Could it be that your mom is just of the mind that everyone needs to be strong & learn to deal with things & not dwell on things, no matter what that may be? It's not a bad thing. It's good to be strong, it's just hard when you are overly strong about your health & you don't want to let it show that you might be ill...

Maybe she just has never wanted to let on that she was sick for whatever reason.

I know my mom is like that...I also think she might have MS...cause her eye has been drooping for awhile on & off (sure it could be due to other issues as well), but when I got sick & heard that some cases have the genetic component...I begin to wonder about me & my mom. I never really saw her get too ill, just lately her eye drooping...Then when she went to her eye doctor to check to see if her glasses needed to be changed & the doctor said she needed to see & Neuro...it really makes you wonder.

So maybe yes, there is a genetic component in our cases & maybe these are all due to other diseases...

I have also heard that people with MS sometimes don't get other family members with MS exactly, but they can have other family members that have diseases that are in the same "group" of diseases as MS...IF there is that genetic component running in the family!...if that makes any sense. I hope it does! Hehe!

Take care,
Stay sane!

That is very interesting BelueMyst, I never thought of MS as being in a cluster of other similar diseases/illnesses. My uncle has dysphonia and writer's cramp, both are forms of dystonia. I don't know if dystonia is related at all or not. My grandpa has always had hemifacial spasms when he talks. And my mom told me a long time ago about how she has synesthesia (a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway) after we watched a show about it on tv. My whole family seems to have bizarre and unusual issues. I never thought that any of them might be related before now, just that it was weird that we all seem to have something "rare".

Besides the genetic component ( I know of numerous niece/aunts who have MS and lots of cousins with MS and a couple of mother/daughters) which I feel really brands us with the tendency to get it, there is also the poisons we are exposed to component.

I wonder if the degree in which you have MS is related to the amount of poisons/toxins you are exposed to. In my research, there are some similarities about people with MS and cancers and the amount of pollution/pesticides/sewage sludge, etc. in their environment. I think that the degree to which we are exposed is what kind of MS we have.

Regarding your mom, Stuckathome, maybe she did have it. I have a MS friend who had a mother (now deceased) who she thought might have had MS, but it was never dx because it wasn't serious enough to have been dx. So you instincts could very well be correct. I think that you are on to something.

My mother had MS. I found out after she had passed away. She had numerous surgeries on her legs, feet, knees, etc. None of these operations seemed to help her much. She went through periods where she walked with a cane, quad cane, walker and even a wheelchair at times. She was only diagnosed after a car accident left her with dizzy spells that could not be explained. Then came the MRI scan of the brain which showed MS lesions. :(
She never told me. I guess she felt guilty having passed on this curse of a disease to her daughter. Thanks for nothing there Mommie Dearest.
It angers me that she didn't tell me. Instead she seemed to enjoy calling me names, etc. at times. It was an abusive relationship from the beginning.
I feel sorry for her. I wish she'd been honest with me however instead of making me feel like a useless freak.

My Mom has also been told she "may" have benign MS. She had two episodes where she went numb completely on one side, and once she went blind in one eye for a week . Back then there were not alot of MRI's done so she had a spinal tap, nothing showed.

She has had fatigue all her life but just figured it was usual, that everyone felt that way from working, life, kids etc....

Interesting thread StuckAtHome...I just started a topic like this the other day (sorry, hadn't read this one till now)...as I had JUST found out (that same day) that my biological father (whom I've NEVER even seen) has MS...& has had it for some time...severely disabled with it for some time now! This of course, totally freaked me out...as I've been thinking (as have doctors) that I might have MS for 4 years now! So...like you...I'm thinking a genetic factor plays a role as well!

Hope4acure...so sad your Mom did that to you. However, I was also wondering why my grandmother (Mom's mom) didn't tell me about my Dad...as she was the one who told my aunt (my Mom's sister...Mom died right after I turned 18). I was thinking that MAYBE she didn't tell me...bc she didn't want to WORRY me...as I was always a worrier...as she was. But it still upsets me...bc even then (grandmother found out about 12 yrs ago...as she was still close to my biological g-mother) I was having "odd" symptoms that no one could figure out...& she KNEW that my 2nd cousin (Mom's 1st) & I had the very same symptoms! They found out she had MS about 10 yrs ago! It's all so very frustrating. Then again...maybe my grandmother was in denial...as she was soooo protective over me, after Mom died! Maybe your Mom was trying to protect you is some strange way as well! Guess we'll find out some day! {{hugs}}
~tj