does anyone know how drs. diagnose m.s. please end my confusion?

Answer 1

Doctors diagnose MS based on symptoms and medical history, a full neurological examination and laboratory tests to exclude other conditions that may mimic MS. Two factors must be clearly shown to establish the diagnosis of MS:
(1) there must be clinical and laboratory-supported evidence of one or more lesions in different parts of the central nervous system
(2) there must have been at least two separate exacerbations of the disease.

Medical History

The doctor will ask about the symptoms, how often the patient is experiencing them, how long the patient has been experiencing them (in time) and other past medical illnesses or operations, family history and personal habits.

Neurological Examination

The neurological examination includes testing:

mental and language functions (remembering dates, names and places)
movement/coordination skills
vision abilities
sensation
reflexes

Laboratory Tests

If the patient is suspected of having MS, a number of laboratory procedures may help to confirm it, including blood tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spinal tap and evoked potentials (EP) studies.

Blood work may be ordered to exclude other causes for the neurologic symptoms, such as Lyme disease, collagen-vascular diseases, AIDS and certain rare hereditary diseases.

EP studies show the slowing of nerve impulses (messages) in the various parts of the central nervous system. Some of the EP studies are visual evoked potentials (VEP), brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP), and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP).

A spinal tap (“Lumbar puncture”) may be necessary to exclude some infections (such as Lyme disease) and to confirm inflammation in the nervous system, particularly when the diagnosis is uncertain.

Answer 2

Through a series of tests, including CAT scans, MRI and reflexology tests to name a few--my sister was diagnosed with MS.