A volunteer for the Sheffield and Rotherham MS Group said she suffered years of being misdiagnosed by doctors before being told she had multiple sclerosis (MS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joanna Mason, 43, from Bramley, Rotherham first went to the doctors with symptoms when she was 19, however it wasn\u2019t until November 2021 when she was officially diagnosed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joanna said: \u201cMy entire adult life, I have been passed from pillar to post and misdiagnosed. So it was actually a relief for me when I was finally diagnosed with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MS is a lifelong neurological condition that affects the brain and nerves. It disrupts the flow of information between the brain and body, leading to common symptoms including tiredness, vision problems and problems with walking or balance. Currently it cannot be cured, but medicines and other treatments can help ease symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to the different symptoms people experience, neurologists use a set of guidelines called the McDonald criteria to diagnose MS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joanna\u2019s misdiagnoses arose due to her type of MS called Relapsing Remitting MS. She experiences periods of symptom exacerbation (relapses) followed by periods of recovery (remissions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joanna said she believes an earlier diagnosis could have prevented her 2021 relapse which \u2018took away her career\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said: \u201cI used to be a teacher and I would get poorly at least three times a year where my whole body would switch off and now we know that they were MS relapses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt completely changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She shared her journey on TikTok as a way to connect with others – now she has over 100,000 followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n