When my symptoms are bad (typically late in the evening), it's hard to climb the stairs. First, the muscles that I use to lift each leg don't work well. Second, the muscles that I use to straighten my leg as I rise up to the next step don't work well. I can use these muscles, but it takes extra effort.

By the time I get near the top, if I'm really bad, sometimes the muscles stop working altogether. I try to lift my leg and nothing happens. It occurs to me that the best word to describe this state is "paralysis," even though it's only temporary.

But it's not a different problem from the problem that makes it hard to lift my legs. It's just a greater degree of the same problem. In both cases, the signal's not getting through to my muscles. When the signal is partially blocked, it's hard to lift my leg. When it's fully blocked, it's impossible to move my leg.

So, I'm asking: is "partial paralysis" a more accurate way to describe MG symptoms than "weakness" or "fatigue" is? These are just words, I know. But I feel like my friends don't get it. They think that I have a disease that makes me tired (and we're all tired. My friends mostly have lots of babies, and haven't had a full night's sleep for years).

Abby