How to Get Tested for Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is most prevalent in women of childbearing age, but usually in their 30s and 40s who live in colder climates and are of Northern European descent. Translation: Middle aged white women in the north are more likely to end up with MS than women in other parts of the country or most men. Sadly, evidence seems to suggest that these are the same people who have the most trouble getting doctors to listen to their complaints. Often, the complaints of a person suffering from multiple sclerosis can seem unrelated or vague. They find themselves seemingly more clumsy than before, with random muscle jerks and sometimes shaking. In some cases, MS can present itself with memory loss or just kind of fuzziness when trying to remember things. Some of these symptoms are often associated with menopause and perimenopause as well, leading some doctors to scoff at the symptoms.

Instructions

• 1

  Start with a good doctor who will listen to you. Take in a list of all your symptoms and notes regarding when they occur. For example, many multiple sclerosis symptoms are worse in high heat and humidity than at cooler temperatures.

• 2

  Get a referral to a neurologist. Many general practitioners may not take your symptoms seriously or may try to pawn off your symptoms on other problems. Often, they will blame your symptoms on clinical depression when in fact depression can be a symptom of MS.

• 3

  Ask for an MRI. An MRI of the brain and spine with and without contrast can show a radiologist or neurologist where lesions, called sclerosis, have formed. The sclerosis are formed when the myelin, the protective layer around the brain and spinal cord, is damaged and scar tissue forms. The damage to the myelin is caused by the autoimmune disorder of multiple sclerosis.

• 4

  Get a closed MRI. Many people opt for an open MRI to combat the feeling of claustrophobia that the tube of a closed MRI can cause, but some research indicates that the open MRI is less precise at showing shadows or lesions on the brain. A less than precise scan of the brain or spine can result in a delay in your diagnosis.

• 5

  Have a lumbar puncture performed. This test, formerly known as a spinal tap, removed spinal fluid from the spinal cord. It is performed as an outpatient or in the doctor's office and requires a mild anesthesia applied directly to the back. Then, the doctor gives you a local anesthetic. He slides a long needle between two vertebrae and inserts a gravity tube to allow the fluid to flow out of the spinal cord naturally. The patient should remain still for the procedure.

• 6

  Drink lots of caffeine. After the spinal tap, the body must regenerate the spinal fluid. About 24 hours of rest and large amounts of fluids with lots of caffeine can stimulate the recovery process. Then, you wait. The testing requires that the spinal fluid be allowed to "settle" and takes several weeks. Patients with multiple sclerosis will be told that rings from in the spinal fluid indicating damage to the nervous system.

• 7

  See an ophthalmologist. Almost 90 percent of the people with multiple sclerosis exhibit some amount of optic neuritis, so a good eye exam can also help in your MS diagnosis.