Hello,
My name is Kadi, I am brand new here. I am 22 years old and though I have yet to be offically diagnosed, but since my aunt cousin and great grandmother have all had this my family is convensed that MS is the reason I can't feel the left side of my body and cant control my left hand. The only sensation I have on the left side is an extream itching and cramps when my fingers decided to become posessed and move of their own accord. I have my first neuro exam next week and they told me they will be doing an MRI and lumbar puncture. I am terified and dont know what to do or expect. Any advice would be appreciated.

Welcome KD. first, breathe. Just breathe. We often get so caught up in the anxiety of it all that we hold our breath, and starve our bodies of much needed O2.

I am sorry you have reason to search us out, but you picked a good crew. I am sure you will find more than one of us that has been exactly where you are. I was diagnosed without the Lumbar puncture or LP, but most folks here have had one. I am sure they will tell you all about it.

The first step is finding an MD that you can trust, and rely on to do right by you, and not just brush off your symptoms (sx) and concerns. Many of us have gone to the big city MS centers at least once while chasing the diagnosis (dx) of MS. There are more than 100 different diseases that can mimic MS including Lupus, Lyme, B12 deficiencies, Vit D def and so on. When the MDs look at someone struggling, they dont often grab a diagnosis and say "this is what it is" they often start playing the "this is what it is NOT" game. they will rule out the vitamin stuff, and lyme with blood tests. Same for Lupus, and other conditions. Once at the bottom of the barrel, they will be left with 10 or so to choose from, and then they start the "maybe its MS" dance. Be patient. Its rare for us to be diagnosed on the spot. Many of us went months and years before we received a firm dx.

Welcome to the club house. pull up a chair, and tell us your story.

Hi kdeesdream,
I placed a copy of your post on the main MS forum also - here it is -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum17.html

Don't feed your fears by listening to others or reading. Everyone is different. My MS was diagnosed quickly by Evoked Potentials, lots of bood tests eliminating stuff like Lyme, Lupus, etc. and a LP which pinched while happening but had no after effects like headache etc. Reading too much before could have scared me to death!! See what happens to you. Yeah, knowledge is power but anxiety can be terrible. Once diagnosed I read toooooo much and many things never happened to me. The anticipation was terrible though!
Good luck. You are you and nobody else.

I agree, dont read too much about MS and the other possible diseases while you're getting a diagnosis. It'll scare the heebie jeebies out of you and probably make you feel worse than you actually do.

Try to relax (easier said than done, I know) and hope that you find an answer soon. Once you get diagnosed, then you can start researching and learn about whatever it is that you have. Hopefully it's something easily treated, like a vitamin deficiency and not MS. MS is too annoying of a disease and hopefully you dont have it.

Erin,

Annoying? Now there's an understatement!! Heebie Jeebies are very accurate.

Check out this site for information on what doctors are looking for in an MS diagnosis:
http://ms.about.com/od/multiplescler..._diagnosis.htm