Some general information at http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/conditions-page-2-54.html
Good Luck

Thank you!!! After reading that, Im more confident I'll qualify (my leg muscles have never fully gained strength back). I walk with a gait constantly even when I try not to, and I'm a sped teacher in a classroom with severely disabled students in which I am required to lift.

I got on 100% disability yrs ago via govt. Not sure all differences but it qualified me for medicare. If you use a lawyer like I did they can only charge fee set by govt and the govt pay Them set fee when you get approved. I was told to bury them in papers regarding illness (it wasn't mg).I was approved 1st try. Short term is several weeks by law which gives a person time to work on longterm . I think it's 6 weks. My daughter used short term when her husband died. Hope it's a good day for everyone

I worked in the oil field as a pumper, having about 30 different oil/gas wells i had to take care of everyday except weekends. The MG got so bad that i had to come to work and leave around 10-11 in the morning. This was happening everyday and when i got home i would sleep all day and night and try to get enough strength to make it back to work the next morning. I finally called my employer and said i cant do this any longer so i went on Short Term Disability with Cigna ( the insurance company with my company, which supplied Short Term and Long Term disability insurance. I was on STD for the 6 months allowed, then i tried to get on LTD and was denied. ( they do not want you to go on LTD, money out of their pockets. My LTD benefits were to be 67% of my monthly salary, I appealed after a few months(it was a hassle) but i did eventually get approved. That was 2 years ago, now Cigna is trying to reevaluate me and trying to get out of paying Their portion of my LTD. They want you to seek Disability through Social Security benefits so they cant pay you the full benefits of your LTD. So i am getting SS benefits as well as a small portion of Cigna LTD benefits...Sounds confusing i know. I do not know how Mutual of Omaha does their STD/LTD but i would bet they are all the same. Do a lot of research for Mutual of Omaha, Good and Bad pertaining with LTD. If you get denied the first time...APPEAL and keep appealing. They want you to give up. They will lie to you as well. The are crooked in my books and dont want to honor what you were insured for. But buckle up and keep after them. You are in a fight for your rights, and never give up...Fight, fight fight. Blessings to you

Thank you! I know two people who are receiving services through Mutual of Omaha, so they explained to me about how it works with ss. She said that they even hired an attorney to apply for ss benefits. These insurance companies will do anything to get out of payment, it's absolutely ridiculous! If we paid into it, why is there an issue? So frustrating! I have been off for a few weeks now, and there is no way that I can go back. I can barely get myself ready in the mornings, my breathing has been effected daily. I can barely walk around the block to get my kids to the bus and back. I'm a special ed teacher and I have to lift kids in and out of wheelchairs. There is absolutely no way I can do that right now! I'm so weak. I just had an IVIG treatment last week too.

Jessica, has your doc adjusted your IVIG to see if you get any relief? I have found different brands affect me differently. Additionally, how many treatments oif IVIG are you getting and how frequently? To date, I respond best on 5 IVIG treatments every 8 weeks. Two treatments once a month do nothing. Just wondering if your doc could help you by adjusting your infusions.

Ladylife, my doctor has told me more than once that there is no benefit to getting more than one IVIG treatment in a 4 week period. He even told me when I was struggling with breathing that since I just had an IVIG treatment that there was "nothing that they would be able to do for me." I have an appt with him next week. Hopefully he will research a little more after seeing how weak I am, and that I haven't gained strength back like he thought I would with regular IVIG treatments. I'm currently getting the brand Gabbapenton (sp?). What brands do you like? The home healthcare nurse suggested trying a different brand. I am pursuing the disability for now, because my job is way too physical for someone with MG.

I meant to say I get two days of IVIG every 4 weeks.

Jessica, I get Gammaplex now. I have no side effects. In the hospital, they started me on Privigin. I had significant side effects from that brand.

I understand your need to lessen the physical demands being made on you. I am thankful that my job allows me to sit much of the time. I used to look for reasons to walk around at work, not now!

You may get better results from your doc if you bring research to him, with pertinent IVIG sections highlighted. My original neuro ( whom I like but who has little experience with MG) thought 2-3 infusions of IVIG should last 4-6 months. He has seen that, for me (and I think for almost everyone) I need it much more frequently. I think he is grasping that MG presents and responds differently with each of us, and we need to be treated as individuals, not as some collective diagnosis. He recently agreed to 5 infusions every 8 weeks since I had a good response to that. I hope I experience the same result this time.

I have not read any research to indicate why 5 infusions every 8 weeks (given on consecutive days, if my schedule and body allow) is more beneficial than 2 infusions every 4 weeks.

I wish you well! Maybe your neuro will be open to being flexible with your treatment. Have you considered consulting a neuro who specializes in MG?

Now that you say it, maybe I need to consult with another neuro for another opinion. I live on the outskirts of Seattle, so if I go closer to the city, I may find someone with more patients with MG. I often wonder if I need to try PLEX instead of IVIG. I thought once the stress of work was out of the way that I would improve, but I'm just super weak all of the time. I feel borderline needing hospitalization. My chest is tight and so I've been laying down most of today. My last IVIG was almost two weeks ago, and I still feel nothing from it.

Jessica, it certainly sounds as if you need someone who specializes in myasthenia. I checked the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, and they do not have any professionals associated with them in your state, but look on their site anyway for neighboring states. I live 5 hours away from the nearest MG specialist. It will be worth your while, especially if he/she will work with your GP or regular neuro. I have never had Plex, so I can't weigh in on its benefits, but from what I read, most people benefit right away.

You may consider putting a query on DS to see which neuros come recommended from your area. That was a great start for me.

Will be thinking about you. Let us know how you get along.

Thanks LadyLife for mentoring to Jessica. Jessica, we do feel your pain. We know what it is like to be so weak. I hope you didnt take my last post as being to much negative, but it seems we have to fight not only with insurance companies but doctors as well to get the procedures/medications we need. There are so many on this site that have more experience than me with MG, and im not saying the more experiences with MG is a good thing...I wish we didnt have any experience with it at all. I had 5 days in a row of IVIG in the hospital( i do not know which brand it was) but it didnt seem to help me out a lot. As mentioned, everyone is different. Mestinon didnt help me at all, but other people it does wonders. I guess the cellcept over the years helped me the most. Currently im seronegative MG. My Rheumatologist has me on Humira (Rheumatoid Arthritis, yes once you get one autoimmune, you probably will get another, they run in packs im told). But my Neuro doesnt want to put me on two immune suppressants at the same time. I know your are like the rest of us and do research night and day, and that is good to do. We need to learn about our MG enemy as much as possible. I had to dump my first Neuro i had, just because they say they deal with MG doesnt mean they know much about it. Now i see two. Rest and i mean days of total rest is what helped when the MG was at it's worst. Maybe you can take a few days off and totally do nothing to try to get some strength back, and just see the amount of rest you need to recover some. We all over do it when the MG doesnt seem to be hitting as hard as it normally does. The hardest thing for me is knowing my limitations as to the amount of activity i can do. I go over and im in bed for days. I wish the best for you, and may The Lord bless and lead you to the right options you need.

The hard part is meds,ivig,phersis work differently everytime since our weakness is at a different levels daily.

Revelationman, thank you. I have learned much from this forum. It is my heart's desire to help others when I can.

Thank you guys for all of the information!!!! After I stopped working and rested for several days, I've began to improve. I'm definitely not 70%, but I am able to do more than lay in bed. Ladylife, I'm bummed that there are no specialists in my state. I will have to check surrounding states. I have family in OR and CA I could stay with if there is someone in either of those states. How do I check?