Hi
Hope everyone is as well as can be expected.
I was wondereing if anyone else has family members diagnosed with MS.
My son is 24 and appears to be suffering with some minor symptoms i.e vertigo, pain and numbness. He has been referred to for an MRI and I know it is not classed as a hereditary disease but wondered if anyone had any information/knowlwdge on this matter.
Thank you very much.
Sue
Hiya,
MS is NOT hereditary but there is a propensity for whatever MS to be in a family so hence the gene theory. See http://professionals.mssociety.org.uk/content/overview-ms-and-symptoms
If at a later date it is proved that your son has MS at last research in-roads into finding a cure; won’t be long.
G
ms isnt herditary,it can be familial,which means that there can be some families, that have more than one member with it ,but it isnt directly passed on through genes, i was told all this when my son started showing signs of it.
J x
I admire your optimism in believing a cure won’t be long. I find it hard to believe.
Hi Sue
Have you mentioned your concerns to your son? If he’s having an MRI, I assume so.
I’ve got a bit of an “elephant in the room” situation going on with my son at the moment! I think he’s showing some symptoms, but am not brave enough at this very early stage to say “Hey, I think it may be MS!”
When he was about 15, he complained about feeling “like he wasn’t really there” and recently saying that he had a poor memory (we even got as far as seeing the GP, but he didn’t seem that interested saying that he had got through his A-levels OK, so it can’t be that bad!).
He’s now 20 and several weeks ago complained about having a painful tight chest.
“OK” I thought “Now my alarm bells are ringing!”
Anyway he saw the GP who sent him for an ECG, then for a scan and much to my relief he’s got fluid on his heart - I guess knowing what we know makes any other condition sound good!
He’s also now complaining of numbness in his leg.
I can cross MS Hug off the list, but I think next symptom, we’ve got to have a serious talk
Emma x
Go to Page 5 and there is decent article on risk in the family. Try not to worry too much about something you have no control over and hopefully, the MRI results will bring good news.
Hi all,my mum suffered from ms this horrible disease sadly beat her but I will say it was 23years ago and the drugs we have today were not available then. Also my mums niece has it I was told it isn’t hereditary I but it is down to genes and that it was kind of like a gigsaw puzzle you may have a type of gene but you need more than just the gene to make the puzzle so if 1 piece is missing doesn’t necessarily mean you will have or get ms,we’ll this is how it was explained to me unfortunately I had all the pieces. I have children myself and hope and pray they don’t have to go down the same road x
Here’s a link to the bit about family history on the main part of this MSS site:
It explains that MS is not hereditary like cystic fibrosis, where the odds two carriers of a clearly-identified faulty gene producing a baby with CF can be precisely calculated.
With MS, there is sometimes but not always a familial element, though - some of us with MS on here have a relative (or more than one) who’s got it, although many of us (including me) are the only one in the whole family. Having a close relative with MS does slightly raise a person’s risk of developing MS, but it remains way, way more likely that he won’t develop it.
Alison
My understanding of the situation is that whilst not hereditary (ie. you are guaranteed to get it) it is genetic (ie. you are more susceptible to get it than most).
My mum had it. Now i have it. It being such a personal affliction however, i have resisted the temptation of finding out the details of her onset and progression (i was only about 5 or 6 years old at the time of her diagnosis). There really is nothing to be gained from comparing symptoms etc even between the closest of relatives.
I have it and my 22 year old daughter was also diagnosed this summer. Her early symptoms were almost exactly the same as mine although she didn’t suffer the horrible neuralgia I did.
I live in hope that treatments get better for her generation of sufferers and that society is kinder to them.
Thank you everyone for your replies and support. I think all I can do is wait for my son to have his MRI and see what happens. I will read the links you have kindly attached for me.
Snowflake 321 - I have not mentioned my fears to my son that he could be being checked for ms. He has had different symptoms for a few years now, and I have thought many times that his symptoms are ringing bells, but still have said nothing. I am the same as you and not brave enough to mention the possibility. I hope your son has no further symptoms.
Ggood- I’m with you that a cure will be round the corner.
Sue