Hi, and welcome. Here are some more basics! They will probably give you Mestinon (the generic version is called "pyridostigmine"). Some people need to take it with food to avoid stomach pains. Mestinon is usually taken at least every four hours, because it leaves your blood quickly. For people who have trouble at night, there's a time-release version. If a small dose isn't working, your doctor may tell you to take more, or take the doses closer together, but be careful: too much can make you worse.

Mestinon is a good drug that helps many of us. It works by blocking the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is the chemical your nerves release to communicate with your muscles.

Some people find that Mestinon is enough of a treatment. Others need a drug that suppresses their immune system (because MG is an autoimmune disease: your immune system is attacking the communication between your muscles and cells). The three most common drugs used to suppress your immune system are prednisone, imuran, and cellcept. Prednisone works the quickest, but it also has the most side effects--that's my impression, anyway.

Another treatment option is to have your thymus gland, which is behind your rib cage, removed. This is done for people who have a thymoma (growth on the gland), but not all MG patients do. Sometimes it's done on patients who don't have a thymoma, in the hopes that it will put them into remission, but it's not perfectly clear that this helps. I read that of patients who have the operation, one third notice no change; one third get somewhat better; and one third go into remission. But it's not known for sure whether those things would have happened anyway. People who do get better after having their thymuses removed don't usually get better immediately.

I hope this helps, and I know someone will correct me if I got any of this wrong.

Abby

This is a terrific forum with helpful people, so feel free to ask questions.

Abby