Hi, Suzanne. Welcome to the forum. That's very nice of you to help your friend this way.

Was your friend given any drugs with a high dose of magnesium in it during birth? That can sometimes bring on MG. So can a sudden change in hormones.

Anesthetic drugs like succinylcholine can block acetylcholine (our muscle gas) and muscles can get weaker.

Pain drugs like Morphine can sedate an MG patient to a very severe degree, causing that very same situation which your friend found herself in. I can't take it for that reason. It made my breathing moderately severe. Also, her anemia will affect breathing too. So she has 3 things making her breathing worse! Tylenol/Acetaminophen can be just as helpful for pain and won't make MG tank.

She is at risk for another crisis, particularly if she doesn't have enough treatments or does too much. Right now, she needs to rest as much as possible. Nap too. Was she given Mestinon to take? Steroids can take awhile to kick in and can make a person temporarily weaker before they get better. Is she still on steroids?

There's no way to tell how MG will progress in each person. It's different for everyone. It's important to stay in touch with her neurologist if she gets worse. Common sense, like alternating activity with rest, is very important. Staying out of extremes of hot or cold weather is important too because it can quickly make MG worse. Some drugs, like she has discovered by accident, can make MG worse. Go to www.myasthenia.org for more information.

Please keep asking questions. MG has a big learning curve. I'm glad they were able to help her so quickly. If it helps, I've had MG my entire life, have had an MG crisis and MG exacerbations and am still here! MG is manageable but you do have to understand it and not push the disease.

Tell her not to fear intubation, if it has to be done again. It helps her breathing muscles to rest while something else helps her do it. Although there are other ways to help with breathing that are being used more often such as BiPAP or CPAP machines. She should ask her doctor about that for use while she recovers, like for when she sleeps. Breathing gets worse while sleeping because - in general - everyone's muscles get weaker while sleeping. MGers muscles are weaker to begin with.

Since she is anemic, taking iron with vitamin C (chewable, for example), will help her to absorb iron more quickly. Don't take calcium within a couple hours of taking it.

If she can, when she's better, she should find a good pulmonologist. Neurologists don't have an expertise in that area and MGers have a very specific breathing pattern and breathing tests which show that. A pulmonologist is essential to have, especially since they are the ones who can help avert a crisis and they work WITH neurologists in a hospital to treat an MG patient.

I really hope she continues to get better. She'll need extra help for awhile. Like use paper plates for eating so no dishes have to be done. Sit or lie down whenever possible. Keep her body temperature as normal as possible (not too cold/hot).

If you have more questions, just speak up. There are a lot of people here to help and your friend really needs it right now!


Annie