diff --git a/ttyverse.pl b/ttyverse.pl
index c7b74ea..a368852 100755
--- a/ttyverse.pl
+++ b/ttyverse.pl
@@ -6608,8 +6608,8 @@ sub dmrefresh {
 				next;
 			}
 			
-			# For background refresh (interactive=0), use unread flag detection with local tracking fallback
-			if (!$interactive && !$sent_dm) {
+			# For background refresh (interactive=0) OR first-time initialization, use unread flag detection with local tracking fallback
+			if ((!$interactive && !$sent_dm) || $dm_first_time) {
 				my $is_unread = $j->{'unread'} || 0;
 				my $conversation_id = $j->{'id'};
 				my $last_status_id = $j->{'last_status'}->{'id'} || $j->{'last_status'}->{'id_str'};
@@ -6624,7 +6624,8 @@ sub dmrefresh {
 				}
 				
 				# For servers that support unread flag, also check that
-				if (!$is_unread && !$dm_seen_status{$tracking_key}) {
+				# But skip this check during first-time initialization to ensure DMs are shown
+				if (!$is_unread && !$dm_seen_status{$tracking_key} && !$dm_first_time) {
 					print $stdout "-- DEBUG: Skipping DM #$i - already read (unread=false)\n" if ($verbose);
 					next;
 				}