disgnosed but need a lp

[serenity402]

hi my neuro has tentitivly diagnosed ms , he needs me to do a lp, but glory of glory my idiotic medical insurance refuses to pay for the full proceedure, so once again i am stuck in limboland, my neuro doesent want me paying a co payment and sais he will send me to another neuro, i am so frustrated now i dont know what to do, i finally find a decent neuro but my medical insurance is stonewalling me so oce again my treatment is delayed. he also wants me to start a course of cortesone first then put me on inteferon next, which is the best inteferon, if i actually get help.

[HVAC]

A LP if positive can be a piece needed for the MCDonald Criteria which is what Neurologist use for diagnosing MS. No test confirms or rules out MS on its own. I hope some day they come up with a better way of diagnosing. Until the MCDonald Criteria is the gold standard.

[Magie43]

When dx'd with MS my neuro gave me the option of having an LP because he could do a firm dx with my symptoms and MRIs.  My neuro did say he would like me to have the LP to just confirm what he already knew.  So I did have an LP done and it just confirmed what my neuro already knew.  The neuro even started the process moving for Rebif before my LP was done.

I think I am very lucky because I have a great neuro with wonder staff members.  I call them with problems and they return my calls within 1 hour (every time).  I have neuro exams every 6 months and if I call with problems and have to go in for an emergency visit they still do a full neuro exam.  

[serenity402]

I realluy don't know why he wants the lp, his wording was my diagnosis is leaning towrd ms, and that I would need to start a course of cortesoin then onto inteferon, he wants a lp done as well, but as far as I also know there can be ms without any banding in the spinal tap so I don't understand either, but at least he has been more pro active than the other neuros I have seen, he sais there is sight changes on my new mri but nothing najor, I don't know anymore. Is this what everyone goes through just to try and lead a normal life, how do you manage it. Thanks for your kind words ess and alex I know exactly what tou mean, the medical bills are horrendouse, its not like we wanted ms but it seems we get treated that way from time to time, the visual evoke test he did was basicaly about ten seconds per eye, they flashed it twice per eye then were done, is that right

[serenity402]

I realluy don't know why he wants the lp, his wording was my diagnosis is leaning towrd ms, and that I would need to start a course of cortesoin then onto inteferon, he wants a lp done as well, but as far as I also know there can be ms without any banding in the spinal tap so I don't understand either, but at least he has been more pro active than the other neuros I have seen, he sais there is sight changes on my new mri but nothing najor, I don't know anymore. Is this what everyone goes through just to try and lead a normal life, how do you manage it. Thanks for your kind words ess and alex I know exactly what tou mean, the medical bills are horrendouse, its not like we wanted ms but it seems we get treated that way from time to time

[essdipity]

Hi, serenity.

Is your neuro withholding a dx because you haven't had an LP? That is just plain wrong, from the medical perspective. If your LP results were normal, would he also withhold a diagnosis?

There is no requirement for a positive LP in MS, and many doctors are avoiding them entirely. If your neuro doesn't know this then he isn't well-versed in MS.

I suggest you either find a diffferent doctor, or find a way to inform your current one about this. It's very tricky to 'educate' doctors, but some are willing to listen.

Best of luck,
ess

[HVAC]

Sorry for the frustration. It took me two years to get a Doctor to do my LP and I was not diagnosed until then. I was very annoyed. I was thinking today I spent more on my tests to diagnose MS then I have on any other surgery I ever had. I spent $4.000 out of pocket copay for the LP alone. The MRIs are a $1,000 each copay, I had 5. The VEP was $800, $700  for an EEG. On top of $125 to see the Neurologist.

I do not know what to say about the interferons. Here they give you all the literature and let you decide. It is mainly what you will be able to stick to. That is the most impotant part. Also if your Doctor thinks one will work better for you. All of us are different.

Good luck.

Alex