Lesions
I got told over the phone on Tuesday that I may have MS as they found lesions on my brain and spine and I have questions before I go for my lumbar puncture in the next few weeks.
1. Does it matter how many lesions there were?
2.. Does it matter whether more were on my brain than my spine or more or my spine more than my brain?
3. Will the lumbar puncture confirm for definite if I have MS?
4. If the answer to 3 is yes, will it tell me what stage/kind I have?
5. Not got a 5th atm but I am sure I will have more tomorrow :-)
Hi @Ireneb74 I am also in limbo land. In England it seems that most neurologists are cautious about diagnosing MS on clinical information alone and will also seek to establish patterns of history and how the possible MS affects you. They mostly follow the NICE guidance on MS which suggests following the McDonald Criteria. Reading this would suggest that MS cannot be diagnosed from MRI scans alone nor from one set of MRI scans done at the same time. Diagnosis seems to take months not weeks as there are imitators. To be frank it is a minefield and perhaps best to have a face to face chat in clinic with your neurologist? Over the phone must have been really tricky. hope these links are helpful: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg186/chapter/Recommendations#diagnosing-ms-2 Also MS trust seems helpful; they can send out information booklets really fast.
Iv had ms for a 10 years it’s horrible Iv been paralysed twice now my last one was nearly 2 weeks ago