I am having respiratory alkalosis (overbreathing) says the last ABG's due to very low negative inspratory force (NIF). It is intermittent and comes in on and off at rest and moving, eating or talking since Saturday. The cause at this point is unknown. May be stress or CNS lesions, etc.

My NIF is -12 to -18 (normal for me is -60) but my vital capacity is normal (3) and I hear I am making up for a weak diaphragm by overcompensating by breathing too much. I had in-the-booth PFT yesterday and my diaphragm functions are at 15-20% capacity.

Neuro thought it possible that a stress reliever, like ativan, would reduce the overbreathing waves which it has a bit. He also said this alkalosis is a cycle that could cause intracellular shifts that could make MG seem very bad. But trying ativan has not effected all the other issues such as the mass of MG symptoms I currently have: increased choking, loss of strength all around, fatigue, bad ptosis, etc. I just mostly feel tired and I was not anxious anyway.

I went to the ER on sunday and they sent me home saying I was not in acute respiratory failure and that was the criteria for MG admission. They thought this was unrelated to MG even though I had all MG symptoms.

Can I just go around with a NIF that low?!! Will it freeze up at some point?

Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated.