When searching for info on cognitive impairment in MG, I found this journal article/study. YIKES!!!!

http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cg.../full/12/4/514

I wonder if THIS is why we have so much trouble with some of our docs?

Jana,

do you know what circular logic is?

well, if not this article that you have cited, is an excellent example-

MG patients are diagnosed as suffering from psychiatric problems (based on what?) and therefore MG patients suffer from psychiatric problems.

the only imprortant sentence I would take from this article and distribute to neurologists is - antidepressants should be prescribed with caution to MG patients.

and of course that MG patients supress their anger. they have to learn to do so, as if they express it and tell their physicians what they really think and feel, they may end up being put in a psychiatric ward.

BTW, I haven't noticed that you have any cognitive impairment, so not sure what you are talking about.

alice

Jana, I'm actually sorry you found this. This is the kind of thinking that makes a patient feel responsible for being ill. It infuriates me. See, I guess I have hidden anger. I must only have anger and not MG.

Women are often treated as "lesser" people and it's no wonder we are so fierce. Alternating with depression. It may have more to do with hormones than with pscyhosomatic illnesses. Geez.

I love that you brought up circular logic, Alice. The old chicken and egg thing. My Dad was an award winning debate coach, so I know all this mumbo jumbo.

It appears that the majority of Americans must have MG since so many of them self-medicate or on are anti-depressants!!!!

If I had more energy right now, I'd rip that article apart. Like, where's the scientific evidence for what they are saying? Is there a "test" that proves it? They cling so tightly to the tests that prove we have MG or any other disease. But they can say someone has this "connection" without scientific proof?

Was I angry since birth, since that's how long I've had MG? I don't have an anxiety disorder. I have PTSD from doctors screwing up and traumatizing me. I have anger from being treated less worthy than a fly of proper medical care. Voila, there is a "connection."

As soon as I'm out of toilet paper, I'll recycle this article.

Annie

Ok, ok, ok -- I held off on saying what I thought about the article -- until I saw what you all had to say. NOT that you were going to change my mind -- my feet are usually stuck in the mud......errrrr, concrete. But, I didn't want to INFLUENCE anybody.

So glad you brought up the chicken or the egg, Annie --- that was the FIRST thought that came to my mind. And, believe me, after I found this article, I DID hestitate to post it. BUT, if it is OUT there -- and the doctors are reading it -- and BELIEVING this CRAP (oops, said it AGAIN) -- then, in our case, forewarned is forearmed.

Thanks for posting this. It helps to be forewarned. I was told by my first Neuro ( now ex) that all my symptoms ( quite a long list of general MG type symptoms) were 'normal for a woman your age'. 3 weeks later , after shopping and trying to pack groceries away - I fell and cracked ribs. I fell due to my legs collapsing underneath me and cracked my ribs ( and nearly my skull) as my arms did not work to stop me falling. And remember this is 'normal' for a 45yo woman ( who used to ride and prepare show horses and work full time ). And for ALL women .....

YIKES, xanadu!!!!!! It just never stops, does it?? (Wow, ANOTHER coincidence -- lots of horsey people in here!!)

I'm on Google alerts for "myasthenia gravis". I want to see if anybody else thinks this is ODD (click on the link below)??? (NOT gonna tell you why -- let's see if you've got your "thinking caps" on -- hehehehehe!)

http://www.alsforums.com/forum/do-i-...breathing.html

Yeah, Jana, it's "odd."

And what is REALLY upsetting is that this person has a THYMOMA. Sure, it could be thymoma-induced MG that will go away when the tumor does but still.

How can they be certain it's not MG and is ALS? And if the expert is the one I know, it is disconcerting. I know, we don't have all the facts and we are not doctors. But you have to wonder.

Could this person have a B12 def. due to the thymoma? Mayo did this study a few years ago where they injected radioactive B12 into people with cancer. The B12 went straight for the tumor. Uses it up. So are the symptoms a B12 deficiency plus MG (like I had in 1997-99)? Or something else?

It's all speculation really. I hope they are doing everything to help this patient definitively determine what is "IS" and not just what it's "NOT."

Annie

[QUOTE=jana;590040]YIKES, xanadu!!!!!! It just never stops, does it?? (Wow, ANOTHER coincidence -- lots of horsey people in here!!)
QUOTE]

Well said,Alice. Those are some garbage conclusions based on lousy logic. All I can say is that it is a letter, and not an article, so wouldn't have been subjected to review. Still, it's this kind of thing that we women have to stand up to. Too bad because the letter brought up some interesting issues.

Jana - Yes, I'vealso noticed there are a lot of people on here who have worked with horses. I'm glad you brought that up because I have often wondered about that and often thought of posting about that. It strikes me that there are more people than chance would predict who post here who have had a lot of contact with horses. Of course that's just an impression and hardly scientific, but it makes me really curious. I'm a city girl and know nothing about horses but I've wondered if you use a lot of chemicals? Or some type of say shampoo or cleaner that is very common to people who care for horses?

Ally

Ally, I was never too much into the shampoo or even the fly sprays when I owned horses. But, I do remember several years ago the idea of a connection between indoor pets and MS. So, now I am wondering about horses and MG. Viruses maybe??

I can even remember my mom talking about this -- I was born in the mid 50's -- so, this could definitely apply to me:
Equine antitoxin was the only product available for the prevention of tetanus prior to the mid 1940s. It was used for postexposure prophylaxis until the late 1950s, when tetanus immune globulin was introduced. Tetanus toxoid has never contained any horse protein.

Yeppers, Annie. I thought with THOSE symptoms and a THYMOMA -- MG was pretty much a "done-deal". But, I'm just a DUMB BLONDE!!!!! Honestly, it was all I could do NOT to join that forum and give some "free" advice. Pre-MG jana would have done JUST that. MG-jana tries to conserve energy -- but, is saying a prayer for that poor soul who may not be getting the best medical care. *BIG sigh*