Thank you for the reply.
I do have an appointment scheduled, but have to wait 3 weeks.
Regarding the symptoms you mentioned I do experience about half of them. Due to the spinal fusion I do not think I will be able to have a spinal tap (or wishful thinking on my part!)
I have had some strange blood results come back in the past couple of years, the most recent being 'Anti-dsDNA' out of range at a 7. and I think my Ana-choice was positive at some point last year.
Not sure if that has anything to do with this result.
Hi there. You need to consult a neurologist for evaluation of multiple sclerosis a chronic demyelinating disorder and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness in any area, problems with walking and coordination, tremors in one or more arms and legs. Bowel and bladder symptoms include frequency of micturition, urine leakage, eye symptoms like double vision uncontrollable rapid eye movements, facial pain, painful muscle spasms, tingling, burning in arms or legs, depression, dizziness, hearing loss, fatigue etc. The treatment is essentially limited to symptomatic therapy so the course of action would not change much whether MS has been diagnosed or not. Apart from clinical neurological examination, MRI shows MS as paler areas of demyelination, two different episodes of demyelination separated by one month in at least two different brain locations. Spinal tap is done and CSF electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal bands suggestive of immune activity, which is suggestive but not diagnostic of MS. Demyelinating neurons, transmit nerve signals slower than non-demyelinated ones and can be detected with EP tests. These are visual evoked potentials, brain stem auditory evoked response, and somatosensory evoked potential. Slower nerve responses in any one of these is not confirmatory of MS but can be used to complement diagnosis along with a neurological examination, medical history and an MRI in addition, a spinal tap. Therefore, it would be prudent to consult your neurologist with these concerns. Take care