Hillary Johnson records in Osler's Web that in the '80s and '90s a lot of people who were eventually found to have ME had been dx with MS - some had lesions in MRI scans.

I spent the first few years with MS as the possible dx, especially with the nerve damage, foot drag and loss of balance.

But the MRI was "inconclusive" "clear" "some wear and tear" "some spinal damage in two places" depending on which neuro was talking at me.

I've still got the partial paralysis so I can't walk - but this would tick the one-of-the-polio-viruses box that Ramsay considered.



It's also happened that people with a dx of ME or CFS turn out to have MS. The overlap is very marked.



I agree with Alex. I am way more disabled than friends with MS. I also wonder who will live longer; my heart and lungs have had it and we know from studies that heart failure is the number one cause of death in ME. It's difficult to get proper mortality figures when death certs say heart failure and don't mention ME or CFS. I can't help wondering if proper research was done whether ME and MS would have similar outcomes there too.