Hi Carly , I have never heard of using tacrolimus , but that doen't mean anything . I am not a Doc. Usually hear of mestinione . Maybe you should ask him why he made the decision he did on the drug choice. Be careful and be well , Charlie

Tacrolimus is the drug name which is usually sold under the Prograf brand. There are other brand name versions of this drug as well but the names escape me at the moment. Like many of the drugs that we snowflakes use, Prograf is typically used as anti-rejection therapy after an organ transplant. Most of these types of medications have been used to treat other conditions such as autoimmune diseases. I'm not familiar with anyone that is using this medication to treat MG but it's not beyond the realm of possibility.

I take Cellcept twice a day (1,000 mg twice a day) and I haven't had any trouble with it at all. My biggest problem with it is the fact that the pills are so damn big. The pills are actually 500mg and I have to take 2 of them, twice a day. I have to make sure that my mestinon is at it's peak before I can take it but it does come in a liquid form so that is an option if I need it. Most patients are put on prednisone for fast action while the cellcept takes several months to get to work in our systems.


Good luck to you and please let us know what the outcome is.
Be well!

I was on tacrolimus and it did not work for me, so they changed to prograf which is name brand, It made my kidneys take a nose dive so I am off this med. now my kidneys have issues anyway due to cancer two years ago,. They usually check your blood often when we are on these Meds .
Good luck
Annette

My wife is a kidney transplant recipient, and went on Prograf (Tacrolimus), as well as Prednisone. After a few weeks she noticed quite a bit of hair loss. She switched to Cellcept, and the hair loss stopped. She is doing fair on Cellcept and Prednisone. Best of luck to you.

I'm not familiar with tacrolimus. I was prescribed both Mestinon and Cellcept for MG and have never been on steroids. Neuro # 2 would have added prednisone but neuro # 3 is so far comfortable with keeping me at a very low dose of Cellcept.

Best wishes Carly.
Larissa

I did very well on Prograf. I was starting to feel quite good but then developed pancreatitis. I cannot have prednisone. Just to show you, we are all snowflakes.

All of these medications are steroid sparing agents so that you don't have to be on as much or as long on steroids. My late husband was a kidney transplant patient and took tacrolimus , sirolimus, Cellcept, cyclosporine, etc. in transplant patients they dampen down the immune response to keep you from rejecting the transplanted organ. So it makes sense that they would work to keep our immune response in check. But they are a two edged sword just as prednisone is. They can help, but have to be monitored closely, as they can also do damage.

It seems like the treatment formula includes a steroid (which you cannot take), an immunosuppressant to reduce the body's immune respond and to reduce the amount of steroid required, and Mestinonto keep symptoms in check until the other drugs work or just when they don't. It seems that you have been offered what you can take. Hopefully your symptoms will stay in check to where you don't require escalation to IVIG. To your health. :)

I take tacrolimus with no problems. (I actually take the brand name Prograf)
No steroids for me due to bleeding ulcer. I can not take Imuran or cellcept due to their side effects. I hope it works for you.
If needed, IVIG and plasmapheresis can be used as maintaince along with your tacrolimus.

I also completed my second round of rituxan.

-sherry