I want to chime in with 3 things:

- I dropped my keyboard while reading all the posts about dropping things, I laughed so loud one of my dogs hid in the closet. Honestly I just thought I was getting clumsy until this discussion started.

- this thing about how to take drugs has been very important for me to learn and I don't always find answers from health care folks, like taking pyridostigmine on a full stomach and mycophenolate on an empty stomach - at the same time? How do I do that, time travel? Or keep it all separate and take meds on a schedule more complicated than Amtrak's.......

- Bambee2 mentions living alone, as do I if you don't count the animals. Some time maybe people who live alone could have a discussion about the considerations particular to having MG without someone else in the house. I love living as I do, but I think there are certain precautions and maybe even limitations that come up for us singles......
Cheers,

Marty

In general, I am not in favor of expensive gadgets, but I purchased an iTouch on my daughter's strong recommendation. It is a step up from the usual iPod. What it offers to people with MG, or anyone who must take medications frequently, is the ability to set alarms for as many times a day as needed. It is very slim. There are different alarm sounds, so you could even have them cue you as to which medication you are supposed to be taking. It also has other features like music and calendars for appointments and the ability to get online, but the alarm feature is why it goes everywhere with me these days, along with the key chain pill holder Cathi recommended. It has a snooze so you don't have to interrupt what you are doing the minute it goes off so that you don't forget to take your meds. I use that feature frequently. b.

Marty-Great idea!
Yes, not counting my various farm animals, I live without another human person. Sometimes-maybe most times-this is good.I do not like pity and have always been delf-sufficient. hard for me to ask for help. And maybe even harder to accept help when it is offered. But I do have some neighbors who are a call away znd a few other people who will come to my aid. Some friends and family call me throughout the day. My cell phone is with me all the time. Sometimes I am in a no signal area and thn I call back.
Being alone, I can eat whatever I want when I want and do dishes, wash clothes, etc when my body is up to it. If I had my husband living with me, I would feel guilty about dihes not washed, etc.
Sometimes, it can be scarey like when we get ice storms and even ambulances cannot travel the roads.I trust in Gos a lot. Tlk to Him throughout the day. Could not live without His support.
I habve things so they are easy for me to reach, pick up, etc. The heavy cups are in storage along with anything else heavy.
I am thinking i am doig so well because I can now use real silverware and most coffee cups and take eggs out of a carton. I am going for a catscan tomorrow to check my thymus.I have coughed a lot for years and years.

Oh what you say is fabulous, Bambee2. I'm going to assemble some thoughts about MG and living single - and then start a new thread tomorrow. We'll see if anyone else is interested besides us. If no one is, we can just retire to a quiet corner and discuss our respective Australian Shepherds and endangered farm animals....

Best,

Marty

Aussies-my favorite hired man. Also have Tunis Sheep, Dexter cows, polled boer goats and dairy goats and fowl.

Wow, there are so many things to respond to in this thread:

My neuro says I have neuropathy. Maybe. Haven't got a clue what it is and my sense of touch is as acute as when I was 9 years old, so I ignore the comment and focus on that for which I went to see him: drugs. Period.

Speaking of drugs: I pay no attention to when I take them or how I take them, ie with food, etc. I ignore all the warnings on the labels and, in fact, have never read any of them. I simply make sure to take half of them when the sun is out and the other half when it's dark outside, regardless of what the clock says. I've been doing it this way for years and it's the way cavemen did it and I'm part caveman (no one's been able to figure out what the other part is). As an aside, I have learned that Cialis will cure just about anything.

I live alone and I like animals. This presents no challenge to me, MG-wise. On those rare occasions when I felt I was going into crisis (because my diaphragm was giving out - you'll know it when it happens, trust me), I merely got in my car and drove myself to the hospital. Ambulance personnel want to tie you down and I'm claustrophobic, so on the one occasion I agreed to a ride in a hearse, I ended up bruised from fighting the restraints and got a $1,000 bill, adding insult to injury. I'll die before that's happening again.

My favorite dog is the Schnoodle. It's a cross between a Schnauzer and a poodle. And if you get one - a male one - DO NOT let him get into your Cialis!!!

Bambee2 -

I've heard of polled hereford cows but not of polled boer goats. As a staunch democrat, I'm interested in the results of their polling. Can you shed some light?

I have NO idea what a "polled" anything is, having grown up in the streets of New York City. The closest thing we had to wildlife or even domesticated livestock were cockroaches, oh, and sewer rats as big as dogs.

Hi Curt!
As you say, many things to respond to, however, I will confine them to "i hope you are continuing to do well with your myasthenia." and "I hope your schools are recovering after the devastating floods." b.

Curt: Off Topic !
I like Schnoodles too. We have a female Standard Poodle and plan to bread Schnoodles in a year or so.
--Kerry

Ihave neuropothy, and I think that's what makes me fall alot.My feet drag. I have been told by my dr. that it is. The hard thing with me, and for diagnosing MG for me, is that I have a slight brain injury and also some stenosis that puts pressure on my sping. So either one of those could cause it. I have more problem now than before. My left side is sort of numb. Not the deep kind of numb, like when you sat on your foot, just if you run your hand over the skin you can tell. But only on one side.The great thing, only great thing about my brain injury is that I don't feel pain from my back on the left side. It really hurt before and now, I rarely feel anything. I would like to ask anyone out there in MG land, is the nerve test they give you the same as the needles and electricity. I just had one about six months ago, so If I don't have to repeat it, I won't be too sad.

Thank you, Beth, for your kind words. My MG has been stable for 3 years, 9 months, ever since coming out of my crisis four years ago next month. My schools still face many challenges in the wake of the flooding here in the northeast. In addition to suffering tens of millions in damages, we are faced with the possiblity that these once rare weather patterns are now becoming the norm. In many ways, this is more daunting than dealing with MG. At least with MG, our known options are sort of clear. As it concerns our infrastructure, the permutations on probabilities for "what ifs" are mind boggling. I can live with the damage more easily than the human suffering caused by these changes to our climate. Thousands of families have been displaced permanently and children struggle with the loss immeasurably.

Kerry - keep us informed about your Schnoodle project. They will be adorable dogs!

Curt

A comment:
Taking Mestinon on a full stomach and cellcept on an empty stomach?

Not necessary...but effectiveness?

The more food you have in your stomach, the longer the mestinon will take to get effect. I agree it is good to have something in your tummy before you take it. I like an apple.

I take my cellcept with my breakfast and with my dinner. Maybe it would be more effective if I took it on an empty stomach? Cannot say, because I have never done that.

Hmmmm

Curt, the last several months, I have liked what you've been saying around here.

Thank you and best wishes!

TJ

for me I can actually watch my hand open and drop it. It just *releases* all of a sudden without orders from me!

Papersong, you are not alone. I do the same. Or if I am carrying something ll of a sudden I hear something drop and look and discover I dropped whatever I thought I had a good grip on.
So I try is carry things in the crook of my arm. Works a bit better.

I followed the example of papersongbird & Bambee2. Started watching my hands, as I carried things.
Yup - there it was. The cup - or whatever was being carried (hopefully not a tupperware, full of powder): was slowly sliding downward, out of my hand.
I had no sensation, none whatsoever - that this was happening. But nothing new, huh? - to watch your muscles, doing things - you didn't ask them to do.
I would guess MG plays its part, with weakened muscle-tone. But actually observing - what was happening? It seemed mostly damaged nerve senses: I just could not feel the cup, at all - slowly sliding out of my hand. (Now imagine a framing-hammer!)