Two sisters have spoken of the shock of being diagnosed with MS within a year

Kimberley Lindsay and Amanda Sunter were both diagnosed at the age of 28.

According to statistics siblings have a one in 37 risk of developing the disease if a brother or sister has it.

Both women had suffered symptoms of numbness and tingling for years before they were told they had the relapsing remitting form of the neurological condition.

Amanda, 33, had a lumbar puncture to test for the disease but says her results were misplaced.

She thought she had a viral infection and it took another relapse five years later before a second lumbar puncture, in 2014, proved she had MS.

Amanda, who works for healthcare insurance company Cigna in Greenock, said: "I was shocked and started crying.

"I was really upset."

She has tried a succession of disease modification drugs over the years but suffered side-effects including flushing, stomach upset, skin irritation and high blood pressure.

Over the last year, she has found more success with a treatment named Avonex Interferon and has had no relapses.

But the MS has taken its toll on Amanda in other ways and has suffered from depression and has now been forced to reduce her hours at work.

Amanda, of Bank Street, said: "I was off work for a year with anxiety and depression.

"I lost my gran and we lost the family dog and all the stress triggered a relapse."

There had been suspicions that Kimberley, 32, had MS years previously and she too had been tested without any conclusive results.

Kimberley who lives with her husband William in Gourock's Sharp Street, said: "The first reason doctors thought I had MS was I had optic neuritis.

"It was the first trigger but it took years for me to be diagnosed.

"A long while after that I had a MRI scan but this was inconclusive and it wasn't until I got really bad symptoms that I was diagnosed."

It was also discovered that Kimberley had fibromyalgia, which causes pain all over the body, muscle stiffness and fatigue.

She had also previously been diagnosed with Crohn's disease when she was 16.

It wasn't until she had a bad relapse that a lumbar puncture confirmed her fears about MS.

Kimberley said: "I lost the feeling down the right hand side of my body and face and had double vision and it wasn't getting any better."

But she admits it was a relief to finally know what was wrong.

She said: "You're made to feel as if you are lying about everything so I felt relieved."

Both siblings suffer the effects of MS in different ways with fatigue a big problem for Amanda, so much so that she has to take medication to keep her awake.

The combination of Crohn's and MS means Kimberley is unable to work.

As well as dealing with the condition the sisters have to juggle the side effects of the drugs to treat it and the unpredictability of MS.

Kimberley said: "You could wake up one morning and not be able to walk.

"It feels like being on a boat swaying from side to side."

Kimberley's treatment was also a case of trial and error and she is currently receiving monthly infusions of a disease modification drug.

She is only allowed to stay on it for a certain period of time as it can eventually cause the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML.

This is a viral infection of the brain caused by the John Cunningham (JC) virus that can be fatal, and there is no cure.

Both sisters are JC-positive, so are vulnerable to such an infection.

Their mum Rose, 55, a nurse at the Larkfield Unit, had cared for people with MS during her career and was devastated that two of her three daughters had the condition.

She said: "I thought maybe it was related in some way, but no, I was told it was just bad luck.

"No-one else in the family has MS."

Rose and her husband Gordon, who live in Cardwell Road, have another daughter Melissa, 34, who has also been tested but thankfully does not have MS.

The MS Trust says that 1 in 600 of the UK population has MS but it is not considered hereditary.

There may be a genetic susceptibility but many people diagnosed don't have a family history of the condition.

The sisters say they are a good support for one another.

Kimberley said: "I got someone else who understands what I'm going through."

The pair have also found a lifeline with support group Revive MS Support and they and family friend Helen Coyle, who works with Rose, have helped to recently raise £3,540 for the charity.

The women say Revive has been a tower of strength, offering everything from access to a MS nurse and welfare advice to counselling, therapies, groups and classes.

They want to thank everyone who supported their fundraiser in the Port Hibs Hall.

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Kimberley, left, and Amanda.

From left, Rose Sunter, Amanda Sunter, Caroline McGuinnes, Revive fundraising manager, Kimberley Lindsay and Helen Coyle