Thank you. You all seem like caring people!

Hey simple painless starting point- have your dr write a script for mri of brain & c-spine stating possible MS, numbness issues.
Takes 1 day for MRI, take copy of cd home & find out that night. I did.

Welcome to NT!

Keeping a symptom journal is a great idea! I would also add to what Nurse Nancy said that you want to put an end date or time to the symptoms. That is important too in the dx process.

I don't know what kind of insurance you have but if you need a referral to see a specialist, as most insurances seem to require now, get one from your primary care doctor for a neurologist. Ask around for a good neurologist in your area and if they see MS patients.

An MRI with and without contrast of the brain and spine is important. Please request that when you talk with your dr. Your primary care can set up the MRI.

Good luck as you go through the process of finding a dx for your symptoms. Please let us know how you are doing and what the dr. say.

Take copy of the CD home? If I request that at my MRI next week, will they likely look at me like I'm crazy or will they actually give me a copy that day?

They've given me a copy before and I didn't even have to ask. I think they probably will.

Hi Pickle-

I had my most recent MRI of the brain and of the c-spine, taken with and without contrast, last fall at my local hospital.

I was immediately handed a cd of each film's results. For some reason I could view the brain films, but I just couldn't view the c-spine cd except for the "microfilm" pics - the teensy ones. I just couldn't get them to enlarge on my pc. It was probably because my pc's not the newest ... I'm still on Vista!

My last mri's before that were probably 8-10 years ago. I don't think anyone got copies back then. But I did request a copy of the written report after they were read back then. At that time, it seemed pretty depressing:

Brain film: Lesions (white spots) "too numerous to count". Scary quote.

But guess what? After many years with MS, not ONE of those numerous lesions have caused even the tiniest of my MS symptoms! In my case, my problems have all been caused by several larger lesions along my C and T spine. I've found that's typical for PP MS'ers.

Good luck to you. You've come to the right place for support, experience and knowledge about MS.

MsBluIs