Invisible MS Symptoms Are Real, Whether or Not Other People Believe Us

I had an opportunity to talk about invisible MS symptoms this week. While recording a two-part radio program (I’ll put up a link when it airs) in support of the Irish edition of my memoir, Chef Interrupted, earlier this week, the host of the show asked quite a few questions about multiple sclerosis (MS). He observed that my obvious symptoms seemed much less severe than those of someone else he knows who has MS. It wasn’t the “but you look so good” or “you don’t look sick” sort of comments, but I knew where your man was going. So I brought up the analogy of the MS iceberg and told him that he was only seeing about 10 percent of what I was experiencing at the time. He seemed to understand that a bit better. Resources for Explaining Invisible Symptoms Invisible symptoms of MS are some of the most difficult to explain (and be believed about). The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has a great, two-part video about these symptoms (here’s Part 1, and here’s Part 2). They’ve also just printed a piece about some of the less common symptoms of MS in a recent issue of Momentum magazine. The Frustration of Not Being Believed I suppose having someone interview you and ask about these invisible symptoms is quite a bit different from having a family member (or friend, or employer, or insurance company) question whether we’re really experiencing these difficulties. Just because they can’t see my vision problems or bladder symptoms or know that I cannot ...
Source: Life with MS - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: multiple sclerosis awareness Living with MS MS and family Symptom management symptoms trevis gleason Source Type: blogs