I wish I DID have a good answer for that! My MS fatigue is bad enough now, no one has the guts to comment when I'm puffing and panting, and staggering, and my hands are shaking.

It's the mental exhaustion that so few understand. I fought it for years, now I go ahead and give in to it. If asked, or if I get some snide remark, I liken it to a corded appliance.

I remind them we all have electrical impulses, and MS is a neurological disease. Remind them, when that cord gets old and brittle, and starts to get little tiny cracks, you can't see them for a long time.

But that appliance shorts out every once in awhile, or wavers or flickers, and then recovers. Until that day when suddenly, some spot on that cord gets worn thru completely. And tah dah, that appliance stops in a heartbeat.

Well guys, that's exactly what's happening in my brain. I've had minor shorts in the wiring for years. Some tiny spot just wore thru completely. And no amount of wishing or arguing, or shaking or hitting, will get that appliance started again.

Time for a new cord. If you're lucky, you find one that fits. But eventually there ARE no more cords, and the thing can't be repaired, won't start up ever again.

That's what's going on in my brain, BEEN going on for a long time. And now some of those tiny cracks can't be fixed. It may be the cord that works my legs or arms, or the one that works my eyes or my throat.

Or it could be the one that works my heart or my lungs and... that could be it! So I'm constantly monitoring my cords and, when I see one that's getting a little worn or starting to crack, I work like hell to find some temporary fix, try to buy that appliance a little more time.

Sorry, long story, and I've made it even longer. But that speech usually works. You're describing the situation in terms they can understand. Sometimes you can even see the recognition in their eyes, as it dawns on them WHAT you've been going thru for ages.

Don't talk like it's personal, in that whiny complaining voice we all have. Talk like it's a clock or blender or hair dryer that's wearing out. Try it, it just might work for you. If it doesn't, at least you've been forthright, explained it perfectly... and that person may never understand.

Be sure to acknowledge to yourself that you now have some issues that need to be handled delicately. And you are. And it's working, so far. Just take care of yourself, you know the truth, you're not malingering.

Good thoughts coming your way, OK?

Try reading the "The Spoon Theory" by Christine Miserandino. This article was suggested to me. So, I google it. It was a tremendous help, in explaining how I feel and what I go through every day.

Don't be shy. Tell them exactly what's happening with your body, how it feels, everything you're going throu. There's a book called "MS for Dummies" I found it very helpful in the begining.I found it at the local library while researching this crap.Good Luck!!!=)

This is a difficult issue. Some of us may want to function as normally as possible and still live full lives, but then the people around us may think we have "gotten well." This seems to be sort of a trap. We may hope to be a good example of bucking up and fighting through our difficulties, but then they may think we really don't have any problems.

Each person has a certain degree of empathy or lack. Those with a higher degree will come closest to understanding. Having a lack of empathy doesn't make them a bad person but they will never come close to understanding. How do we appreciate and live with ones that really just don't get it and never will? Some will "get" it and some won't. Striving to make them all understand will just be frustrating and tiresome.

I have to restrain myself from being harsh with family members that are just knocked off their feet by small things that we live with every day. One may feel tired one day and take the day off knowing that they will feel better tomorrow, but for us there is no better tomorrow. Their bad day might be comparable to a best day for us. We need to continue to be sympathetic over the relatively mild difficulties our loved ones face, as we would hope they are for us.

She's right, it may take you having an episode in front of some people for them to get a clear view of what happens. I just took a 2 block walk with a friend yesterday and on the way back she noticed a dramatic drop in my energy.If they're around enough, they will eventually understand. I don't think anybody really gets it unless you have experienced it.