Hi All, I am male, 61 sufferer of COPD, Almost twelve months ago I started with tingling in my fingers, numbness, cutting and burning my fingers without noticing, dropping things...after being treated for carpel tunnel for six months and in constant pain in my back, neck and legs my wife made me go back to see my GP, he reffered me to muskuloskelatal specialialist who said is was not carpel tunnel but my problems were all connected to my brain and referred me to a neurologist at Salford Royal. Had MRI brain scan and neck scan in January. Neck scan showed Spinal cord compression. Brain scan showed large white mass and demyelination. Neurologist mentioned the demyelination being MS but without a lumbar puncture couldn't confirm it but said the back pain was not connected to my neck pain as first thought but he wanted an MRI of my back, and he referred me to neurosurgeon but stressed he didn't think the surgeon would operate due to my COPD. Neurosurgeon happy to operate if pre op and anaesthetic reveiws are all okay...appointment for both next week...all being well op on neck scheduled for beginning of May. In the meantime back MRI showed similar problem to neck in L4, L5.S1, neurosurgeon said operation needed there too. What startled me a bit, when speaking to neurosurgeon he asked me how were my problems with the MS? I explained I had not actually been diagnosed with MS they had just found some demyelination. Neurosurgeon said he did not need a lumbar puncture to diagnose MS in my case. I was shocked as no one had actually said I had MS. In previous examinations my reflexes were found to be brisk but this could have been caused by the spinal cord compression. I am clumsy but this also could be caused by the spinal cord compression. I am going to ask them to do a lumbar puncture when they do the operation on my back but as this will be many months off as the one on my neck is more important, is there anything I can do in the meantime to say if I definitely have MS or not?