What should my care partner know about RRMS?

Being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, or RRMS, can affect your entire family. In this video, Mitzi Joi Williams, MD, explains the importance of educating your family and care partner about common MS symptoms and treatments.

Transcript

00:00

Hi, Dr. Mitzi. So a relapse in MS can affect me really emotionally.

00:08

And I also feel like it's affecting my relationship with my care partner. What should my care partner know about relapse in MS?

00:16

Thank you so much for sharing that, Gloribel. And know that you are not alone. This happens with many people who are living with MS as well as their care partners,

00:24

because MS is a disease that affects the whole family. So it does not just affect the person involved,

00:30

but because it can affect their ability to work and their interactions with family members, care partners are also significantly affected.

00:37

What is most important for a care partner of someone living with MS to know is that they need to educate themselves

00:44

about the disease. There are many symptoms of MS that are very easy to see as disability.

00:50

But there are also many silent symptoms of multiple sclerosis. And these symptoms are ones that can often be mistaken for other things and may cause friction

00:59

in relationships. So for instance, fatigue can be a very big factor in multiple sclerosis that can even take people out

01:06

of the workforce in some cases. But if a care partner does not know that that's an actual symptom of MS,

01:13

they can mistake it for laziness. Also, cognitive dysfunction is another symptom that can be mistaken for someone not listening or not

01:21

paying attention. So it's important for them to educate themselves about the condition so that they can recognize some of these signs and symptoms

01:28

and know that they are issues related to the disease and not necessarily relate it to a person not paying attention or not wanting