This is going to be a very short part of my story and I am posting it now
because I read about Sue in Northfield, MASS.

I have MS. I also have bipolar disorder and ADD. I believe bipolar disorder
and ADD run in my family but am uncertain because my mother, who died 10
years ago of cancer refused to be tested for any kind of emotional disorder,
and my 16-month younger sister (with whom I have no relationship) is so
emotionally disordered that she speaks to no one else in the family. Her son
was diagnosed with ADD as a child, as was I (they called it hyperkinetic
disorder at the time). My maternal grandmother died in her 90's of
Alzheimer's. At the time that was called senile dementia.

I say all that first because I personally believe there is a link between
all these cognitive malfunctions and MS. I believe that some of the symptoms
my mother had when she was in her 30's and 40's would have been diagnosed as
MS had the equipment been available to make the diagnosis. I believe I would
have been diagnosed with MS if an MRI had been done when I first had
symptoms instead of a CT scan which was "cloudy" and dismissed by doctors as
"something in the film."

I have had MS for at least 25 years. I have also had Epstein-Barr
(undiagnosed). I have never had Lyme disease or Hepatitis (though I was
diagnosed with Hepatitis when I first started showing symptoms of MS). How
do I know for sure?

Those very sensitive tests that Sue was talking about are probably DNA
signature tests. Certain diseases can be tested by whether or not they leave
behind antibodies in your bloodstream meant to fight off the disease. These
tests, along with others, are often all a doctor needs to diagnose a
patient. But since some diseases mimic others so closely, as in Sue's case,
they can be tested DEFINITIVELY by whether or not they have left a DNA
signature in your blood, and can be RULED OUT if they have not. Hepatitis,
Epstein-Barr, and Lyme disease all leave DNA signatures behind. If your
bloodstream does not carry the DNA of the disease, you DO NOT HAVE IT.

Yes, these are expensive blood tests, but if there is a question, you should
ask your doctor about them. Long after I discovered I had MS, I had them
done. Had they been available in the 70's, when I was misdiagnosed with
hepatitis, I might have been correctly diagnosed with MS back then. Or
Epstein-Barr. (No one will be able to tell you when you had any of the
diseases that left behind their DNA, just that you had them).

When I did get diagnosed with MS, I asked my neurologist if my daughter
should be tested. The neurologist said no, since only 2% of MS cases are
passed to descendants. So my daughter waited two years. She then began
having odd symptoms, and got tested for MS. And she has MS.

What I now believe is that MS is genetic; that it is far more prevalent than
believed; that the extent is just now beginning to be known because the
diagnostic tools are just now becoming available, AND THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY
DOUBTS, YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT DNA SIGNATURE TESTING TO RULE IN OR
OUT ANY OTHER DISEASES YOU MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE...AND FIGHT WITH THE
INSURANCE COMPANIES IF THEY TRY TO DENY THE TESTS.

Linda F.
Kapolei, HI
Age 58