Newly diagnosed
Being newly or recently diagnosed with MS (multiple sclerosis) can feel overwhelming. The first thing to remember is there's a whole community of people here to help.
Whether you're looking for someone to talk to, information on what happens next or how to tell people about your MS, we're here for you.
I’ve just been diagnosed with MS - what happens next?
What happens after your diagnosis depends on a few things:
- How active your MS is at the moment. Are there any symptoms that are troublesome and could be treated?
- What support your MS team can offer and how soon.
- What you'd like to happen. There are choices you can make about how you manage MS and your environment.
MS is unpredictable, so it’s often hard for people with MS to get the best from health care services. The NHS is the world’s largest publicly funded health service. Knowing how it works can make a big difference to the care you get.
Questions about MS
Life doesn't stop at diagnosis and your work or education, family and social life will continue.
If you're worried MS will make a big difference to your life or alter your choices, remember everyone's MS is different. It's not possible to predict exactly how you'll be affected and whether this could change your path in life.
Life with MS these days is more about what you can do, not what you can’t. We’re here to support you with information, our MS Helpline, our local groups and our online forum.
Find out more about looking after your health and living well with MS
At the moment, there’s no cure for MS. Once you’ve been diagnosed with MS, you have it for life.
Research is trying to find ways to stop MS. Until then, there are ways to manage your condition. These include disease modifying therapies (DMTs).
If you have relapsing MS, a DMT can reduce how many relapses you have or how bad they are. A DMT can also reduce inflammation. That will mean fewer areas of nerve damage (lesions) in your brain or spinal cord.
There are around 20 DMTs that work for relapsing MS. DMTs are usually only available for progressive MS if your neurologist confirms you also have relapses, or signs of active inflammation on MRI scans. Researchers are looking at other DMTs to see if they can help people with progressive MS.
If your type of MS causes relapses, then disease modifying therapies (DMTs) could make a real difference.
DMTs aren’t a cure, but they’re intended to change for the better how your MS behaves.
Taking a DMT means you’re less likely to get relapses, or your relapses will be less serious. A DMT can also reduce inflammation and prevent MS from damaging nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
If your MS causes relapses or signs of inflammation, doctors recommend that you start taking a DMT as soon as possible.
You and your neurologist will make decisions about your treatment based on your MRI scans and what your neurologist finds when they examine you.
Only a neurologist can start you on a DMT. They’ll follow guidelines about which DMTs you can take. An MS nurse can also talk about treatments in general.
The NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines say that, whether you’re on treatment or not, you should have a yearly review of your care. You can ask for this review if it hasn’t been offered to you.
If you don’t already have an MS specialist, ask your GP to refer you to one.
One of the first questions many people have when they’re newly diagnosed with MS is: “Will I still be able to drive?” The good news is that most people with MS continue to drive as normal.
If you have a driving licence, you have to tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that you have been diagnosed with MS. They will assess your fitness to drive using the information you provide, and they may ask you to have a medical examination or a driving assessment.
You also need to tell your insurance company about your condition and about any adaptations you have.
Many people worry their children will also get MS. There is a genetic angle to MS, but it isn't the whole story and MS is not directly inherited.
MS is not passed directly from parents to their children because it is not caused by a single gene. While MS can occur more than once in a family, it’s more likely that this won’t happen.
In the UK, around one person in every 600 currently has MS. The chances of a person developing MS at some point during their lifetime is 1 in 330.
There‘s around a 1.5% chance of a child developing MS if one parent has it. This means about 1 in 67 would get MS.
Last full review: 1 October 2025
Next review date: 1 October 2028
We also update when we know about important changes.
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What's next?
MS diagnosis survey
We want to hear your experience of being diagnosed with MS. It doesn't matter when that was.
Answering our anonymous, short survey will help us shape the support we give people in the future.
The survey closes on Tuesday 30 June.
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