Hey! I'm newly diagnosed and for me it took a couple of months to finally get a diagnosis, the doctors I saw at first did not take it seriously either. Finally after being hospitalized where they did another MRI on my brain and also included my spine this time and a spinal tap they diagnosed me. I've had more symptoms than I can count and experience new ones all the time! It started off with both my legs feeling numb and tingly and my vision blurring. Now I have also experienced what feels like my skin being on fire, intense itching, tightness in my body, cognitive issues like memory loss, sleep problems, urinary retention, body twitching and jerking, back pain, and I'm sure there are others that I just can't remember right now lol. There have been times where one of my hands and half my face have gone numb and times where i can't grasp things very well. Over the span of just a month I was hospitalized again because I had an intense relapse and could no longer feel my toes on my left leg and I could barely move my leg. I had lesions scattered all throughout my brain where before I only had them in my spine and they found a new one in my spine that was 3 times bigger than the normal lesion so I'm also being tested to see if I have another autoimmune disease in addition to the MS and she thinks my ms is an aggressive case. A lot of other diseases mimic ms and vice versa so it is hard to diagnose ms. I know that typically if they do find lesions then they go on to do the spinal tap. An MRI is like a big tube you go into and it can be difficult for people who are claustrophobic because it's a tight space that you're enclosed in, but if you have this problem like I do, they can usually prescribe you something to help you relax beforehand. The MRI machine is extremely loud and noisey. Also, they put almost what's like a little cage over your head and face which also takes images and helps so you don't move. You can't move during the MRI because it will mess up the images and they'll have to start over. I know my brain MRI took 20 mins. When I did an MRI on my spine, and then one on both my spine and brain it took about 2 hours but they did it with and without the contrast. An MRI doesn't hurt at all, just uncomfortable because you're lying flat on a hard surface. They do give you a button to push if you have any questions or issues while you're in the machine. I hope this helps some and that everything goes well. If you need anything feel free to message me anytime! Best wishes!

Hi The journey towards a diagnosis for me was a long one but I still remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up on Christmas morning with a weird feeling down my left arm and I had no feeling in the fingers of my left hand. I went to the doctors about this and it got diagnosed as a trapped nerve. A few months later I started experiencing more symptoms like numbness down the entire left side of my body, was limping very badly and it also seemed like I was walking with a heavy leg which left me with balance issues, had bladder issues etc. Some of these did heal (or got better) but after 5 months my hand still hadn't healed (could barely use it) that I knew that something was wrong so after seeing my doctor again (for the third time) that I was put forward to see a Neurologist. When I first saw the Neurologist he asked me some questions and did some tests and he thought there wasn't anything seriously wrong with me but to be certain he put me forward for an EMG test and an MRI scan. I had my EMG test done first and it was at this test I knew something was wrong because when he tested my right arm when relaxed, the computer made no sounds but when he tested my left arm when relaxed, the computer made all sorts of noises to show that even when relaxed my arm was still very active when it shouldn't be. The doctor said I likely had something called Dystonia but I would need to see what the results were of my MRI. A few days later I had my first MRI. The MRI went much easier than expected but it really depends on how you handle being in enclosed spaces. I'm usually fine which is why it didn't bother me but the machine is loud even when you have music playing. Anyway a few weeks later my Neurologist wrote back to me saying the results of my MRI scan showed multiple lesions on my spine and he needed to see me. At this point I knew the diagnosis of MS was coming. So I saw my Neurologist again and he said he wanted me to have another MRI scan but this time on my spine and brain and have one with contrast but I also needed a lumber puncture. I did the MRI (again not that bad just very long (took over an hour this one)) and did lumber puncture which I was absolutely terrified about doing but apart from a saw back and a slight headache for a few days, again went fine. The next month I get the results saying they found lesions on my brain so he was putting me forward to see another Neurologist who specialises in diseases like MS. So November comes around, 11 months after my first symptom, and I see my new Neurologist. He looks at all my test results and asks me to tell the same story I'm telling you and asks me some questions and does some last final tests and officially diagnosis me with MS. The reason why Neurologists don't just diagnose people with MS is because it's such a complicated condition and can be very similar to a lot of other conditions and let's be honest, they must hate it when they have to do it so no doubt they want to make sure it isn't MS and want to be 1000% certain it isn't anything else before diagnosing. To answer your question about MRIs, honestly they aren't that (though I don't know how claustrophobic you are) the worst thing about them for me is just how long they can be. My scans varied from 20 minutes to over an hour but I have on more than one occasion fell asleep during my scan. For a brain MRI they'll put a cage over your head so they can take pictures of your head and you also need to keep as still as possible but if you are claustrophobic and start to panic they do give you a buzzer so just press that and they'll stop it and bring you out until you're ready to continue. Best of luck with the scan and I'm certain you'll be fine but just message me if you have anymore questions.