chaos - I did have an MRI and he saw the results, but he said after the exam and probing my issues, said it wouldn't have been 100% necessary, but its part of the diagnostic progress. It was the most brutal 6 months waiting to see my neuro, but in the end it worked out for me. Definitely worth the wait.

The pain problem is definitely best left for a neuro with MS specialty. My PCP gave me a prescription and all it did was make me worse. Showed me he really had no idea how to treat the nerve pain. My neuro was able to give me a script for all my general symptoms that the Avonex wouldn't cover, all in 1 pill. And have been feeling much better since. Another reason I would always wait to see a specialist because some neuros just don't have a clue, and for a fact cant even prescribe the MS DMDs.

Hope you get sorted soon, because limbo land sucks!

In looking for something MS related today, I came across this and thought of you as well as many others, including myself, as we all try to deal with the pain issues related to having MS.

"Chronic Pain from MS

Chronic pain usually is typically caused by an initial trauma/injury or infection, or there may be an ongoing cause of pain. With MS, the signals of pain remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months, or even years.

The emotional toll of chronic pain also can make pain worse. Anxiety, stress, depression, anger, and fatigue interact in complex ways with chronic pain and may decrease the body's production of natural painkillers; moreover, such negative feelings may increase the level of substances that amplify sensations of pain, causing a vicious cycle of pain for the person. Even the body's basic defenses may be compromised in the form of a suppressed immune system."

You can read the whole "chapter" on pain and MS at: http://www.my-ms.org/symptoms_pain.htm As I've mentioned on here before, this site is awesome and has tons of information.

having read here for many years, on an off, I have not discerned that the MS drugs help most people. That's just my reaction to what I've read. I have also read here that quite a few people do find help for symptoms with Low Dose Naltrexone. I'm surprised Sally didn't mention it, since she has been helped by LDN. It is a hassle, I read, getting a doctor to prescribe it, so maybe that is why she did not suggest it. Also, perhaps there is some new board rule, which I have not read, saying not to discuss it any more?
I am not taking it, my doctors are not interested in finding out about it, and it probably wouldn't be for me because of my other diagnoses, so I can't discuss LDN from experience of my own. I've just noted that people who take it like it.
I hope you get relief.

I didn't suggest it to Luke, because, in reading his posts, I
assume that LDN would not be enough for him. It is not a
cure-all and I'm afraid it would soon disappoint him.

We who have been on LDN for years, believed it has helped
us manage our disease with more ease than without.