Just been told my partner has MS

Hi all,

This is my first post, my new partner has just told me he has MS. I’ve been trying to find out more about MS and all I see are posts about medical jargon, but (obviously from asking him which we will talk about) how does MS affect people day to day, I know it varies from person to person but I would love to know peoples experience with it, the good, the bad, the funny!

Also, any tips on getting that conversation about his symptoms going? (I also have health issues and talk openly about them but I know not everyone is like that, how do I ask more without feeling like I’m prying - really early days in the relationship but I want to show him support).

Thanks for any ideas, tips ans stories.

Much Love

Hi, Welcome to the forum. It’s a difficult condition to be certain of, everyone’s experience can vary greatly. Hopefully this info will help: 10 ways to help your partner if they have MS | MS Trust Relationships and family life | MS Trust https://support.mstrust.org.uk/file/store-pdfs/Explaining-MS-to-others-WEB.pdf

Hello

You can also look at the tab on this site at the top marked About MS.

And of course, a trawl through the various posts on here will give you lots of thoughts about potential symptoms.

To some extent though, you need to take a lead from him. Many men are reluctant to talk about their health, possibly partly through fear, not knowing what’s ahead. So treat him gently, let him know you’re ready and willing to take an interest, but let him set the pace.

Let us know if there’s anything in particular you want to know about. It might be most useful to know what variety of MS he’s been diagnosed with, whether he qualifies for disease modifying drugs (depending on whether he’s relapsing remitting or progressive), and what kinds of symptoms he’s facing immediately.

You could also see if he’s interested in joining this forum. Sometimes men prefer to find out from other men how they deal with the damned disease.

Best of luck.

Sue