Hi Linda,
We put the best information we could gather in the Links Group under "preparing for EMG studies." Here's the link to the Links:

http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/myasthenia-gravis-links-and-news

You can also get there using the group tab on our Support bar or by clicking on the Links group at the bottom right hand corner of the main board page. The easiest way is to join the group and then it can be accessed in your personal left hand column under "My Groups."

If you have any problems with access or the information, just let us know. b.

Thanks for the links. I had been googling my question, but didn't gather a lot of info about the prep part of the test.

I was told to continue taking my Mestinon before the test. Well after talking to a lot of people on here they were told to stay off the Mestinon and no caffeine. I called my regular nuerologist the other day to find out the proper protocol for this and he would not answer me, I called another hospital university that does the testing and they said to stay off the Mestinon before the test. Hopefully you will get a better answer then me. It's been 6 1/2 months of tests for me and still no official dx. They believe i have seronegative mg. My regular nuero did increase my Mestinon (60mg) every 3 hours and that seems to be helping a little more.

I wish you the best
Chris

Chris,
Seronegative people really have to optimize the chances for a positive test. So often it is done only to rule out MG. A positive SFEMG is the gateway to treatment and no more hassles about whether or not MG is your diagnosis Respnse to Mestinon is often not accepted by neurologists that are less enlightened than Cathi's. Please take a look at the links and stay off your Mestinon for as long as you can before the test, caffeine is a weak replacement, so try to be off that, too. It is not an easy test to do well, another reason to try for unamiguous results. b.

Well I just did this last week:) I had previously been told to be off mestinon for at least 3 days and a week if possible. As b said no caffiene the day of the test.

I was 2 - 21/2 days ff my mestinon and they did the test but again as bweeds says, the longer you are off and the more fatigued your muscles can be the better.
I m also Seroneg and finally got my diagnosis with the SFEMG last week.
I hope the same for both of you Chis and noodle.

Jeannie

My neuro told me to be off it at least four days, and I was concerned that he was being overly cautious about it because I could not find any specific time period anywhere to compare that recommendation to.
I do not want to skew the test, but at the same time I am worried about being off it for that long. My weakness and breathing difficulty have improved since I have been on it, but my swallowing problems have not.
I live alone, so I am thinking I need to get my nearby family fully informed about what to expect when I go off the med.

Yep- tell your family- and if you cant stay off mestinon, they can reschedule this for a time you are more stable.

I have had to do that.

Not worth the risk of something bad happening to you just for a test.

Be careful and listen to your alarms.
Jeannie

Limpnoodle.
I too am waiting for a 2nd SFEMG test and my neuro said to stop it 3 days beforehand I emailed and said I was having breathing problems WITH the mestinon he said to stop 24 hours beforehand.
Lorraine

Thanks everyone for all the good advice. It is so good to know that I am not going through this alone!

I'd like to say thank you as well cause without you all I would have never known anything about the test, just wished I would have known this info before my test. But I look for the positive in this as if I would have gotten a dx I might not be on this support group. For the reason I joined was to look for answers and as all of you already know you all are great with helping share stories and helping with the test questions we have.