bddouglas, you really aren't back to square one. Square one is when the doctor tells you that your symptoms are all in your head. I think you've got their attention. Be persistent. Keep records of your symptoms. And I'd either get another doctor, or get that MRI for the next five years.

I was diagnosed with MS without any lesions on my spine, but that might have been because my brain lesions were "too numerous to count." On my MRI written diagnosis, somebody had hand written at the bottom, "Is pt at all verbal?" That makes me chuckle. Yes, I am quite verbal, and there's nothing wrong with my VOLUME DIAL EITHER.

Why are doctors reluctant to give a diagnosis of MS? I think it is an ego thing, because they HATE being wrong. It is no skin off their nose if you twist in the wind for five years for a diagnosis. But no diagnosis means no treatment. If I were you I'd go to another MS doctor for a second opinion.

If you do have MS, you need treatment as early as possible. Nearly all of us here have had to be persistent to get a diagnosis. So batten down the hatches, keep a stiff upper lip, and come to this board for all the encouragement you'll need.