Hi Kathie. It is so hard being a single parent with MG...and other autoimmune diseases. While my 2 kids are out of college just now, I have missed their graduations last year due to MG mostly and AI diseases as a whole, I feel awful about that even though they have both been very understanding and mature about these circumstances....it does hurt though not being there as I know I should be.

The good news is that for Crohns or Colitis, one of the main treatments is Imuran (Azathioprine) which is one of the main non-steroidal immunosupression treatments that is approved for treatment of MG. I also take allopurinol to help my liver tolerate the Imuran, some people that take Imuran have blood tests that show that the liver is affected by Imuran, take allopurinol to protect the liver from this issue. If this ever comes up, be sure to ask your doctor to look at Allopurinol as a way to help your body deal with this med.

Overall Kathie the Imuran is a great med and an older medication that is fully understood, it's been around since the 1950's and works well with minimal long term risks for both MG and Crohns or Colitis. It is a non-steroidal immune suppressant but seems to be well tolerated. I also am gluten free for Celiac issues that are part of Crohns and do help with MG as well.

I fully understand your frustrations for as a single parent myself I have had to over the past many years rely on others to take my kids to activities while all I wanted was to be healthy enough to be a 'normal' parent. It hurts not be part of activities that I know I should be part of.

Like you I will be talking to my neurologist in early August about a thymectomy....I want some part of my life back. I am a physicist at MIT in Boston and while MIT is a great university to work for with a disability, I want to be able to work a normal work schedule and just feel somewhat healthy again, it's been a long few years with the Crohns and the surgeries, now the MG and I'll have to admit this is hard.

Thanks for your update Kathie, I am encouraged by your strength and tenacity, you have a lot of strength and are quite an inspiration, your great attitude will help you so much. I hope you can find a good team of doctors to help you as you deserve, it's been quite a time for you.

Best wishes for you each and everyday

Take care :-)

Joe