Hi Red Tail - thanks for responding even with all you have going on down under! Hope you're safe and this isn't affecting you too much.

My symptoms may be combining with problems from a spinal cord compression I had some years ago due to a car accident and surgeries on my neck, but I'll just tell you the same things I tell the neuros and let me know what you think.

I was in remission apparently for one year, because I had been able to get back to working full time at my job and even some time on my husbands company. Some of the symptoms listed are from before I went into remission from the thymectomy because I haven't yet gotten as bad as then.

My legs were really the first thing I felt as far as weakness goes. I just can't pick my feet up to walk. Coffee cups, etc. feel heavy, but they say my exams doesn't show a lot of weakness in my arms and my husband says my arms have always seemed strong when he is helping me walk. When pushing on my knees and having me lift my bent leg, they don't detect a lot of weakness, but when dx'd my legs were straight and they pushed on the ankle area I couldn't lift at all. Double vision only kicks in after I push too hard and I only really notice it on close up items - if I focus on something further away my eyes don't feel so weak and I don't notice double vision. I have never really shown the single eyelid droop except years ago before I had any other problems, and I just thought it was weird and didn't worry about it. The muscles that do get involved (legs, back, neck and later arms to a degree) feel stressed out like when you have excercised way too hard. They tell me that there should be no sensation with MG, so that feeling I'm describing is one thing that seems to baffle them. One of my first warning signs seems to be a fairly severe aching/burning pain in the soles of my feet, and then in the palms of my hands. That foot pain seems to build up for days or weeks before the weakness hits and the palm of the hands seem to kick in after I have a lot of leg problems (I wonder if I'm stressing muscles that aren't affected to compensate?).
I am unable to rise from a chair without using my arms (Mestinon always helps this).
I tend to "push" myself along with the help of furniture, doorways, walls, etc. when my legs are almost their worst.
I have balance issues sporadically. And occassionally I get a swimming head.
At times, just talking too much (presenting a meeting or visiting with freinds)makes me weak.
Eventually, I end up on a chair breathing shallow and basically unable to move for a while (at the worst times, unable to open my eyes or speak) and wondering how on earth I could still be alive and be that weak.
I have noticed that if I stand or sit too long without my head resting on something I get an ache in my mid thoracic back or in my neck, then I start to become unable to hold myself erect and have to support my head with my hands when sitting.
I am antibody negative, and my last RNS (done on one muscle in my forearm) showed virtually no decrement. That was on Thursday after not working or leaving my recliner from Weds. noon until I got ready for my late afternoon appt. I'm getting really tired now, so will have to stop but that's the main gist of things.

One thing I want to point you and others to is a free online short book written by a Myasthenic that was so interesting to me. I found it when looking for chat rooms, but you can go to it online. Sorry, this site won't let me post the link, but do the 3 w's thing, beyond the limits -with no spaces- and it's a .net site. You can download or print it for free or just read it online. Please check it out and let me know if his theories/thoughts hit a chord to you too.
Thanks for the patience in this long drawn out text!
Becky.