What happens at your first neurologist appointment for MS?
What happens at your first neurologist appointment for MS?
Neurological examination Your neurologist will look for abnormalities, changes or weakness in your vision, eye movements, hand or leg strength, balance and co-ordination, speech and reflexes. These may show whether your nerves are damaged in a way that might suggest MS.
What is the process of multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). In MS , the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body.
What to look for in a neurologist for MS?
Significant symptoms may include: A neurologist will listen to your concerns, take your medical history, and order several tests, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Together, these findings will help make a diagnosis. Seeing a specialist will help give you the answers you need.
How is a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis made?
Some early signs or symptoms of multiple sclerosis can also be caused by other diseases. A diagnosis must be made by going through a careful process, making sure the findings are consistent with multiple sclerosis and ruling out other causes. What should I do if I think I have multiple sclerosis?
Is it possible to diagnose multiple sclerosis before MRI?
This can make it especially difficult to exclude other potential diagnoses before MS can be diagnosed.
When is Ms considered as a potential diagnosis?
When MS is considered as a potential diagnosis, other causes must be excluded — through the tools and tests outlined below — before an MS diagnosis is considered definitive. While this process of exclusion may be quick for some, it can also take much longer, with repeat testing sometimes needed.
Significant symptoms may include: A neurologist will listen to your concerns, take your medical history, and order several tests, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Together, these findings will help make a diagnosis. Seeing a specialist will help give you the answers you need.
Do you have to be a doctor to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?
There is a set of accepted criteria for MS diagnosis, but even this system is imperfect. Since diagnosing MS can be very difficult, it must be done by a neurologist who specializes in treating MS. As many as 10 percent of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis actually have some other condition that mimics MS.
What are the diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis?
The doctor uses several strategies to determine if you meet the MS diagnostic criteria. In order to make a diagnosis of MS, the physician must: Find evidence of damage in at least two separate areas of the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves AND
How long does it take to get a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis?
Being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multi-step process that can take anywhere from days to years. Unfortunately, MS is not a condition where you walk into your primary care doctor’s office because of unusual symptoms, and you walk out of the office with a definitive diagnosis.