Myasthenia Gravis- another possiblity

I have been accepting of my diagnosis of Neuralgic Amyotrophy in the past. Of course I have kept looking just in case something else popped up of interest that may be a closer match. I may have found that. Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease (what isn’t an autoimmune disease anymore?) that explains quite a few of my current symptoms, including the weakness in my eyes and my fluctuating muscle strength. If you search “fluctuating muscle function” you will only come up with the one disease; Myasthenia Gravis.

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myasthenia_gravis Myasthenia Gravis “is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatigability. It is an autoimmune disorder, in which weakness is caused by circulating antibodies that block acetylcholine receptors at the post-synaptic neuromuscular junction,[1] inhibiting the simulative effect of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Myasthenia is treated medically with cholinesterase inhibitors or immunosuppressants, and, in selected cases, thymectomy. At 200–400 cases per million it is one of the less common autoimmune disorders.”

They go on to say that it can be difficult to diagnose due to subtle differences in presentation of symptoms and similarities to other diseases, and that it tends to run in families that have other autoimmune diseases.

One thing that always perplexed me about my condition was that it seemed that my eye problems started about the same time as my most recent attack. MG would explain that. It can cause double vision and blurriness of vision. I had this very suddenly only a few months after my eyes had been checked and were said to be OK. I am not sure I had mentioned that before all this started, I also had an episode of rapid eye movement (while totally awake). And MG would also explain the intermittent return to strength followed by weakness again after intense exercise, as mentioned earlier when I quickly worked up to 25 pushups done twice in one day, followed by a collapse of strength the next day, and for a few weeks after. By the way, I am now up to 16 pushups. As much as my muscles were shaking when I tried last week to get to 14, I have been able to do 16 once since then.

So, this is something else to consider. I know that there were a few of you out there who had issues with your eyes as I have also had. I am going to ask my Doctor if MG could be the underlying cause of my problems. Of course, nothing says I could not have NA and MG. I may have to start another blog yet.

For more Myasthenia Gravis information, see this site:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myasthenia_gravis/detail_myasthenia_gravis.htm

They point out the common symptoms listed here from the site:

"In most cases, the first noticeable symptom is weakness of the eye muscles. In others, difficulty in swallowing and slurred speech may be the first signs. The degree of muscle weakness involved in myasthenia gravis varies greatly among patients, ranging from a localized form, limited to eye muscles (ocular myasthenia), to a severe or generalized form in which many muscles - sometimes including those that control breathing - are affected. Symptoms, which vary in type and severity, may include a drooping of one or both eyelids (ptosis), blurred or double vision (diplopia) due to weakness of the muscles that control eye movements, unstable or waddling gait, weakness in arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck, a change in facial expression, difficulty in swallowing and shortness of breath, and impaired speech (dysarthria)."