I got an information sheet from Caremark that I might photocopy and hand to a few select friends and family members...not as an "in your face" thing, but because I haven't done a very good job of explaining it myself.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the sheet:

"For many patients, fatigue is the most disabling symptom of their disease..."

"The fatigue experienced by patients with MS is more severe than fatigue experienced by other people. This is because it is a neurological fatigue, associated with the MS disease process..."

"The extreme fatigue that characterizes multiple sclerosis is different from normal fatugue in that it: occurs daily; gets worse late in the day; manifests suddenly; often worsens with heat, physical exertion or emotional stress."

"The fatigue of MS has no direct correlation with a person's degree of physical impairment, nor does it occur because of depression..."

"One of the most frustrating aspects of MS is that sometimes friends, family or coworkers mistake fatigue for depression or laziness..."