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...
Heebie jeebie time for those of us in the temperate Northern Hemisphere where spring is or isn't here, depending on the day. (One of my favorite poems is Two Tramps in Mudtime by Robert Frost.) Tomorrow is April Fool's Day, and MG may have a few tricks up its sleeve (as usual).
Apologies to old timers here and friends in the Southern hemisphere for an annual spring post:
Because of its unpredictability and usual sudden and unexpected onset, MG is a particularly difficult disease to handle emotionally at any time. But right now those who are in the throes of diagnosis or trying to find the treatment that works may be having a particularly difficult time.
It is a major loss at the time when most people are beginning to get out and take advantage of the longer days and better weather, it is the usual time when children's activities outside the home are increasing and we are struggling. It is how people feel who have been hit with a major loss around holidays, when your spirit is out of sync with those around you and there is no way to participate in the life you know. In addition to MG it is a Problem (with a capital P) and a Pill is not the answer, but may be part of the answer.
We all have to find our own way through the dark times and what works for one may not for another, although here we can let people know what our experiences are. But the recognition of the problem and aggravating factors is a beginning and the question of depression and sadness and drugs can be addressed. I have a lot of clinical (serious) depression in my family, but some of what I attributed in myself to depression was MG. But that doesn't mean that treating the MG will make the depression go away.
It has been recognized that giving psychoactive drugs to people who are mourning (and losing your health and usual activities requires that) is not helpful. You have big problems to solve and it may get in the way of clear thinking and solving problems in the manner that is "most you." However there may come a time when the sadness becomes depression and intervention is indicated.
Signs of clinical depression include: "stinking thinking," feelings of worthlessness, despair, intrusive thoughts of how bad you are and past misdeeds (no matter how unimportant), suicidal thoughts (get to the doctor quick), inability to get beyond the sadness to problem solving or to enjoy activities in which you can participate, eating and sleeping difficulties (not related to MG), loss of interest in relationships. Taking medication in those circumstances will most likely be helpful, not harmful and allow you to direct your energy into more positive thinking and enjoyment.
In general if we take medication and feel "flat" it is not indicated or at least the wrong medication. If we take medication and feel more like ourselves and able to participate more fully in the life around us, then at least for now that is what we may require to function fully. This is a rotten disease and we need all the help we can get!
Regarding spring fever, medication will not make the snow melt or dry up the muddy roads! or get rid of the heebie jeebies for that matter.
hugs to all, b
Apologies to old timers here and friends in the Southern hemisphere for an annual spring post:
Because of its unpredictability and usual sudden and unexpected onset, MG is a particularly difficult disease to handle emotionally at any time. But right now those who are in the throes of diagnosis or trying to find the treatment that works may be having a particularly difficult time.
It is a major loss at the time when most people are beginning to get out and take advantage of the longer days and better weather, it is the usual time when children's activities outside the home are increasing and we are struggling. It is how people feel who have been hit with a major loss around holidays, when your spirit is out of sync with those around you and there is no way to participate in the life you know. In addition to MG it is a Problem (with a capital P) and a Pill is not the answer, but may be part of the answer.
We all have to find our own way through the dark times and what works for one may not for another, although here we can let people know what our experiences are. But the recognition of the problem and aggravating factors is a beginning and the question of depression and sadness and drugs can be addressed. I have a lot of clinical (serious) depression in my family, but some of what I attributed in myself to depression was MG. But that doesn't mean that treating the MG will make the depression go away.
It has been recognized that giving psychoactive drugs to people who are mourning (and losing your health and usual activities requires that) is not helpful. You have big problems to solve and it may get in the way of clear thinking and solving problems in the manner that is "most you." However there may come a time when the sadness becomes depression and intervention is indicated.
Signs of clinical depression include: "stinking thinking," feelings of worthlessness, despair, intrusive thoughts of how bad you are and past misdeeds (no matter how unimportant), suicidal thoughts (get to the doctor quick), inability to get beyond the sadness to problem solving or to enjoy activities in which you can participate, eating and sleeping difficulties (not related to MG), loss of interest in relationships. Taking medication in those circumstances will most likely be helpful, not harmful and allow you to direct your energy into more positive thinking and enjoyment.
In general if we take medication and feel "flat" it is not indicated or at least the wrong medication. If we take medication and feel more like ourselves and able to participate more fully in the life around us, then at least for now that is what we may require to function fully. This is a rotten disease and we need all the help we can get!
Regarding spring fever, medication will not make the snow melt or dry up the muddy roads! or get rid of the heebie jeebies for that matter.
hugs to all, b
I wasn't familiar with the poem. I just read it and love it.
This rang all too true,
"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
Youre one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And youre two months back in the middle of March."
hugs back to you, Larissa
I've been there: depression, family history, prescribed meds.
(It didn't help ... when an early-on neuro, told me ... there's nothing wrong with you ... here's the phone number for a psychiatrist ... make an appointment ...)
Springtime! We have a few spring bulbs, showing through the snow drifts - but that's it. At my daughter's house, 75-miles to our north? They've received 40-inches of new snow, in the last few weeks. Get thee behind me, Winter! C'mon Spring!