When a person starts having various symptoms for long periods of time and stumbles upon multiple sclerosis, the question “how do I know if I have multiple sclerosis?” arises. Then the research begins.

MS has a multitude of symptoms – over 50. The most common symptoms are: unexplained fatigue, clumsiness, unexplained weakness in one’s legs and/or arms, language skills problems, slurred speech, troubles focusing and concentrating on things,  depression,  aggression and/or lack of inhibition or other inappropriate social behaviors,  incontinence or urinary retention, vision problems.

Now, if these symptoms are present, then you should check with a neurologist ( MS is considered a neurological condition) and have an MRI of your brain taken. Due to demylination, there will be lesions present in your brain, lesions which are easily noticeable on an MRI.

The diagnosis is made based on your symptoms, MRI results and medical history. However, it should be said that there are at least a dozen of symptoms that MS shares with other conditions – some autoimmune, some not. No matter the case, don’t expect the diagnosis to be immediate, as diagnosing MS is hard.