This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I went to my family doctor because I have pain in my hip...it is like it pops out of the socket and clicks back in. (normally when I have been walking a lot or in the mornings)
My family doctor sent me for an MRI of my brain and called me that evening to tell me that I had MS. He said that their were "numerous lesions" but told me nothing else. Not sure why he sent me to get an MRI instead of an xray on my hip My mother had MS.
I have not been to see a neurologist yet...seems it takes a while in Ontario to get an appointment.
I have had no symptoms of MS so am very confused and frustrated by the whole thing. In another group I was told that my family doctor should not have told me that just from the MRI so I am waiting on my appointment with a neurologist now.
If it is MS then I want to do whatever I can to help minimize the effects. I am 37 and mom to 3 (10, 8, and 1)
I am also considering going to a naturopath and doing whatever I can dietwise to minimize any issues.
Sorry that was all a bit muddled...my baby keeps climbing on me!!
Any advice is very much appreciated!

Hi my2. Welcome to TIMS.

hi there and welcome

in my experience brain lesions alone are not sufficient to diagnose ms. there is not a definitive test, but there is a checklist and the more things you have from the checklist, the more statistically likely it can be that you will receive an MS dx.

one thing that the diagnostic criteria have largely failed to incorporate is the wide array of known and researched nutritional deficits seen in ms patients. at least the info is out there for patients, luckily. so, if you are going to pursue the nutrition angle i may be able to help .. got diagnosed in 2006 and have spent a lot of time researching how to make sure a person's nutrient levels match healthy people's levels and not folks with various developed country chronic illnesses. fyi i also went to a naturopath (who also has ms) and i didn't agree with her recommendations, and she was not as up to date with nutritional research as i was.

anyway. females with multiple kids always red flag nutrition for me - lots of zinc depletion, among other things. zinc depletion in particular can cause a wide variety of problems, not just from zinc deficits alone, but because of the impacts on absorption and utilization of other nutrients like b12, D3, etc (all three of which are also known to be low in ms, by the way).

more background nutritional info at regimens-f22/topic2489.html

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

Going to a naturpath is not a bad idea but you can determine the diet which you need on your own. Check out the diet section on this site and get the information. It is a process of trial and error to determine the diet which is right for you. The only thing a neurologist will do is put you on a drug and that is not the answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAhu6oa_ ... ure=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJyQTTZr ... _embedded#!

If hip pain was your only complaint and your doc sent you for a brain MRI, it's your doc who should have his head examined! Did you mention other unexplained problems on the same visit, or previous ones? I can't think of any other reason he would have done that...

Also, without you having had prior MS sx there is no way that you could have a valid dx of MS with only one MRI. The definition is (roughly) 'multiple attacks (as evidenced by MRI and/or symptoms) separated in time and space.' Have you had previous brain MRIs?

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RRMS dx 3/3/11; Copaxone since 12/1/11

Mark-I actually had to read your outloud to my family it made me laugh!! We think our doc needs his head examined too!
There were no other symptoms ever mentioned to him. His only reason for thinking that I needed an MRI was because of my hip pain and loss of balance slightly because it hurt me to walk on it. Also, my mother had MS so I guess he saw a connection there.
Update though is that I went into him again today and got him to send me for an xray of my hip-pretty much demanded it...so will have results from that by Monday. He also sent me for blood work and I told him to include B12? (and any other vitmains-to which he replied that they don't test for other vitamins) How do I go about getting tested to see if I am having trouble with other levels of vitamins in my body?
Thanks so muchfor everything!

heya so it's the doc not the neuro saying no to more nutrient tests?

either way i can hook you up with some study abstracts so you can try to convince him that the tests are worthwhile.

make sure you get your own copy of the results. don't let them just tell you everything is 'normal'. that's not good enough. everyone with ms is 'normal'. we just hang out in the sick people's part of the 'normal' range. not where you want to be!

other than that your option is to pay to see a naturopath. they can requisition the tests too. the difference is, if the requisition comes from the doc then some is covered by OHIP. if the requisition comes from the naturopath, the patient has to pay for all the tests.

if you have to go the naturopath route, once you have the tests then you have to try to avoid the upsell re coming in to the office for repeated b12 injections etc, when the science has demonstrated that sublingual b12 is just as effective as injection. a little bit of buyer beware.

once you have the results, see what the naturopath has to say but definitely bring the results here. my naturopath never heard of the kind of approach i'm finding useful (eg ignore 'normal' levels and focus on 'healthy/optimal' levels)

anyway that advice re coverage only applies to my particular health care jurisdiction, ontario canada.

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

I am also in Ontario so any advice you have would be wonderful and definitely relevant to me. My husband did have benefits but the company just had to lay off a bunch of people and unfortunately he was one of them...so ergo no more benefits for us at the moment. Looking into getting some privately.

I have been reading others posts and am questioning why my family doc didn't think of anything else...like Lyme disease perhaps. I have no MS symptoms at all other than headaches sometimes...but I do have 3 youngs kids and a hubby who was working in a mine so he worked 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off...which equals super busy for me!
What questions would you suggest I ask at my neurology appointment tomorrow morning? Can I ask him about getting the nutritional testing--or should that go through my family doctor? I want to be tested for everything else that it could be. I know Lyme disease but what else should I be questioning?

hello, i would take in a set of abstracts to back up your request for nutritional testing, whether it's requisitioned via the neuro or general doc. others should be better able than i to comment on possible infections. usually i would look at susceptibility to infection and link it to nutrient status. it's feasible for things like candida infection, i can show a link between that and poor zinc status using published research. lyme is a little more tricky. i am having trouble finding research that compares serum zinc levels in lyme patients compared to healthy controls.

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com