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Health: Bucks Woman Diagnosed Wrongly With MS Isn't Alone

By Stephanie Stahl

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Imagine being treated for a devastating condition that you don't have. It happens more often than you think. CBS 3 health reporter Stephanie Stahl has the exclusive story of how it happened to a woman in Bucks County.

Debbie Disipio figured a healthy diet was an important part of living with multiple sclerosis, or MS, a disorder that strikes the central nervous system.

"It was scary, frightening and worrisome" when the 57-year-old was diagnosed with MS.

Her children were stunned and very upset.

"Destroys your world," said Debbie's son, Angelo Disipio.

For 15 years, Debbie, who lives in Bensalem, gave herself daily injections of a powerful drug that she thought was preventing MS symptoms, but she and her family lived in fear. There was no telling when Debbie might become incapacitated.

"I tried to prepare myself as much as possible for the worst," said Debbie's daughter, Lisa Disipio.

But the worst never came. When Debbie's neurologist changed the medication dosage last year, she got dizzy and saw an MS specialist, who said Debbie didn't have it. Debbie had been misdiagnosed.

"I'm devastated," Debbie said. "I mean, I'm overjoyed, don't get me wrong, that I don't have it. But I'm so heartbroken that I put my children through this."

It has happened to others. Research in the journal Neurology says, "The misdiagnosis of MS is common and has significant consequences for patient care."

Dr. Larisa Syrow is a neurologist at Cooper University Hospital. She did not treat Debbie, but isn't surprised by her story.

"How could something like this happen? How could someone get misdiagnosed with MS?" said Dr. Syrow. "Because many other conditions can give the MRI imaging that we see in MS."

These spots on an MRI, called white matter lesions, can indicate MS, but the spots are also seen with a number of other problems, including migraines.

Debbie didn't have MS, but she now has weak and painful tendons, a possible side effect of the MS medication.

"This is as far as I can bring it," Debbie said as she lifted her left arm.

Debbie had shoulder surgery in February, and before that, an operation on her knee, which had bad tendons, too.

"I'm absolutely terrified at this point, because I don't know what kind of damage that medicine did to my system for all those years," Debbie said. "And yeah, I'm scared."

Debbie wants to warn others, and is working with attorney George Badey, who is considering legal action against the first doctor.

"Debbie went through all these years with daily injections of toxic medications that can lead to other problems," Badey said.

"I'm angry," Debbie's daughter said. "Now we're worrying about the other aspect of taking this medication all these years."

Experts say MS can be tricky to accurately diagnose. It usually involves imaging and a series of other tests, all of which have to be analyzed and interpreted by a neurologist.

 

 

 

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