Newbie here please help

Vr6aaron, hi, I'm Therry, and I usually moderate the FACEBOOK group associated with this site, https://www.facebook.com/MultipleSclerosisDotNet. I want to invite you to join our community over on Facebook as well as on this website. We have a big community of about 150,000 people who either live with MS, are wondering what they have if it isn't MS, have friends or family with MS, and in general we look out for each other and share a world of helpful articles, stories and various other ways of sharing the load. And there's one member who posts the most ridiculous memes and GIFs and keeps us all laughing!

One thing everyone on the site has experienced is the long time between getting symptoms and getting a diagnosis. There is no definitive test for MS, and most of the time waiting for a diagnosis to emerge is ruling out all the diseases with similar symptoms that AREN'T MS. Forty five years ago when I first started showing symptoms, there wasn't a definitive test for MS, but at the time, thre weren't any MRIs either, and there weren't any medications to address the ongoing damage that MS can cause. We are worlds away from that state of affairs, but it still can take a while to get a diagnosis.

Let me include a link to a tool that may help you find a neurologist who specializes in MS near you, or maybe a manageable distance away. It's from a good site for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, that has all kinds of information and help for the newly diagnosed and people who are just starting that process. Here's the link for the tool to find a doctor: https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Resources-Support Spend some time on the site and look at some of the other resources and places to find more information.

I also wanted to share something I hear about on the site I help moderate. Every single time somebody posts a new symptom or shares something about what they're going through, the first comment on the post will either be: "Oh my god, I thought I was the only one!" or, just as frequently, "Me too, I thought I was crazy!" Let me assure you, you are not alone and you're not crazy! You are dealing with a bunch of unknown symptoms and duration and maddening things that your body has never gone through before. But you're not alone because while each of us has a unique case of this disease, we've all been through the early stages when we really didn't know what was going on, and we didn't have a clue about how to communicate with a doctor about what we were experiencing.

Let me introduce you to a guy who writes a LOT for our home site, and that's Devin Garlit. We hvae a lot of wonderful writers, leaders and advocates, but something tells me you would feel at home with Devin. I'll give you a link to his biography, where you'll find a link to all of his articles and videos. Believe me, if you have any questions at all, Devin's probably written an article about it. Here's one about how to talk to a doctor about your symptoms: https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/how-doctors-listen

Vr6aaron, you're at a tender place with the beginning of symptoms and so many more questions than answers. You''re facing the frustration of too many patients and not enough doctors, but you aren't facing that frustration alone. There are a lot of us out there, and you've taken the first steps to making connections with people who are where you are, or a few years down the line, or forty five years down the road. You'll want company on your path, and you've taken the first steps to finding your tribe. Wish you weren't here, but welcome, and we won't let you walk this by yourself. In solidarity, Therry, a Team Member

Hi, I wrote you a LONG post and after I finished it, I did a little diggig around and found a whole forum about people who are awaiting diagnosis. Thought you'd like a link to hang out with people in the same boat! Check this out https://multiplesclerosis.net/forums?tagId=1610&page=1 but of cours not until after you've read my long long post! All the best, Therry