Hello Everyone,

Wow, I'm very glad to have found this site. I've been having a really tough time with intermittent but severe muscle weakness that's been coming and going for about 8 years now along with a bunch of other odd symptoms. I've been checked out for Myasthenia, Lyme, and MS, but these have now been dismissed as possible causes.

The question of diagnosis is becoming even more important, as my partner and I are hoping to be able to have a baby within the next year or two. I am 41 now, so we don't have a lot of time, but we are concerned about the health risks and also about being able to care for the baby well enough if I get weak.

Does anyone with muscle weakness of undetermined origin who's gone through a pregnancy, childbirth, and/or child raising have any experiences or advice they'd like to share?

I will post a longer synopsis of my history in the General Health section, but in short, I have had severe weakness, slurred speech and wacky heartbeats plus very low blood pressure spells come on and last 2-4 months, once to twice a year since 2006. The first 5 of these phases seemed to be triggered by some chemical substance (first 4: hormone meds prescribed for endometriosis, last two: vaccines and antibiotics, respectively). Each time, the weakness has been very bad, I've needed a lot of care, unable to walk or hold my head up a lot of the time bed bound or needing a wheelchair, have had trouble with speech, breathing, and swallowing as well. Mestinon helps, but now MG has been ruled out and I am not sure what to do besides what I'm already doing for myself, and continue healing on my own, without medical support.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or suggestions you may have!

All the best, T