colee1979 said...
Hi all...Happy New Year!!
I have my appointment at the Mellen Center on Wednesday. I have waited four monthes for this appointment,so I want to get the most out of it! I am wondering...should I ask for a second opinion...or just accept the dx of MS? I mean...I've had the MRI,have the brain lesions...had the spinal tap...it all says the same answer. But...then I start thinking that maybe,just maybe they could be wrong. Maybe they over looked something,or didnt take something else into account. How many of you have asked for second opinions with your MS dx? I'm just so confused. I guess I want the dx to be wrong...who wouldnt. But am I letting my high hopes get into the way of just accpeted it. I dont know. I mean...what if,just what if it is Lyme disease...or something completly different. But then I think my test results didnt lie. What to do...what to do...
I'm sorry, I'm confused.... Isn't this a second opinion? You were diagnosed in August, and now going here? Or is this to establish treatment for your MS?
I think second opinions are great if there is any question in a diagnosis..if, for example, some tests have come back "inconclusive", or contrary to what other tests might have shown. Or if there are other symptoms that don't seem to fit with those pretty well established in a particular disease. And second opinions are useful if you don't trust your current doctor(s), or the medical care you're getting.
But I think second opinions..and third, fourth, and so on...can sometimes be a way to avoid the inevitable, a way to keep oneself in denial, when the more prudent course is to accept what is before you, and get treatment.
I don't think any of us can (or should) decide this for you. Only you can look at what has happend in your medical care so far, then judge whether you want to pursue another set of exams, or go about getting treatment for your illness now.
Good luck with your visit. I hope you get some answers that will be satisfactory for you.