MS diagnosis

[danismum]

My husband's uncle, sister and niece had/have MS so when my daughter told me she thought she had sinusitis - although it was just that eye movement hurt - and I found out that optic neuritis is a symptom of MS, I thought before I tell her to make an appointment, I should ask for your advice on where to go. Should she see an eye doctor or a neurologist? She lives in London (South-east). I also no longer know how the health system works. Could she go straight to an MS expert of her choice - and if so, can anyone give me a name or two?? Any advice would be very very gratefully received?

[Nick]

Optic neuritis can be a symptom of MS, however there are also many other causes (viral infection , toxins and others) This is somewhat different to sinusitis.

https://www.mstrust.org.uk/a-z/optic-neuritis#whatis

 

I would simply make an appointment with the GP to find out the cause. Do this first before starting to worry about MS. Information about MS is best sourced from the MS Trust or MS Society.

A lot of different conditions can mimic MS in some ways and the only formal diagnosis is from a neurologist.

 

Hope this helps a bit

 

Nick

Edited 27 Mar 2016, 12:24 pm by Nick

[Marina]

Hi danismum and welcome

 

I'm so sorry your husband's family have so many relations with MS, I think that may be quite rare! I can imagine how you might therefore worry that your daughter might have it too if she should display any symptoms that might sound like MS. However, it doesn't necessarily mean she has MS. Something like the sinusitis/eye pain you describe could well be due to various other things, but I'm not sure ON (Optic Neuritis) is a common cause.

 

I myself get a sinus-like pain a lot, but mine tends to be in various areas of one side of my face and neck. Sometimes, when it's particularly severe, it's "atypical" TN (Trigeminal Neuralgia), other times it might actually be sinus related, or some form of migraine, or some other headache which might be related to either a neck condition I have (cervical spondylitis), or a problem with my teeth bite.

 

As Nick has suggested, you could start off with a GP. Optometrists at opticians can also do a special digital photo of the eye, which can sometimes detect ON - my mild ON was first detected this way. It can be very difficult to make an appointment with a neurologist anyway, whether on the NHS or privately, without a referral from a GP. If a GP suspects there might be an eye problem, they might refer to an ophthalmologist, which is a consultant eye doctor. If the ophthalmologist should suspect ON, they may possibly then suggest a referral to a neurologist. It all depends on many factors, including any other symptoms and history, etc.

 

Below are some links to ON and other conditions that can produce a sinus-like pain in the face and eye area.

 

Optic Neuritis

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/opticneuritis.html

 

Types of Migraines and Headaches

http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/types-of-headaches.html

 

Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atypical_trigeminal_neuralgia

 

Trigeminal Neuralgia

http://www.umanitoba.ca/cranial_nerves/trigeminal_neuralgia/manuscript/

 

There are more links about symptoms and diagnosis here:

http://ms-people.com/forum/links/category/10-symptoms-and-diagnosis/

 

Please don't hesitate to ask more questions. The only thing I'm afraid we can't do is to give names of actual doctors.

[Scully]

All good advice above for you.

 

Definitely start with GP or the local Optometrists.

 

In answer to your question, no, you cannot go straight to a neurologist, without the GP to make the referral.

 

The GP will make the decisions on what happens next, as has been said, she could have all manner of things wrong, not necessarily MS, so the GP will need to rule out anything else before he makes a referral if he needs to.

 

Scully