Myasthenia Gravis And Chronic Fatigue

What Organs Does Myasthenia Gravis Affect

Myasthenia gravis – Easy Fatigue, Double Vision, and Pyridostigmine

Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles.

Myasthenia gravis affects the voluntary muscles of the body, especially those that control the eyes, mouth, throat and limbs.

Strategies I Use To Manage Fatigue

Iâve figured out a few strategies and adaptations to manage fatigue and function better.

I have a gadget that breaks the seal on jars so I can open new ones easily. Automatic can openers are helpful. I even figured out that if I attach a belt to my laundry basket, I can drag it around, which makes laundry easier and works nicely when Iâm doing yardwork and need to clean up weeds or sticks.

Iâve learned that if I struggle with a task, thereâs often a simpler, less strenuous way to get it done. It just requires a little creativity.

For other tasks that are simply beyond my abilities, I have a few people who are always just a phone call away. While I absolutely hate asking for help, I couldnât be more grateful for these people in my life. Iâve also learned a lot from my local MD support group.

On the days leading up to my treatment, I plan ahead. I try to make sure I have everything I may need, so I donât have to ask for help later. I try to do everything that needs to be done, so I can rest during my series and feel as good as possible after it.

Iâve found that sometimes Tylenol can help manage the severity of fatigue. It seems to delay the onset of pain, which sometimes delays the fatigue. If I have a long day or two planned, Iâll wake up and take Tylenol first thing to help slow the fatigue and then Iâll take it throughout the day to help me last.

How Is Yale Medicine’s Approach To Myasthenia Gravis Unique

Clinicians at Yale Medicine are determined to find the right treatment for each individual. The Myasthenia Gravis Clinic emphasizes precision medicine, or customized treatment determined by each patients specific symptoms and medical history. The risks and benefits of each therapeutic option is carefully considered and discussed with each patient. The clinic is also designated by the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America as a national “Partner in MG Care” site.

Patients at the clinic have the option of enrolling in clinical trials of new, not-yet-approved therapies and other advanced diagnostics.

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Mgfa Classification Of Myasthenia Gravis

In May 1997, the Medical Scientific Advisory Board of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America formed a task force to address the need for universally accepted classifications, grading systems, and analytic methods for management of patients undergoing therapy and for use in therapeutic research trials. As a result, the MGFA Clinical Classification was created. This classification divides MG into 5 main classes and several subclasses, as follows.

Class I: Any ocular muscle weakness may have weakness of eye closure. All other muscle strength is normal.

Class II: Mild weakness affecting other than ocular muscles may also have ocular muscle weakness of any severity.
Class IIa: Predominantly affecting limb, axial muscles, or both. May also have lesser involvement of oropharyngeal muscles.
Class IIb: Predominantly affecting oropharyngeal, respiratory muscles, or both. May also have lesser or equal involvement of limb, axial muscles, or both.

Class III: Moderate weakness affecting other than ocular muscle may also have ocular muscle weakness of any severity

Class IIIa: Predominantly affecting limb, axial muscles, or both. May also have lesser involvement of oropharyngeal muscles.

Class IIIb MG: Predominantly affecting oropharyngeal, respiratory muscles, or both. May also have lesser or equal involvement of limb, axial muscles, or both.

Class IV: Severe weakness affecting other than ocular muscles may also have ocular muscle weakness of any severity.

Myasthenia Gravis : Definition Symptoms Causes Types Diagnosis Prognosis Pathophysiology Complications Treatment Living With Myasthenia Gravis

Pin by The Whittakers on Myasthenia awareness

Myasthenia gravis is a serious neuromuscular and autoimmune disorder that leads to weakness in the skeletal muscles which gets worse after doing any activity. Myasthenia gravis has no known cure yet, but therapies are under practice to improve the quality of life for patients having this autoimmune disorder. The neuromuscular symptoms of myasthenia gravis get better after resting for a period of time. The name of Myasthenia Gravis comes from Latin and Greek origin which means serious or grave muscular weakness. The immune system mistakenly attacks on the skeletal muscles, these skeletal muscles are responsible for various important functions like moving body parts and breathing. However, the patients having myasthenia gravis can have a normal life expectancy but their quality of life decreases a lot due to inability to move.

Memes About Myasthenia Gravis Symptoms

I found it difficult to find worthy memes about myasthenia gravis symptoms. The truth about mg symptoms are that most of them arent funny.

Itd be in pretty bad taste to post a pirate wearing an eye patch for their double vision or of someone being like the toys from ToyStory collapsing to the ground because of leg weakness.

Or maybe Im still very sensitive about my symptoms.

I will say this from personal experience that when my symptoms start to flare up, I begin to stress, and stress just intensities my symptoms. Soon literally everything is flaring.

MG symptoms are serious and if a flare-up isnt addressed, it can lead to an MG crisis.

Impact And Prognosis Of Me/cfs

Nacul L.

Lacerda E.M.

Pharmacoecon Open.

Campion P.

et al.

BMC Public Health.J Chronic Fatigue Syndr.

Cox D.L.

Findley L.J.

Br J Occup Ther.

Mild: mobile and self-caring may continue working but will have reduced other activities

Moderate: reduced mobility, restricted in instrumental activities of daily living, needs frequent periods of rest usually not working
Severe: mostly housebound limited to minimal activities of daily living severe cognitive difficulties may be wheelchair dependent
Very severe: mostly bedridden unable to independently carry out most activities of daily living often experience extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and other sensory input

Tian H.
et al.

Am J Epidemiol.Chronic Illn.

Qual Life Res.Disabil Rehabil.Occup Med .

Rehabil Psychol.Front Pediatr.Fatigue.

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Signs And Symptoms Of Myasthenia Gravis

The muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis is typically at its worst after periods of physical activity and gets better following rest.

However, the muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expressions, chewing, talking, and swallowing are often affected, making certain everyday activities challenging.

The onset of myasthenia gravis can be sudden in some people, and the degree of muscle weakness varies from person to person.

The condition can be challenging to diagnose because its symptoms mirror those of several other conditions, including generalized fatigue, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , and botulism.

Although symptoms vary slightly from one person to the next, most people with myasthenia gravis will experience at least some of the following:

Weakness of the arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck

Weakness of the eye muscles
Drooping of one or both eyelids
Blurred or double vision

Alterations in facial expressions

Extreme heat
Medication such as beta-blockers, quinidine gluconate, quinidine sulfate, quinine, phenytoin, some anesthetics, and some antibiotics

Even though some types of medication have been shown to worsen the symptoms of myasthenia gravis, they may still be used if its more important to treat another underlying health condition, such as an infection or high blood pressure.

If drug treatment for another condition is worsening your myasthenia gravis, ask your doctor if there are other options.

Complications Of Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia Gravis (Medical Definition) Quick Explainer Video

While complications of myasthenia gravis are treatable, some can be life-threatening.

Complications may include the following:

Myasthenic crisis is a life-threatening condition that affects breathing and requires immediate treatment for the person to be able to breathe on their own.
People with myasthenia gravis may also experience more severe symptoms from high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease than others.

Thymus tumors, which usually are not cancerous, occur in about 10 percent of people with myasthenia gravis, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders .
People with myasthenia gravis are more likely to have underactive or overactive thyroid and autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

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What Is The Diagnosis Of Myasthenia Gravis

Frequently myasthenia gravis can be more challenging to diagnose, and the physician needs to perform several types of tests to diagnose appropriately. The diagnosis is based on your past or present medical history with appearing signs and symptoms.

Your doctor also thinks and asks you about any brain problems that help to diagnose myasthenia gravis. Your physician properly reviews your symptoms and conduct a physical examination. It may includes

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What Are The Treatment Options For Myasthenia Gravis

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating MG. It sometimes takes several months to find the best course of treatment. Patients will receive a personalized treatment regimen that may involve the following.

Steroids: A class of drugs commonly used to treat autoimmune disease. But steroids are not necessarily a good long-term option. When taken for years, steroids can lead to other health problems, such as elevated blood pressure and increased risk of infection.

Pyridostigmine: A synthetic drug that boosts the connection between muscle cells and nerve cells, leading to improved muscle strength and contraction. This drug is not considered a cure because if a patient stops taking it, muscle weakness will return.
Immunosuppressants: A class of drugs that can suppress the bodys immune system, which helps lessen the symptoms of MG. These drugs include azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil.
Intravenous Immunoglobulin : A blood product that contains purified antibodies that have been isolated from donated blood.

Plasmapheresis: A process during which a patients blood is filtered to remove the antibodies that interfere with the communication between nerve and muscle cells. When combined with oral medication, it can benefit patients with MG.
Surgery: Patients who have a thymoma, or a noncancerous tumor on the thymus gland, will need to have the tumor surgically removed in a procedure called a thymectomy.

Genetic Predisposition To Ebv Infection

The diversity of human leukocyte antigen molecules results from selective pressure during co-evolution with pathogens . A characteristic of HLA diversity is the long-term persistence of allelic lineages, which causes trans-species polymorphisms to be shared among closely related species . In humans, there are 13 allelic lineages of DRB1 and, according to the phylogenetic relationship between the different DRB genes of primates described by Bontrop et al, the DRB1*04, *03 and *02 lineages are the oldest, with the DRB1*04 lineage being the most ancestral . Since EBV is the only human-adapted member of the genus Lymphocryptovirus, transferred to a hominid ancestor , it could be hypothesized that immune evasion mechanisms of the EBV have more effectively evolved among older allelic lineages of DRB1. Such an hypothesis could help explaining why individuals with haplotypes DR2-DQ6, DR3-DQ2 or DR4-DQ8 are less resistant to EBV infection and are at greater risk of developing EBV-related disorders .

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What Is Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia gravis is a chronic condition that causes muscles to tire and weaken easily. For example, if you have myasthenia gravis, you may notice that during a meal, your jaw muscles become tired and weak, interfering with your ability to chew food. After you have rested for a little while, the muscles may become strong again, allowing you to resume eating.

This waxing-and-waning weakness of muscles, worsening with use and improving with rest, is a hallmark of this disease. There typically are periods when you may notice more symptoms , interspersed with periods when symptoms decrease or disappear .

Myasthenia gravis affecting multiple muscle groups throughout the body is called generalized myasthenia gravis. Other common muscle groups that are affected may make it difficult for you to chew, swallow, smile, shrug, lift your arm up, grip, rise to a stand, or walk up stairs. When the muscles needed for breathing are affected, a patient is said to be in myasthenic crisis. This is a life-threatening situation.

Does Myasthenia Affect Reflexes

Weakness can be present in a variety of different muscles and is usually proximal and not symmetrical. Sensory examination and deep tendon reflexes are normal. Weakness of the facial muscles is almost always present. Bilateral facial muscle weakness produces a sagging and expressionless face, and a horizontal smile.

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Memes About Myasthenia Gravis Awareness

Maybe its asking for too much for friends, family, doctors to be aware of myasthenia gravis. I mean it is a rare disease. But there are some very credible resources out here and were all doing our part to spread awareness about myasthenia gravis.

Its not a lack of access. We all have the internet. Often times I feel its a lack of interest.

People just dont care enough to be informed because it doesnt impact them or their loved ones.

Im thankful for the people in my circle who try to learn about what Im going through.

Try as they might they still may never understand what its like to have MG.

If you dont care enough to learn the details about someones chronic illness, thats fine. Live your truth. But please take this one piece of advice:

NEVER say you dont look sick to someone with a chronic illness!

Thats the ultimate slap in the face and it may get you slapped in the face .

Memes are a way to embody sentiments perfectly. I saw myself relating to these memes about myasthenia gravis but I believe people with other chronic illnesses can relate to them as well.

Which meme did you relate to most?