I was diagnosed with a demylinating disease (ms) in july of last year. i was diagnosed with a demylinating disease (ms) in july of last year. my symptoms started in january when i went numb on my right side. i thought for a long time that i was just clums

Multiple : Multiple sclerosis is a condition in which the immune system of the body is nudged towards a more-inflammatory state. In this state, immune cells enter the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and attack myelin (the insulating and supporting covering around nerve fibers). If the attack is severe enough, the nerve fibers can also be damaged. One word used to describe this damage is "sclerosis". These attacks result in multiple neurological symptoms that change in location over time. Multiple sclerosis is diagnosed based on clinical (examination and history), radographic (mri), and laboratory results (including a lumbar puncture/spinal tap). Part of the reason for doing laboratory tests is to exclude other diagnoses, such as lyme disease, that could be mimicking multiple sclerosis. If all of these components have been completed diligently, then a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is probably accurate. Lyme disease is caused by an infection by the bacterium borrelia bergdoferi, and has some symptoms that overlap with multiple sclerosis. Tests for lyme disease, just like all other tests in medicine, are not 100% accurate. Whenever one is confronted with a serious diagnosis, it is always a good idea to get a second opinion. The national multiple sclerosis society can help locate a neurologst with special training, interest, and/or qualifications in multiple sclerosis. http://www.nationalmssociety.org.