Thanks, Abby. That's very kind of you to offer. You know, I'm not a doctor and lately feel like I'm only an expert at resting but I think doctoring is all about how you think and creatively trying to figure things out. Most doctors HATE when patients do that but I frankly don't care.

The reason I brought up potato chips is not due to the potassium but how potassium AND sodium work together in the body. A person shouldn't have too much sodium but if someone has a certain channelopathy, an imbalance of them might cause a problem. If . . . might . . . geez, it's all a crap shoot given that you don't know for 100% sure what's up.

My MG is better when I have a consistent dose of potassium, calcium and sodium throughout the day. But that's me, guys, so don't do anything unless you speak to doctors first!

Some CMS's are dominant and some are recessive. There are over 100 mutations and probably some they haven't discovered yet. CMS's are very common in Northern Europeans, which is why I asked about ancestry. And there are certain genetic mutations the "experts" would test for given that history.

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/inhe...itancepatterns

A regular muscle biopsy wouldn't show anything if it was a CMS. They do a more dangerous, specialized muscle biopsy for a CMS but it's not often necessary due to the blood tests.

I hate to tell you but Mayo in Rochester, MN is "the" place if you think you have a CMS. Dr. Engel doesn't see patients anymore (maybe one or two) but he was the one who did most of the early work on CMS. But I also hate to tell you that they don't see patients unless another neuro is fairly convinced that's what is going on. Are CMS's highly guarded secrets or something?!! Don't they want us to know what's going on with our bodies?

I don't know if Mayo would run CMS blood tests on someone if serum was sent there. Your neuro could find out.

I would suspect one of the limb girdle CMS's. But that doesn't mean you can't have a CMS AND MG, right Mike?

Thanks for sharing your information. It'll probably help others too. I'm going to do some more digging for a couple of days.

Take a look at the articles within this one. Some of the limb-girdles don't involve the bulbar/facial muscles.

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/lim...ular-dystrophy

Tatia, You snuck in there before I could post! I wasn't exactly offering up potato chips as a dietary choice or a treatment! Only as a way to see if it helps. There aren't a lot of foods that have both potassium and sodium. It might be rather disgusting to put a little salt on a banana but you could do it. And, of course, organic potato chips (non-GMO) with low sodium are better.

Every disease state is different and foods do indeed have an effect on many of them. It's not only the type of food but the amount, the time it's eaten, with what other food - and drugs - and so many other variables. Makes me dizzy. Potatoes are also an interesting choice due to the fact that they are nightshades. They do basically the same thing as Mestinon - to a far less degree. But since they are a food, they may have a better effect. Drugs are "unnatural" whereas food is natural. Though that doesn't mean foods can't harm you.

I hope you're doing well, Tatia. Thanks for challenging me. I doubt, BTW, that I'm brilliant. I think it's a matter of tenacity.