Has anyone had another family member get MS too
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Not me.
My Aunt on my Dad’s side.
As I understand it, MS can run in families. There isn’t any one gene or even a small cluster of genes that dictate whether you get MS but something in a person’s genetic make up makes them more susceptible to developing MS. My guess is that it’s a complex combination of genes makes people susceptible to developing MS when experiencing certain environmental conditions such as chronic or acute stress plus perhaps unhealthy lifestyle and lack of Vitamin D. It’s a mystery!
My sister has MS and is younger than me and diagnosed a long time before me. My two other sister’s have auto immune conditions but not MS.
One has Hashimoto disease and the other many symptoms similar to MS but MRIs clear . Eventually after every test known to man the health professionals decided ME/CFS.
Apparently, the further away you live from the equator, the more likely you can develop multiple sclerosis.
For me, having south-east asian ethnicity, it’s fairly uncommon.
*You can take the MS away from a person, but you cannot take the MS from a person. *
BTW if you’re interested in familial and other risk factors and haven’t come across this yet, you might be interested in the statement on the main part of this MS Society site - a good and reliable source of info on all things MS.
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When I was diagnosed with single attack progressive MS there was no known links within the family. Sadly two years ago my daughter was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS.
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Yes I had two very close family members sadly they are no longer alive. Liz
My eldest brother, no longer alive had MS; his daughter has MS and I have it. So far as we know, no other family members have it.
My aunt also on my dad’s side had ms my cousin hasn’t but her daughter’s have go figure?
Not in my family. I am the only one with MS. However, I have an aunt with rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis runs on my mom’s side.
My case is unusual as I was born and raised in Greece, where there’s loads of sunshine. I moved to the UK in 2004 when I was 24. Lack of vitamin D would not have been a problem for me back then. So, I suspect that something environmental triggered my MS. Maybe stress, maybe less sunshine in England—who knows?
Did you know that even trauma can trigger MS or at least MS relapses? I had a very bad divorce in 2016. My ex-husband left me for a colleague of his, and he eventually married her. I knew her well, and she pretended to be my best friend while cheating with my husband behind my back. That relationship must have lasted 1 year, and I had suspicions, but I couldn’t prove it.
My first MS symptoms appeared when I discovered they got married, just by doing some random Googling and seeing their wedding picture. The situation gave me a horrible panic attack. Anyway, a similar panic attack triggered my second relapse in 2022. After a second panic attack, I woke up with both hands numb. The numbness lasted for nearly nine months and lead to the MS diagnosis. Moral of the story? No stress.
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I think then as I’m now ill-health retired, it may be a good idea to relocate further south, where the sun shines and the climate is warmer. 
Although with my growing list of ill health gripes, I heavily rely on the NHS nowadays, it may be very tricky to obtain free health care for all of my ailments abroad. 
JP
JP, I had similar thoughts. I don’t think that paying for our medication will be supported if we choose to live abroad. Also, not all DMTs for example are available abroad.
Yeah my mum had it, I think one of her cousins and her uncle also had it.
My mum had it
Jackie
X
My paternal grandmother, and I believe she suspected her mother had it also.
Yes my Auntie on my mothers side and her first born son too. Also, my mothers cousin. I have no full siblings just a half sister on my mother side, to date she is well.
My mum’s twin sister had it very very badly and I actually suspect my mum had it but it wasn’t diagnosed (she had other major health problems).
Most of the things I’ve read say it’s not proven but you do keep hearing the same stories.
Epstien Barr Virus is lately seen as a pre-cursor (basically 90% have it, it’s mild for a short period then you have it for life so they haven’t bothered making a vaccine hopefully that’ll change).
Low vitamin D stress etc all not good either.
My mum had MS. I cannot really remember mum being able to walk, it was very aggressive.
My sister and I cared for mum in her latter years.
We lost her at 49
I am very recently diagnosed, and my brother was diagnosed about 4 years ago (he was 38, I’m just 40). Very interesting that our diagnosis journeys are almost identical. Both had leg numbness 4 years prior to diagnosis, both had double vision that lead to diagnosis and now I have numbness and hand tingling, which he also had soon after diagnosis.
I feel like we could earn some money from medical research! 
I knew as soon as the eye drs suggested that my double vision was possibly neurological that I would end up with an MS diagnosis, because of what my bro had already experienced, so I think I’d come to terms with it before it was confirmed. No one else in our family has it that we’re aware of.