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Old 06-08-2012, 03:58 PM
BackwardPawn BackwardPawn is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 211
10 yr Member
BackwardPawn BackwardPawn is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 211
10 yr Member
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnnieB3 View Post
Jeff, Drugs are useful but too many combos of them can actually cause MORE pain. The more pain meds you use, the higher the dose you need because the body gets used to them.

I think you should go to a pain specialist. Drugs aren't always the answer. Again, there might be other things like deficiencies that are adding to your pain.

Also, Neurontin has been known to make MG worse and, in some instances, CAUSE it. So you need to let your neuro know that too.

Do you have a good internist? If not, get one. They can evaluate this entire situation and look for other causes for you. There's probably more than MG going on here.

Good luck.

Annie
I just had a visit with my neurologist and wanted to provide an update. She said that the back pain/stiffness could be MG related, but is probably due to another condition. In addition, she thinks the pinched nerve is due to the muscle tension. When I mentioned SPS, she said she may have me tested for the GAD antibodies as its also an autoimmune condition and could be playing a role.

At this point, though, she can't treat the muscle tightness aggressively without making the MG worse. As a result, we're going to go forward with the thymectomy and hope it improves my overall condition.

In the meantime, she said to stay on the neurontin for pain (and actually increased it a bit as she felt it was doing more good than harm), and said I can use the zanaflex sparingly, as it is helping but she's afraid of it making me weaker while I'm on the lower dose of Prednisone.

Hopefully the thymectomy improves everything, as I did read a case study where SPS resoved after removal of a thymoma, but I don't want to get my hopes up too high. At this point, I'm hoping that the MG symptoms improve to the point that they can treat whatever else is also going on.
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