Good news is, you will notice an improvement within an hour or two, bad news is it only lasts about 4 hours. But since you are grasping for a diagnosis, if it does affect you positively its as good as a diagnosis because if you don't have MG it will do nothing for you. Sounds like a good plan for you. Keep us posted on how you do.

Good news indeed...Glad they are gonna let you try the mestinon and Maureen is right if does nothing you probably dont have MG....True that works within hrs but doesnt last to long, but you will know if its helping for sure!! Good luck and keep us posted...Im sure you want an answer.......

Best of luck with Mestinon. I usually feel the effect of 60 mg dose in about 45 min. Starts to wear off after about 4 hrs., but still OK for a while after. You may take a few crackers with it as it can upset your stomach. After 10 weeks on Mestinon, I still can't take it on a completely empty stomach without developing some gastro discomfort. However, from what I have read, it should be taken on as empty a stomach as possible. HG007

The one time I tried it on an empty stomach was not pleasant. Since then, I've always taken it with food. You may notice some gastro-related side effects. Best wishes!

Glad you've got a trial--this should really clear things up for you. How much mestinon did he give you? If you're taking 60mg or so, you should see some improvement within the hour.

Hope you see improvement.

My MG neuro had me write a journal of my mestinon test. I started with one 60 mg on day 1, two 60mg on day 2. She had me email in my results and they were dramatically great! So she increased my dose to 3x60 mg per day.

If you are in "diagnosis land" having an actual document with dates and how drug affects you can be useful in the future. I documented simple things like "able to make the bed" and "did laundry all by myself". I even had much better sleep.

Always interesting to look back on how much I've improved with just one medication. I happen to have Sjogren's (dry, dry, dry) so the side effects of Mestinon are actually helpful for me.
Flutebell

Thanks for all the advice. He is starting me on 60 mg. Will be picking up the prescription tonight, so will see what it says. Hoping it will help me.

Mestinon (pyridostigmine) works good for MG symptoms.

It has pretty drastic digestive side effects for some folks. My doc suggested over-the-counter loperimide (Imodium for instance) and eating something with it. It takes a while to adjust to the side effects which include muscle cramps, twitches as well as the digestive stuff It took me a couple of weeks to get used to it--but it worked well to help me breathe and be active while waiting for prednisone to kick in.

There is nothing like the thrill of waking in the middle of the night with severe cramps in one leg or both--genuine agony. I learned to do a lot of stretching them out before going to bed so they didn't cramp so much. Even my feet cramped. I stood back from a wall, feet flat on the floor, and did push-ups against the wall to stretch the calves for several minutes. It helped.

But, it did work good for MG!
Good Luck

A trial is good. I've never had side effects-strong stomach? Maybe, but I've always eaten something with it. Now, I eat several small meals a day because I take 30 MG every 2-3 hours. Neuro said its best to keep a constant stream in me. I don't take while sleeping.
Wellness,

As others have said, Mestonin plays havoc on your stomach so never take it on an empty stomach. My son had leg twitches for the first couple of weeks, but those subsided. Stay on the every four hour routine. It works really well. Good luck.

One more thing: The only treatment that relieved my son of ptosis was plasmapheresis. He had eight treatments and the ptosis was gone and hasn't returned. He had a thymectomy Friday. Fingers crossed! Best wishes to you.

The prescription is for three times a day but did not specify when. The pharmacist said to try to break it up equally through the day about every eight hours. I will give that a try.

For those who take it three times daily, do you try to spread them equally like that? I am wondering since one dose would be at bedtime. Is there a benefit at that time of day? Or is it more about trying to keep a steady amount in the body?

i do 4 x a day.... but upon waking, then 4 hours later and 4 hours later. Since thats about how long it lasts for me.

Hi Button, I'm the same as Maureen. 4x per day...my usual would be 8, 12, 4, 8. I don't take before bed.

Good luck