I'm having an MRI today. I'm a little depressed because I heard it can take years to diagnose MS. The hardest part is living with the symptoms yet not having answers or help. So if the MRI comes back clear. . .where do I go from there? It's really discouraging.
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Hi Sherie! Don\'t worry about the diagnostic process for MS...it doesn\'t happen as soon as anyone would prefer, but it can go relatively quick if they find something on your MRI. From start to finish, mine took 3 months to sort it out and put some meds in my hand. Stress can be one of the worst things for worsening symptoms, so please try to stay positive that you\'re on your way to figuring out what is going on. Take care, and I hope the MRI goes well! :d Luv, Julz
Howdy, Sherie! I will pass on to you a pearl of wisdom a friend of the family once passed on to me: let\'s not borrow trouble. Hang in there until the MRI results are in -- honestly, there\'s nothing you can do until those are in. I got diagnosed by accident because my MRI was for something else, and the lesions are what diagnosed me because I had no physical symptoms that would have had us leaning in the MS direction. No two diagnoses or symptoms are alike -- as I\'m sure you\'ve noticed by reading all our posts. This can be a discouraging process to get from symptoms to diagnosis, so hang in there and try not to beat yourself up too much with the unknown. We\'re here to help you regardless of what\'s going on with your films.
Have you had problems with your families not believing or understanding your symptoms? I feel like I have to hide what I\'m going through because some of them think I\'m a hypochondriach or something! (don\'t think I spelled that right!) Not everyone, just a few. So how do I keep pretending when I feel so icky sometimes? Sometimes I am so fatigued, I can barely move, they think I\'m just being lazy! It\'s maddening I tell you!!!!
I tend to keep much of what I think could be a physical symptom to myself unless I think it needs medical attention and steroids. I have found it is tough for others to understand things I try to discuss (eg, none of them have to self-inject, but they all seem to have an opinion on how easy it should be to do and feel free to critique my technique). I honestly think their responses come out of fear. Because they don\'t understand what I\'m going through and I try to spare them gory details I don\'t think they can handle, I\'m probably just perpetuating the communication problems. Only select people within my circle of family and friends know about the diagnosis, so I imagine it would be tough on those closest to me when I start to crab about something or need IV treatment for a symptom we may not be able to see. MS is tough on us and the people who care about us so try to keep an open mind and hang in there when you feel bad. This website has helped me already. We\'re here for you!