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My sister was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago. 2 months ago I had a MRI scan which confirmed that I too had MS. What are the chances? Apparently 3%. Is it just pure coincidence or just bad luck? They say it's not genetic but why does my family have numerous amounts of autoimmune system diseases? That too can't be a coincident.
Has anyone else got family members that suffer from MS?

Hello Ari, sorry to hear about this.

My sister has psoriasis (& her son is mildly autistic).
And our mother is an asthmatic.
I feel that all of these are at their root environmental.
My mother feels guilty... Since asthma is an auto immune disorder.

Hi Laura,

Thanks for your reply. My mother has a thyroid condition, my auntie has rheumatoid arthritis, two of my cousins have autism, my grandmother has a B12 deficiency. Besides the MS I had an over active thyroid which came on after the birth of my son. My doctor said the pregnancy brought it on. He said it offen happens when you have auto immune deseases in the family. My mum also feels guilty but I know it's not her fault. Now that I know all of this I'm not sure if I want to risk having another baby. (I have a 6 month old).

Sorry to hear about you and your sister, but it does happen. I was also dx about ten years after my sister. I think I ended up being dx so quickly because I was so aware because my younger sister had already been dx. The good news is I believe we have been able to support each other and come at MS from different directions. She convinced me to start copaxone right away and I convinced her to start Vit. D and the best bet diet. Both of us are doing very well with the exception of my sister having trouble with depression. To finish we also had an uncle who died of MS several years ago, he in a way he also helped us by showing what can happen with no copaxone, vit/d, he did smoke, no change in diet, but he did not have access to the information we do today.

It seems like it is alot more commen then I realised. Over the last 10 years I have learnt alot about MS from my sister. In a way it really helps me. But on the other hand I also saw all the bad that happened to her when she was first diagnosed (she had 12 relapses in 1 year). That makes it hard for me. But I think you're right, we need to support each other now. Thanks for your advice.

Hey ari! I was officially diagnosed with ms a month ago (although I had my first bout of optic neuritis 3 years ago). My sister has now been told she also has active lesions on her brain - she sees a Neuro next week to find out exactly what's going on, but it may end up both of us get diagnosed within a month. We also have a lot of family members with various auto immune diseases - mainly graves disease. So I agree with you... if there really is only a 3% chance then our families are damn unlucky

My aunt had MS, my mum has autoimmune thyroid disease

It seems like there are a lot of people with family members who also have autoimmune diseases. And majority seem to be female. A lot of people I've spoken to also have low vitamin D levels. Surely there's a link.

Ari wrote:My sister was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago. 2 months ago I had a MRI scan which confirmed that I too had MS. What are the chances? Apparently 3%. Is it just pure coincidence or just bad luck? They say it's not genetic but why does my family have numerous amounts of autoimmune system diseases? That too can't be a coincident.
Has anyone else got family members that suffer from MS?

Immune system diseases have been classified in the wrong way.
Many of these diseases have a common cause in the gut and may be somewhat genetically determined.
Also, the narrowing of neck veins may be passed from one generation to the other..
Further explanation on http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... 15188.html
Just read the last few pages, and you will get the picture..

I have also heard about the link to the gut. And in my situation I think it's very relevant. I was severely ill for a year due to an issue with my gut. But this was 4 years ago. The first symptoms of MS I recall were two years ago, when I first started fertility treatment.

Hi my name is Bryan

My mother was diagnosed with MS in 07. I do think it has to be some kind of genetic coincidence because my aunt also has MS just not as worse as my mother. My mother is only 42 and was diagnosed at the age of 37. As of now she can hardly move, she used to use a cane but it cant support her balance anymore so now she uses a walker. I dont know much about my aunt's symptoms but all i can remember was that she would have some sort of attacks somewhere around her face that would cause her to twitch in a violent way. My aunt is recieving treatment and she looks very well. As for my mother. She's tried 3 treatments and nothing has worked for her. She started taking Gilenya but it seems as its not working for her at all. Things are only getting worse and worse for her. Doctors at USC are worried and dont understand what really seems to be causing the nerves in her legs to weaken. I really hope for a miracle.

Hi Bryan, I'm so sorry to hear about your mum. It's a lot to deal with when your mum is sick and it's out of your control. Miracles do happen. I have seen my sister to the point of no return, only to recover a year later. It does happen. Try not to read all the horror stories. Everyone's experience with MS is different.