How I was diagnosed a month ago. I am 74.
Last year I wasn’t feeling like myself. Many years ago a neurologist diagnosed me with a neuromuscular autoimmune disease. When I began having new symptoms - I thought it was from the autoimmune disease.
After a few months, I started a list of all the new symptoms. The list grew as I felt worse all the time. I saw my PCP, explained I had a new symptom list & began reading as Dr. began entering what I read. When I finished, she turned to me and said “This may be MS.”
Within 6 weeks my neurologist had given me many MRI’s, a Lumbar Puncture and blood tests. The abnormal LP confirmed I had MS at 74 yrs old. He suspects I’ve had a mild case for many years.
Has anyone else been diagnosed as a Senior? What were your symptoms?
Hi,
!
I'm sorry you're dealing with a new diagnosis, but I know sometimes it can actually be something of a relief to have a name for all the symptoms you are experiencing! We do have at least a few members who were diagnosed in their 60's or 70's, so you are not alone in this.
I thought I would share a conversation from our forums on the topic of being diagnosed at a later age. Here's one --https://multiplesclerosis.net/forums/diagnosis-late-in-life. Here's a relatively recent post from one of our members -- https://multiplesclerosis.net/forums/ms-granny. And, while this is slightly off topic, one of our contributors was diagnosed in her 50's and is now in her 70's and facing the option of stopping/slowing treatment -- https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/stopping-treatment-due-to-age. Therry is really active here and you will probably see her around here in no time.
I hope this information is helpful for you. I know being diagnosed later in life puts you in a weird position, with fewer people who can relate, but as I said at the beginning of this post, you're not alone here!
Best, Erin, Team Member.
