When Meeting New People, When Should I Disclose My MS?

I'm hesitant to tell. My job,boss&close worker new,but didn't talk of it. Don't work anymore. Recently told bank teller.Now she understands. When I'm in pain walking slowly with cane,wobbling movements,people ask if I'm ok. I answer is "this is what it's like to live with MS."
At times comments to me is i know someone with it. So they know. I have been more open now in 7yrs,but when time is right i tell. If someone doesn't know the conditions, hopefully they research it & learn about it. I tell people my nerves in my neck are like a frayed electrical cord. It shorts out,& blows the fuse.

In regards to when should one disclose that they have MS when meeting new people, I feel it depends on one's situation. If one's symptoms are visible then one should disclose their MS.

I’m pretty self conscious of my MS gait so I just tell people I meet. I’ve learned not to fear pity or being judged because it’s borne of ignorance. Plus, I tell people, health struggles and changes in cognition and mobility are on the menu for us all- it’s just a matter of when.

This blog was great to read. I, too, was diagnosed with MS about seven years ago, and I often wonder when is the appropriate time to mention to someone that you have MS.

I feel pretty lucky in that I’m almost 66 years old so I really don’t have a stigma about it at all, and I’m doing pretty good, I just walk with great effort. And I do use a cane. So when people ask about why the cane, for the last couple years I was able to write it off to knee replacement and two back surgeries. But now that I’m completely healed from those, I need to be a little more upfront now.

So I just say I have a MS and I need the cane for balance, and pretty much everybody’s like that’s no big deal because I don’t make a big deal out of it. I look at it like raising kids, ( I have four) If you say something with confidence to them, they will respond In kind and actually feel confident for you. Hopefully this helps, at least it does for me.

I make it up as I go. I often want people to know I have MS because I am not a normal able-bodied young man (I am a single 50-year-old man.). You may think me able-bodied and I may look ok, but truth be told, MS is a motherfucker and only I know the severity of my condition. And sometimes even I get confused.

I don’t go around broadcasting my illness but when my actions are compromised, I often want people to know there is a reason. I still drive, not as much as I once did, and when my vehicle needs serious maintenance like replacing a lightbulb, I ask complete strangers for help. I usually tell them I have MS. Or carrying a tray of food at a restaurant can be problematic.

I don’t work anymore thanks to MS and as a result my social interactions have changed dramatically. As a lawyer, I walked into the courtroom with my cane. I told the judge I would rather tell them when my MS started interfering with my job than being told I should step down. And that’s how it went down.

Life today certainly is not what I expected 10 years ago when I was an able-bodied young man. I share my medical challenges with people when I think they should know. Maybe that’s right, maybe that’s wrong. I don’t know. I did not get the owner’s manual with this condition, so I make it up as I go.

JE

This was interesting to read and also the other comments. There are a LOT of people in my life who still do not know I have MS and im still not sure the reason why im reluctant to share it. I was diagnosed a year and a half ago. It was rough! I feel I am on the other side of it now where Ive forgotten how bad it was for me. I am very positive about it and my future, yet I still feel weird telling people I know about it. Recently my hand was forced to tell my bosses at work about my MS due to DMD's I had taken resulting in a lower immune system and the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic I have to stay home for 12 weeks. I felt fine telling them.....so i think tell people if its relevant/necessary and theres some benefit.