My friends are too caring & sympathetic

[Cartoonist2]

When I was diagnosed, I loft over 30 friends and kept 6. Those 4 are nice, but I'm not smothered with love. I knew this would happen, my dad, when he was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumor, lost his friends too. Most people just used him and and me to have stuff done for them, when that wasn't possible anymore, they just didn't care anymore. At least I was prepared for it.

Luckily, I found many friends, real ones, over the internet.

Just enjoy your friends attention and when you feel cramped, just say so in a calm and constructive way.

[salamandertom]

wow, that is a toughie. LOL, I am blunt and opinionated too - I thought about your situation and wondered what I would do and honestly I don't know! I mean, that is hard.

I think if you tell them you are the same YOU, you just now have this new "label" that is on you, but you don't want this tag to define you. You want it to be a sidenote - like WOW, she is all of this AND she has MS. I mean, that is how I try to look at MS. I am sure it is how you want to deal with it too. Tell them it is just an annoying dx, that is trying to ruin your life, but you won't let it and when they act they way they do (which you appreciate) it makes you feel like you are sick (which you know you are) but you want to feel strong.

I don't know if any of that made sense - but I hope it helped somehow! HUGS.

[Spydre]

I've had a similar situation. My mom, being a nurse, found out all that she could about the medication I was originally on. And she looked up MS stuff too. Which I liked because I could talk to her about it. My mother in law found nothing about ms, and will tell you, "well the only thing I know about ms is a girl I went to college with has it." Unfortunately, when we talk, she immediately starts out with how are you feeling. My take is does she REALLY want to know - she doesn't even remember the stuff that I tell her about MS. My sister is the polar opposite - the "I know 2 people with ms and one's in a wheelchair and I prayed for you and you're gonna be fine." I don't talk to her about the MS that much.

I have to say, one of my best friends is the greatest. We both have mental health issues, so we were already in the habit of venting to each other about that. Now there's just something else to talk about when I need it. He'll ask how I am (never how do you feel) and if I need to talk I'll talk, but he never pushes. And my mom never pushes.