Oh my, oh my, oh my!

I feel like I just got knocked in the stomach. I had posted my story and some questions over on the MS Moms website...they have an area for Undiagnosed people on the site. Anyway, I received a reply from a fellow undiagnosed lady named Tammy who said that she was awaiting a Spinal Tap for diagnosis, but that in the meantime she had been diagnosed with Chronic Epstein Barr Virus.

OK...if you read my very first introductory post on this blog, you would have read that I was diagnosed with Chronic Epstein Barr Virus about 7 years ago. Like I said before, I always thought this was a bogus diagnosis even though my bloodwork has consistently showed elevated cells that are associated with it.

Well, Tammy suggested that there might be a correlation between CEBV and MS and that she was trying to do some research on it. That, of course, peaked my interest (and got my attention), so I went to good old Ask Jeeves and typed in "Is there a link between Chronic Epstein Barr Virus and Multiple Sclerosis?" It immediately brought up many articles...this one being the most interesting and easy to read from Harvard from 2003.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press03252003.html

If you don't have time to read the article, it basically says that there is, indeed, a direct correlation between the two, and the higher your EBV antibodies are, the higher your risk of MS.

I'm glad to be armed with this information. I did not ever mention my CEBV diagnosis to my Neurologist, but I will do so at my next appt. on the 14th. Maybe that will help him to decide on a course of action.

This could lead to a brick wall, but I'm glad that I feel a little more armed in approaching this...