aww /blush...thanks momma.

I know there are at least 400 (not the normal 100) I tell folks that can mimic MS so when we are being tested for it, we need to be patient. its not as easy as "oh! you have MS!" They cant just label you they must come as close to proof as they can, and that means proving you dont have the others.

My hopes is that this list will display a short example of how closely some of these diseases can mimic and there fore explain why your MD is taking his sweet time rescuing you from limbo island.

can anyone else add to this list?

I would rather wait & know than be given a label & not be able to treat it; however, this a.m., I would have gladly traded a dx for new body. Hideeho campers, it's a brand new day!

Quick question (hope it is on topic):

How is it that some patients get an MS diagnosis right away?

As usual, the list does not contain Porphyria. Well, maybe Porphyria is so rare that only a very small percentage of people will be represented in the group tested. But for those few, lack of diagnosis can mean a lifetime of misery, and not only for themselves, but everyone who loves them or depends on them.

As a person dx'd with both, as my friends here know, I am never absolutely sure if I have MS caused by Porphyria. But my reply to that is this: doctors do not even agree on what causes MS. It could be a chemical cause, as has been stated on this forum in the past; thus, it could be caused by excess porphyrins, which are a precursor to heme.
This list is a good pointer to what should be considered, but it does not really address what is the cause of MS and how it may differ--or be a part of--the listed conditions.
After all these years, we do not have a clear vision of what causes MS. This is certainly the opinion of the MD's I have gone to. No wonder they have trouble diagnosing!
MS probably has more than one root cause. Swank saw one of them; others see others of them.
But just wanted to add this again, as before: Porphyria is ALWAYS left off the list. And it should be on the list for the differential diagnosis.