Mestinon doesn't make me sick, but the cellcept does. My doctor prescribed zofran. It helps. Same for me fruit didn't help so I eat a granola bar or a oatmeal cookie that I make for my husband. He has heart issues.

Yes!!!!!! Home made oatmeal cookies... Got to be the best antidote to Mestinon tummy troubles... After 2 yrs. on Mestinon, I still must take with a little food (a few saltines dabbed with grape jam, tea) or stomach upset will occur. Not nearly as bad as when I first started this med.

Thank you!!

Hello IslandLady! I've been VERY lucky with Mestinon, and have not had any real stomach problems with it. Others here have not had such good luck with it and their stomach(s).

I'm sure RHanson will chime in ; he's stated in multiple posts how he was having GI issues with it, and that Maalox/Mylanta (?) and something else helped. You could search it, as we've frequently "kicked this can around" in multiple other posts on this Board.

Also, if you weren't already aware, once you have an autoimmune disease (like MG), you are pre-disposed (to some degree) to have other A/I diseases.

Based on your description of your GI issues, I would talk to your Family or Neuro about a consult with a gastroenterologist. I had similar signs/symptoms, and was diagnosed with Celiacs Disease. I had no idea. I stopped eating wheat/gluten, and things are so much better on that front.

You are your best advocate ; Knowledge is power. Take Care. Chris.

........ Also, regarding the Celiacs. Just like MG, their is a blood test for the Celiacs.

Like my MG blood tests, my Celiacs blood tests were also Negative.

My MG was diagnosed electrically ; my Celiacs was diagnosed by an upper/lower scope.

Just a heads-up. Good Luck!

I take mine with a littke banana, if not with a meal.
Also, gas x helps. :-/

At first I had to stay away from spicey foods, raw veggies, and gassy foods.

It seemed after awhile, I could take it without any tummy issues.

Thank you ;-)

My neuro suggested imodium (loperimide) every morning -- couple of pills a little while before I took mestinon and that did help. I also ate something each time--maybe an oatmeal bar or a glass of milk something I liked along with each dose. As I had some difficulty chewing, I often took a pill about 45 minutes before eating, just taking a little of the meal ahead of time.

I wouldn't say those things took my digestive problems away, but they made them tolerable, and I did find that the longer I took mestinon, the less the GI symptoms I had.

The worst Mestinon side effects for me were foot and leg cramps at night--really brutal to move a leg and suddenly be struck with a cramp so painful and hard to get rid of. I decided I would try to get by without mestinon after about 5 pm and that helped some.

About the time I was diagnosed with MG I also was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and got a cpap automatic machine that greatly helped me breathe at night without mestinon. Sometimes during the day when I felt anxious about breathing, I put it on and it made things much better, even though the nose mask was a bother. The CPAP pushed air in triggering on when I started to breathe in and letting up to let me easily breathe out. Folks with MG even if they don't have sleep apnea sometimes use these.

If you go to an ER with breathing problems, the tendency is to intubate you for serious breathing problems--and research has been done that with a CPAP or BIPAP will work just as good and is much easier to deal with.

Good Luck

Thank you, you are always a wealth of information Rhanson.

Added thanks to Rhanson ... for the breathing info! Both the Cpap machine info as well as the more detailed description of more exactly how we are troubled by breathing issues. Without such detailed advice, the topic has always been sounding pretty frightening to us newbies ... just these very briefly stated warnings to "get to ER!!!!!"" When the reality sounds more like our breathing difficulties can be managed and controlled like other symptoms and they come on gradually ... not like some truck hitting us and putting us in immediate, mortal danger. It sounds like the advice could be better stated as ... "whenever you START to feel breathing difficulties and your medication doesn't promptly diminish it .... get to ER .... "

Again, much continued thanks for those sharing their experience and great advice here.