Hi, Lotusflwr! Welcome to the forum!

MG is "relatively" better with rest and it all depends upon how your MG is and what drugs you are on (and you aren't on any yet!).

Do not push MG, because, if you have it, you can end up in a MG crisis! If you can't swallow, breathe well or move well, that's an emergency. It doesn't matter if you have a diagnosis yet. Dial 911.

MG can be deceptive and the weakness can increase so slowly that you think you're okay when you're not.

When I go out and run errands, I will be pretty wiped out for the next two hours or so. The next day I can be generally weaker than I was before running the errands. Day two I call "two day payback." I don't know why the second day is worse, but it tends to be, at least for me.

MG is fairly unpredictable and it can surprise even the most veteran of MGers!

Cymbalta is known for causing night sweats. No matter what the cause, it's not good for MGers to be overheated. It makes us much worse. Might I ask why you're taking Cymbalta? Did you know that the "sleepiness" associated with MG can make a person feel as though they are depressed?

If you have rapid eye movements while you sleep, that use of the eye muscles alone can cause them to be closed when you wake up! And muscles become weaker when we sleep, too. That's why some MGers need to have a BiPap or oxygen when they sleep, because they can have hypoxia (not enough oxygen saturation).

Eyelids can either be shut too much or open too much. It depends upon which muscles are affected. There are muscles that specifically open and close the eyelids. The fact that you have fatigable eyelid muscles makes a MG diagnosis more probable.

MG weakness can present in a bunch of ways.

• One of the first signs of MG is the need to take a nap.
• You can feel as though you are depressed (as I said).
• Your entire body can just feel worn out.
• The body can feel as though it's walking through quicksand.
• Your legs can feel like lead weights walking up stairs.
• Muscles can be so weak that they cramp or spasm. If that happens to your breathing muscles and you can't breathe in or out well, it's time to dial 911.
• There are 640 skeletal muscles and any of them can feel weak (hopefully not all at once!). It mainly depends upon which muscles you use the most.
* Sometimes muscles can feel achy, but that's often if you're on steroids or withdrawing from them.
• Weakness of the throat/neck muscles can feel similar to an allergic reaction, as if your throat is "closing."
• Laughing too much or sitting too much can cause your neck/head muscles to feel as though there's a vice around the back or give you a tension headache.
• Ears are affected, too, and you can have hyperacusis (sensitivity to sounds).
• Hands can feel stiff or cramp up.

There are a LOT of muscular signs of MG and that list is only a snippet.

Please don't push yourself. In fact, you might need to rest and sleep even more now. You don't want to end up in an MG crisis. With MG, the worse you get, the more time it takes to "bounce back."

It might be worth a call to whatever doctor prescribed the Cymbalta to discuss what it's doing to you and that you might have MG. Explain that anything that heats up the body is not good for MG.

I hope you get answers soon. I'm sure you'll have more questions. There's a lot to learn about MG. Some drugs do make MG worse (i.e., Quinolones).

www.myasthenia.org
www.mdausa.org

It's hard facing down a disease, but it's actually a relief when you find out what is causing you to feel so awful! If you have MG, read up on the possible treatments for it. There are side effects to all of the drugs, although Mestinon has the least of them (for most people).

Take it easy!!

Annie