Oh my! You are certainly NOT alone Sue.

For some it's their mothers, for me it's my sister.

Not only does she pass on any tiny tit-bit she can lay her hands on, but she thinks I'm making up this whole MS thing!!

When I told her that I'd broken my sacrum in yet another fall a few years ago, and I also had a nasty concussion........she said I fell on purpose to get some sympathy! Hello???

I went through a particularly bad relapse not long before my big bowel cancer operation, and when I mentioned it to my ONLY sister, she told me she was sick of hearing about my @#$%# MS, because she had a sore hip..... and although I'd phoned her and given heaps of advice to try and alleviate her pain, all I wanted was for people to believe that I really have MS. ....when I've obviously made it up to get sympathy!

BTW her doc told her there was nothing wrong with the hip except for very minor arthritis on Xray.

I add here I was diagnosed 31 years ago, and have had some rather nasty exacerbations in between then and now...but.....she's always sicker than I am no matter what I've been through.

It's got to the stage that I tell her nothing any more, and she's the only "family" I have left now apart from DH, our children and a cousin!

* I'm sorry Sue if I hijacked your thread! I didn't mean to.

Koala, my feeling is that when you get to a certain age you can pick your own family.

I'll volunteer to be a "sister" as I have no bio sisters. I do have a bio brother, but he's about as worthless a bro as boobs on a bull or fiberfill in Madonna's bra.

Thank you Gazelle. I must admit that in the midst of my own little pity party, I forgot about all my sisters, and my brothers here on NT. Please forgive me everybody.

Honey, I didn't see a pity party. I saw an intelligent woman discussing the problem that she had with her sister.

And you NEVER forget about your NT family. Ok, at least not from what I've seen.

Vent away, Sue. We won't tell anybody..

My Dear old Mom and her Mom were old Irish gossips. If they knew then everyone knew.. I just had to get used to it. They meant no harm, just had to do it. I broke the cycle...You can tell me anything and I will not repeat it, unless you want me to do so. My DD is the same way.

I've got several family members (aunts and cousins) who think that I'm faking the MS. They've always thought that I was a hypochondriac (because my mom is one, and I'm apparently guilty by association) They just found out recently about my MS, and I've heard thru another family member that they think I'm nuts and that there's nothing wrong with me

I havent talked to those family members...my last surviving uncle on my dad's side of the family (dad's brother-in-law) is dying of cancer, and I've only got MS...I dont want to draw the attention away from them. My uncle has a few months left, and his kids and our other relatives need to focus on him. They dont like me or my mom anyways, so I'm staying away from their toxic hatred for my mom.

I'd like to make those family members that dont believe me about the MS experience the funky symptoms of MS that I've had so far...not for a long time, maybe a day of vertigo, numbness and some nasty spasticity...and a little optic neuritis thrown in just for fun. Maybe then they'd understand that a lot of MS symptoms are invisible and very disturbing and distressing.

At least I have one (second or third?) cousin who believes me about the MS. She has it too. (and she's way worse than I am...I'm lucky so far)

It sure does hurt at times, doesn't it Erin?

To others who also have similar stories........hugs to everybody.

thanks everyone I am keeping things to myself now and my mom willnot be hearing things from me anymore. I will tell my Dad I know that he can keep quite about things. She still thinks that she did noting wrong. I guess it is her loss.

thanks again for letting me vent and to let me know that I am not the only one.