b"Natalie BlakeKasey Minnis Executive Director Executive DirectorHealthcare shouldnt have to be a ght.out? Is there anything I can do at home that But the sad reality is, it often takes a battle towill help? Keep pushing until you get the get the referrals, tests, diagnoses, medications,help you need.or treatments you need. This stark reality is clearIn this issue, our medical advisors in elds in your comments on this issues Communityother than neurology will weigh in on when Feedback question. you should seek out the help of a specialist, We asked you, How long did it take to get ansuch as a physical therapist, speech-language MS diagnosis? What challenges did you face?pathologist, or mental health professional. The accounts you shared were often equal partsWell also share reminders on non-MS care horrifying and inspiring. Its horrifying howyou need, such as your annual screenings. If many of you experienced doctors dismissingyour doctors dont bring up these specialties your symptoms or refusing necessary tests toand screenings, speak up, and ask for what rule out MS, but inspiring how you foughtyou need. and kept ghting until you received a properAt MS Focus, we're actively representing diagnosis. Your stories are shared throughoutyour interests with legislators on both the state this issue. and the national level. To help us do so, were As heart-rending as many of the accountsseeking more information about your access were, they were sadly unsurprising. Our researchto MS medications and their costs to you. shows that a more than 25 percent of peopleYour honest feedback about the challenges who are ultimately diagnosed with MS takeyou face in getting approval for or paying for three years or more to get a diagnosis. (Thatmedications will help us show legislators what number jumps to 35 percent when lookingyoutheir constituentsare experiencing. only at nonwhite individuals). At times, thePlease consider taking the survey discussed clinical picture is simply not clear enough toon page 9. As a thank you, youll be entered make a diagnosis. But often, your stories tellinto a drawing to win great prizes. of doctors who werent listening.Reading these accounts is a lesson inAs you read this issue, some of the accounts self-advocacy. To get the healthcare we need,from other readers about their battles to be sometimes we have to keep pushing. Thatdiagnosed may anger or sadden you. Lets need doesnt stop with an MS diagnosis. Ifuse that emotion by channeling it into self-you are having troubling symptoms and youradvocacy and advocacy for the MS community doctor writes it off as just part of living withas a whole. Sometimes, the people in the best MS, push back! Ask, Who specializes in thisposition to educate the MS doctors treating kind of symptom? Can you refer me? Is thereare their patients. change for everyone with anything other than MS that should be ruledMS. 5 msfocusmagazine.org"