It is easy to assume that you know when you are experiencing a serious illness as multiple sclerosis. However, people with MS may take years to properly diagnose.
Now new studies show that subtle symptoms of the disease can occur for as long as 15 years before someone is diagnosed with MS.
If you are not familiar with this, MS (multiple sclerosis) is a chronic condition where the body’s immune system misleads the protective nerve fiber coating. Based on the National Neurological Disorders and Stroke Institute (Ninds), people can experience many symptoms with MS, including visual problems, muscle weakness, hands and legs and muscle spasms. Some people with MS will eventually develop partial or complete paralysis, according to Ninds.
New conclusions Jama Network Open Research is shocking and raises many questions about how people can tell whether their symptoms occur due to something in a small or serious condition like MS. Here’s what neurologists want you to know.
Meet the experts: Clifford Segil, Do, there is a neurologist Providence Saint John’s Health Center Santa Monica, California; Amy Sachdev, MD, MS, is the Medical Director of the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan.
What did the study find?
During the study, researchers analyzed about 2000 British Colombian health records. They learned that people who were eventually diagnosed with MS began to communicate with the health care system more often for 15 years before they first had symptoms, which were later identified as due to MS.
Everyone’s health journey was different, but researchers were able to choose general trends. People who were eventually diagnosed with MS began to see more often general practitioners for 15 years before they were diagnosed with symptoms such as fatigue, pain, dizziness and mental health, such as anxiety and depression.
Patients were more likely to see a psychiatrist in 12 years before the diagnosis. Eight to nine years before diagnosis, they were more likely to visit neurologists and eye doctors who may have been associated with mild vision or eye pain.
Three to five years before the diagnosis, they visited ER and visited radiology more often. One year before the diagnosis, patients were more likely to see doctors in various specialties, including neurology, emergency medicine and radiology.
This shows that “MS may have started earlier than before,” the researchers wrote in the conclusion.
Why can MS be so difficult to detect early?
Ms may look a little different and there are many symptoms, emphasizes Amy Sachdev, MD, MS, Medical Director of the Department of Neurology at the State University of Michigan.
He explains that MS is an autoimmune disease and can cause inflammation throughout the body. “With excess inflammation, the body may feel usually non -functional,” says Sachdev. Meaning you may feel unconscious or in many areas, so it is difficult for doctors (and you) to determine what may be for it.
People with MS can also fight fatigue, which can be a severe symptom associated with any condition, says Sachdev.
Symptoms such as pain, mood changes and fatigue are more associated with MS diagnosis after it can be done because they can occur due to various health problems, says Clifford Segil, Do, Providence Saint John’s Health Center neurologist in Santa Monica, California. He says he tends to discover these symptoms when, after the diagnosis, he looks at the patient’s health history.
What should you do if you have these symptoms?
Doctors say you should assume that you should think that you have a MS if you are only experiencing changes in fatigue or mood. But Sachdev says you should not eliminate symptoms that simply do not stand out.
“Health is very personal. To manage it, you need to start with the service provider who connects with you,” he says. “Ideally, you would start with one observation or concern that is worrying. Focusing on this problem with that provider is a place to start.”
However, SEGIL emphasizes that it is important to see a specialist if you are experiencing several symptoms that you really cannot explain. “Whenever you have symptoms that without a clear medical diagnosis, it can be wise to see a neurologist,” he says. They can help you carefully evaluate your health history along with your order testing to see what could happen.
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