clear pattern of muscle wasting below the knees and the central nervous system isn't involved. Make sure to get a nerve conduction study/EMG to make sure you don't have something in this family. They have a different course than PPMS.

Keep posting here, but also there's an MS board on reddit that can give you guidance as well.

---------- Post added at 18:08 ---------- Previous post was at 18:04 ----------

also please seek emotional support. I got a therapist just to cope with the diagnosis process. I thought at times I didn't want to live but I'm now 1.5 years past the day I was diagnosed and dealing. And that's *if* you have something. xoxoxo

[ariana95]

I have an hereditary neuropathy called Charcot Marie Tooth that causes numbness and some clinical weakness. Unlike PPMS there's a clear pattern of muscle wasting below the knees and the central nervous system isn't involved. Make sure to get a nerve conduction study/EMG to make sure you don't have something in this family. They have a different course than PPMS.

Keep posting here, but also there's an MS board on reddit that can give you guidance as well.

---------- Post added at 18:08 ---------- Previous post was at 18:04 ----------

also please seek emotional support. I got a therapist just to cope with the diagnosis process. I thought at times I didn't want to live but I'm now 1.5 years past the day I was diagnosed and dealing. And that's *if* you have something. xoxoxo

Thank you, I will be sure to do all of that xx

---------- Post added at 09:14 ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 ----------

Yeah look I'll be honest, MS is probably the one I don't fear. Out of all the neurological disorders this is the one I'd have if I had to have one. There is so much you can do and Dr's can do to help you through this IF it is that.
Are you close to your family can you talk to them?

Yes but my symptoms point to PPMS. There is NOTHING you can do for that. If I had RRMS I would truly be over the moon right now. They have DMDs and Stem cell transplants.

[AntsyVee]

It can take two or three years to diagnose PPMS. There are very strict criteria to be met, including brain and spinal lesions. You are very far from a diagnosis. I hope your upcoming tests are clear.

Exactly.

[ariana95]

I really don't understand why people are trying to disprove me on this. My dr said I have all of the classical symptoms and the fact that they've been ongoing for 7 months (which is recorded by my GP) is also in favour of such a diagnosis. He said the only other explanation could just be that it is "just one of those things" where the body malfunctions for no reason but that is very uncommon (so is PPMS at 22 I said). I'm praying there's nothing wrong but I really can't see that happening. People on here get all kinds of sympathy when they're frightened of MS because they wake up with a numb hand after having slept on it funny. Whereas here I am with a genuine concern and there are people who think I'm being dramatic. Some site this is

---------- Post added at 13:11 ---------- Previous post was at 13:10 ----------

Why should "being far from diagnosis" make this any less worrying? I'm living with these symptoms everyday

[Annaboodle]

Hi. I just caught up with this thread. I don't see where anyone has called you "dramatic", and what you're saying about other people getting sympathy for what you maybe see as nothing - "a numb hand"- is offensive to other posters here who are suffering from health anxiety. This is a board for people to support each other with their health anxiety and HA is very much a "genuine concern".