I was told that I had meralgia paresthetica in my right thigh and hip a few months before I had optic neuritis. (the ON was my first big clue I had MS)

The doctor told me after the ON, that I didnt have MS, and that it was migraines and that the numbness was probably just meralgia paresthetica...until I had burning in my legs a few months later, and got a new MRI (of my spine) that found a few lesions. That MRI got me my MS diagnosis.

Still, there are a ton of things that can cause your symptoms. You need to rule out all of those before a doctor can say you have MS...and MS is actually fairly difficult to diagnose because there are so many other things that can cause similar symptoms...and a lot of doctors are pretty quick at thinking that females coming in with complaints like ours are just "hysterical females" or that we're faking it.

I hope you've got a good doctor that's willing to listen to you and has an open mind.