Myasthenia Gravis Support Group
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability. The hallmark of myasthenia gravis is muscle weakness that increases during periods of activity and improves after periods of rest. Although myasthenia gravis may affect any voluntary muscle, muscles that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, and...
Hi everyone. I suspect MG but I don't have a notable eyelid droop. Instead it is the skin drooping down to the eyelashes to cover the crease on one side only. Notably worse later in the day. This skin rises with rest and ice to reveal the crease again. Does anyone have this with MG?
My face falls down on one side sometimes. Not sure if this is MG or not as I have been, unknowingly, affected by toxic mould for decades. Toxic mould was at serious levels last year causing numerous symptoms including neurological and respiratory symptoms. I assumed my face was falling on one side as a neurological symptom of toxic mould but not sure now since reading this symptom can be seen in some people with MG.
I did a few home tests and tested positive to cogan's eyelid twitch. The enhanced ptosis (curtain sign) is also positive but the eyelid slowly goes down and a minute later is covering half the pupils.
Over the years I've had weak wrists at random (extreme weakness when I was hyperthyroid). I also have an extremely weak gag reflex (assumed damaged due to B12 deficiency) and my voice is hoarse and nasal when counting..about #40 the voice really goes downhill. It sounds like MG but is it just neurological? How certain are these MG tests?
Just to add, I have autoimmune pernicious anaemia, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, vitiligo, alopecia .
Generally speaking, most folks with MG do show positive results for one of the blood tests. However there is a group called "sero-negative" (meaning blood tests negative) who have MG not shown up on blood tests. The get another test that mostly shows up positive -- an emg test -- testing muscle fibers repeatedly to see if they tire faster than normal.
MG generally is when our immune system attacks the junction between nerves and muscles and blocks (or destroys) the connection. That means when our brain says to a muscle -- move, we generally can move at first, but very quickly tire. With eyes, for example, our muscles are working all the time to hold the eyelid open. With MG, those muscles get tired soon, and our eyelid droops (mostly one or the other, but sometimes both).
My own eye symptoms were drooping eyelid (ptsosis) and double vision (eye muscles couldn't hold the two eyes pointing the same direction without tiring). I also had chewing, arms, hands, fingers, neck, breathing -- most of the voluntary muscles tiring quickly.
My own diagnosis for drooping eyelid was done by my eye doctor -- he put an icepack on my eyes for a few minutes and the drooping went away for a while. He then had me take the blood test and it was positive. He said "classic symptoms of MG are double vision and a drooping eyelid" and as I had both, I was easy to spot.
Hope you find out what is wrong soon!
Good Luck, Russ