A questions about multiple sclerosis?

my mom was diagnosed 12 years ago, when i was 10. now that i am 22 years old, my concerns about the disease are growing. does anyone know if i am able to get a genetic test to see if i carry the gene? i know doctor's can do this now to test for cancer, but i dont know if its possible to see it in other diseases. i've shown early signs for ms, according to my doctors...a lot of fatigue, dizziness, numbness in my legs and arms, and almost complete loss of feeling in my right foot. they havent done any mri's yet, but i am scared out of my mind. i know how hard it was for my dad, brother and me...im not entirely sure i could handle doing that to my husband and son...does anyone know about the genetic testing? thanks!!!

MS is not necessarily a genetic disease. If someone in your family has it, you are more likely to get it, but no one in my family has MS, yet I have. Because there is no clear genetic link, there is no genetic test that can predict if you do have MS or will get it. MS is also typically a diagnosis of exclusion. When the doctors can't find anything else wrong with you, and your symptoms are consistent with MS, they will give you a diagnosis of MS.

Your symptoms do sound consistent with MS, so if you haven't already seen a neurologist, it would probably be a good idea. an MRI and/or a lumbar puncture can also help determine the diagnosis. If you do have MS, it is best to start treatment early. It may also take some time, and trial and error, to determine which medication works best for you.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. My Dad has been with MS too, he not too bad at the moment but is slowly deteriorating.

There is not such a test that determines whether you have MS a or not, but the usual way is for them to give you a lumbar puncture which will tell you if you have it in your genes or not!? Which in turn determines how likely you are to get MS.

I know this is not much help but I've been through the same as you and this is the answer I got!

There is no genetic test for MS. Researchers think that people must be born with a genetic predisposition to MS but that they then must come into contact with some as yet unknown environmental factor for the disease to set in. So getting MS is not just a matter of genetics. And as far as the genetics are concerned, there are far more genes involved than originally thought and the doctors do not yet know what the dynamic is between the genes that sets up the predisposition to getting MS. MS for most part still remains a mystery. Neurologists these days tend to rely on the MRI as the diagnostic tool of choice. Many forgo the lumbar puncture. They just think that the MRI is a far more reliable test. Good luck to you. I hope your Mom is doing OK.