The process of determining whether a patient has MS is a detailed process, involving several steps. A multiple sclerosis checklist can be used to outline the factors which, together, constitute a positive MS diagnosis.
The steps involved in determining a positive MS diagnosis include having an experienced doctor take your medical history and examine the state of your nervous system’s function through a series of tests. This process will allow the doctor to determine whether you have a cluster of symptoms that could be associated with multiple sclerosis.
Multiple Sclerosis Symptom Checklist
There is no definitive list of multiple sclerosis symptoms that all multiple sclerosis patients have. However, there is a wide range of symptoms that multiple sclerosis patients can develop as a result of their brain lesions. One or more of these symptoms, in any possible combination, could be suggestive of multiple sclerosis. Thus, one cannot make a simple multiple sclerosis symptoms checklist and expect every potential multiple sclerosis patient to meet the limited criteria on that multiple sclerosis checklist of symptoms.
It is, however, possible to make a rudimentary multiple sclerosis checklist. This is not a checklist of symptoms. Rather, it is a checklist of steps that you should take en route to determining your MS status. One item on this multiple sclerosis checklist is an effort on the part of your doctor to document your medical history, including your symptoms. Ideally, this doctor should have considerable experience diagnosing and treating MS in other patients.
Another item on the checklist is a note of the nature of your symptoms. If they are consistent with damage to the brain or spinal cord, then you just might have multiple sclerosis. A third item on the checklist is to have the doctor do some tests to confirm that you do indeed have nervous system dysfunction. It is important to also note the age at which your symptoms started to appear. While this is not universal to all MS patients, it is generally the case that MS symptoms first emerge between the ages of 20 and 50 years.
You should also check to see that you have experienced at least 2 episodes lasting 24 hours or more with at least one month between them. Yet another item on the checklist is an MRI scan to confirm the existence of 2 or more lesions on the nervous tissue. One last item for the check list would be a confirmation that no other medical condition could be responsible for the symptoms.
