Yes getting your Vitamins from food is the most important step. Increasing garlic and vit C in your diet is easy. It's easier, costs less, and your body absorbs it better. ( cook with more garlic and there's tons of Vit C in fruits and Vegetables - a simple glass with squeezed lemon is great - and it's alkalizing for the body). Some of the supplements I take are difficult to get in foods so the bottles are essential. If I can get in food - I opt for food first.
I encourage everyone to Google these and you will be amazed with the nutritional/ healing benefits. Especially the Oregano Oil, Grapefruit Extract, Spirulina & Chlorella - Hopefully most can get to a Health Food store and fill up their cabinet with these super-vitams. (But of course I recommend doing the whole 9 yeards - diet, supplement, and lifestyle change. Let's get better together!

is any one try the 4life transfer factor plus?
is garlic and spirulina wont detroy your liver? coz i have fatty liver.


thanks
charlotte

Lotte,
I don't know about 4 life products - but I don't like the sound of a supplement being 'patented'. And it's really expensive too...

I think spirulina is safe for everyone and take garlic in your food not capsules - your body absorbs it better. Check with your doctor about the liver questions though.

Yes, magnesium is a no-no for MG patients!

I've heard that there's a link between gluten and various autoimmune conditions...so that a gluten-free diet may help MG patients.

Has anyone heard of this...or tried a gluten-free diet with positive results?

George

Hi Geohab.
Thanks. I came across this: While magnesium is an important mineral and magnesium deficiency is somewhat common, a large dose of a magnesium may act as a muscle relaxant and cause extreme weakness in MG.
I have a calcium/magnesium bottle that I occasionally take but I prefer to get calcium from food (not dairy though) + I eat some almonds.
So too much isn't good for sure - I want to edit this original entry so people aren't misinformed but I don't think I can.
As for gluten free - I will reasearch that as well - I came across it a while back but it's most likely connected. So I will give it a try as well.
Here are great links for more info:
http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C491841.html

http://www.david-house-productions.com/Naturopathic_Medicine/myasthenia_gravis/myasthenia_gravis_nutrition.html

+ a great book called Digestive Wellness:
http://www.amazon.ca/Digestive-Wellness-Elizabeth-Lipski/dp/0879839848

I take most of what you do...but Calcium/ Magnesium is not good for MG patients from what I've read....Manganese is better....
I have vit K after reading it was good for MG...but haven't used it as it is a blood thinner....may try it if the forum reports it helps....
I have had symptoms of MG since early childhood (3 -4 yrs old). I'm 60 yrs old now...went thru 10 yrs in the Navy battling bouts of extreme weakness, but managed to get through it. I was diagnosed in 1991 and progressed from 60 mg of mestinon 4 X daily to 180mg at night, followed by 4 X daily 60 mg...
I am very active physically...running 3 or 4 half marathons a year while working out strenuously with weight/runs 5/6 days a week...
I know I am lucky with minimum MG symptoms.....but I read and follow doctor/web sites recommendations, but always follow my own informed instincts...
I take DHEA and Q10....

Wab, Thanks for your reply! It's great to hear from you and I'm so happy that you are living a normal life and running marathons... - OMG that's great. I just wrote a 'goal' list yesterday and on it was - JOGGING! You are probably the wises of us all and I love that you took things in your own hands - and did so well. Have you done the cleanses too? are you following a strict diet? One thing I have to recommend to add is Sprouting - fenugreek for example has a blood purifying power - it's amazing stuff and so easy and inexpensive. You can look on my blog for how I did it. http://www.lifeologia.com/?p=483
Have you ever taken any other medications? Are you still on Mestinon? I looked into DHEA but don't take it because of the male hormonal side affects ;) (By the way - I haven't been on this site in a while but I feel like I'm 'normal' I take 2-3 doses of mestinon from my 8 tabs. and back at doing weights and strengthening now ;) Big Hugs to you - you're an inspiration! ;D

Hi MrsAga :)
Sounds like you are also proactive and taking matters into your own hands...setting goals like jogging is an excellent choice...I believe MG patients benefit from both a strengthening and an aerobic/cardiovascular fitness program.
I haven't done any cleansing..and must admit my diet isn't always the best......I kinda go with how I feel. I know I eat to much red meat (grew up in the mid west where meat and potatoes rule). As a runner I allow myself some extra indulgences....
I do take a lot of vitamins.....manganese, folic acid, B, C, E... selenium, Zinc, flaxseed, cayenne, DHEA, CoQ10, and a few more.....Thank you for the lead to fenugreek....I'll give it a try...
I have been on mestinon since 1991....started out at 4 X 60 mg daily and now take a 180mg slow release at bedtime, then 4 X 60 MG during the day.
I feel quite normal and even asked my neurologist if I should cut back....but the neurologist said since it appears to be working so well I shouldn't change anything wrt mestinon doses....
I do get tired in the evenings and double vision can be an issue anytime...and I now use glasses with prisms to correct the dv most of the time.....But hey....I'm leaning towards 61 years old......
and mestinon and my daily routine works well for me.
I am also full time professional project engineer and travel internationally frequently...Plus three daughters (24 yo college grad going for masters then PHD....21 yo college junior, and 19 yo college freshman...along with a lovely bride of 26 yrs).
I guess some reading this may think I'm bragging (maybe a little)...but my main point is just because we got a curve ball with MG.....life still goes on and we can all make choices that can make it better.......

hi, i want to know which supplement gives you , strengthen your muscles weakness or lessen the symptoms its a kind of lots of supplement to take. Is manganese ok to take im taking it now. and omega. probably im going to take spirulina. im taking before only for a week, is there any bad effect ive stop taking spirulina and now i want to continue?Taking lots of supplement cant destroy your liver?

This is just an overview of the vitamins & minerals that are beneficial - keep in mind that this post is updated and other people add to it as well - read through the whole post to get updates.
Getting all beneficial vitamins and minerals from food (organic & unprocessed) is best. Note everything you put in your mouth and keep track of what nutrients the foods have - don't bother with empty carb foods high on the glycemic index : http://www.glycemicindex.com/

Phosphatidyl Choline & Lecithin are essentially the same thing - (either sprinkle the granules on your morning (oatmeal, millet, or other nutritious grains or take the supplement Phospatidyl Choline.
Manganese is a great supplement but it can also be found in Brazilian Nuts, pineapple, brown rice.... you can look it up for other foods.
The same goes for most vitamins - Vit. C is found in soy & almond milks (I don't recommend dairy) and also dark greens - spinach, kale, broccoli,
There are other supplements that are hard to find in foods - for example Spirulina is an algae - which would be hard to get in a raw food. It's the world's best natural superfoods - invest in a quality bottle of this one - it has amazing nutrition - if you get this you won't need extra vit. B12, it also has protein and so much more great stuff.
Coenzyme Q10 is great as well....
I hear great things about Huperzine A - although I don't take it yet.
Please note that these are just suggestions - you should always consult with your own doctor (although medical doctor's don't touch supplements - go see a naturopath if you can).
Have you tried the pranayama's? (breathing exercises)
Best of luck.

Here is another update of Supplements.
Here is the list repeated from the original post + the new stuff at the bottom:

Lecithin granules
Phosphatidyl Choline
Creatine (taken occasionally before workouts)
Fish Oil (switched to Flax oil)
Multivitamin (don't take one)
Calcium/ Magnesium (I don't take it anymore. Magnesium in large quantities can be a muscle relaxant so don't take it as a supplement (some nuts/almonds are good though)
Vit. D
Spirulina/ Chlorella

Cleanses I did:
1st one was a Parasite Cleanse from 'renew life'
then I did a Candida Cleanse (also from renew life called CandiGone)
MOST IMPORTANTLY (now that the cleanses are done) - I cleanse the body of toxins/yeast/bacteria with Oregano Oil, Grapeseed Extract, Olive Leaf Extract

Now here's the new stuff:
Wheatgrass juice (1 daily) it helps to purify/cleanse the blood
Huperzine A (hear it's great stuff - I don't have it though yet)

Now I'm curing a 'Leaky Gut Syndrome' with a product from renew life as well called 'IntestiNew'

I also added a good quality Probiotic - this is key in rebuilding 'friendly' bacteria in the body which promotes healthy intestines.

DIET CHANGES - include an Anti-Candida diet: no sugar of any kind, no dairy, no alcohol or other fermented stuff like vinegar, pickles etc. I also got rid of meat but you don't have to for a Candida diet. NO processed foods of any kind.
It's a Great idea to do an allergy test to make sure you're not eating something that is making the body sick. Get all kinds of tests done to see if the body is malnourished somewhere. Plus it's good to educate yourself on what a healthy diet is and make sure you're eating things that help the body heal. Good luck, let me know if you have any questions. There is HUGE alternative help out there let's help each other out.

It's been a month since my last update so I though I would give another. I am doing much better again - I had a fantastic March (almost symptom free) then, I guess I got too confident and slipped on my therapy/ diet. Oh well, it's all ups and downs for us all isn't it...
I think the new addition of treating my 'leaky gut' was working. I finished the bottle of the supplements and sure enough I do feel much better. It's 10 am and I haven't taken a Mestinon yet, although I'm coming off a cold so this is - AMAZING. I was gardening, on my knees with my head down for 3 hours yesterday, and had only minor weakness issues. (my body is also not used to doing all this physical stuff - but I pulled through fine). About a month ago when I tried to bend down my neck wouldn't have held my head up for more than 3 minutes - so I know my symptoms have improved.

I urge everyone to go through these posts and get familiar with this therapy - I am my own doctor - and I urge everyone to do the same - take things into your own hands. MG is a mysterious illness still medically - and medical treatments are only promising you so much. I believe the problem is still in the body and the body is attacking itself and creating Myasthenia Gravis symptoms.

Please read: http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/

(yeast infections have a single reputation for being a woman's problem with certain symptoms - it is NOT so. It can affect men and children with other symptoms - please read the link).
Exercise, Proper Sleep, Diet are the key ingredients - if you want to get better you will have to make decisions and change a few habits - if you stick to it - YOU WILL GET BETTER.
Good luck, you can contact me at any time if you have questions.
- Ella.
http://www.lifeologia.com/

hi want to ask after you take spirulina is there any improvement in your muscles> did you feel you have strength?have you heard about astragalus root is these ok for mg?

I thought I would bring up this discussion maybe for some new people joining the group....

This is also a response to a post called Imuran vs Cellcpet - but as the title goes - my comments don't fall with that post anymore...

Here is a brief timeline of my symptoms and treatment in the last 3 years:

I had an outbreak of symptoms in January of 2008, this was when my daughter was 4 months old, and my complaints of difficulty chewing/ swallowing and speech fell perfectly into a 'postpartum depression' diagnosis for my doctors. I was put on high doses of anti-depressants, I kept getting worse, my weakness got to my arms, and during this time I hardly ate, and could hardly speak for all this time... and 15 months later I finally got a diagnosis (right after my husband researched for the disease and I brought a print out on Myeastenia Gravis to my doctor.). This was now April of 2009. I was prescribed 4 mestinon pills a day, those first two weeks were incredible but soon the symptoms kept increasing - they uped my Mestinon dosage to 8 per day. (sometimes I took up to 10 per day). I had a thymectomy scheduled for August 09. I had plasmapheresis right before that. The surgery went fine but the plasmapheresis wore off quickly and I got worse. My legs now were very weak - I fell many times and couldn't even get myself off a sitting position.

5 months later (Jan 2010) I started with my detox cleanses and changed my diet and started reflexology and Pranayamas (breathing exercises).
What really did it was the Candida cleanse. Candida affects about 80% of the population and is said to cause many health problems in people although it's often overlooked by doctors. It can be present in both women and men and even children - it is contagious so it can easily be transferred with saliva exchange. Getting rid of it isn't easy - (you can look up the diet), but that's what got me better. I still thought I had a wheat allergy - I had an allergy test done but it showed negative. I still persisted and got rid of it from my diet for two weeks - when I ate it again - I felt horrible - blurry double vision went nuts - I knew I hit a another bullseye ;)
So it's really been an experience learning about what makes me sick. But when I ate a regular diet before I never had obvious symptoms from food it was only when I isolated the foods that I could see myself get a reaction.

Food is more complicated that it just first seems - we are used to eating what we form habits to and often don't realize it's what can make us sick. My only suggestion is to try and take your health into your hands and take charge of your health.

As for supplements I take, I will need to review my list but for now what I have up on the previous posts in this discussion are accurate. I added Silicone a few weeks ago.

Take care everyone. I hope everyone finds a treatment plan that they're comfortable with.

Cheers,
Ella

The only RX med I am taking at this time is the mestinon - 60mg 4x daily and my strength is good - BUT still struggling with RLS type symptoms - NOT muscle cramps like when potassium is low - this is a bit different.

I too take supplements: Calcium w/Vit D., Muti-vitamin, Omega 3 complex, Vitamin B-complex and I take 10mg daily of Loratidine (antihistemine) altogether I am downing about 14 pills a day.

Some days I am sooooo tired of taking pills.... BUT like one of you said, it's easier to take the pills than suffer the consequences.