Hello Group,

I'm 69 and have had MG symptoms since April of this year. I only have double vision problems so far. Pyridostigm helps for the morning hours but doesn't do much to stop the drooping eye for the rest of the day.

About two weeks ago I got a flu shot and my MG symptoms went away for a week. They have gradually returned but are still much less than before the shot. Has anyone else noticed a change in MG symptoms after a flu shot or other immunization?

JnTx

No, but it's an interesting correlation.

Annie

Welcome JnTx.

I want to know getting the flu shot is ok for MGers? I have gotten two different opinions from my doctors so have not had it yet. Neurologist says no the pulmonary says yes. Any insight from anyone?
Thanks,
Debbie

It is good to get the flu shot just so you make sure that it is not the modified live vaccine. Where I live, the injectable is always killed. The nasal spray is a modified live and I can't take it because I am on immune suppressant therapy.

I get the killed vaccine every year. If I do not, I end up in the hospital with flu complications.

That's interesting. As for MGers and the flu shot, it's a difficult question. We worry about anything that stimulates our immune systems--but it's not only vaccines that do that; it's also infections. I personally get the flu shot every year because I believe I developed MG in the first place in response to H1N1 in 2009. That makes me think the flu is especially dangerous for me. And I've gotten the flu shot for the past three years without noticing any effect on my MG symptoms.

But if I had a history of responding poorly to vaccines, I might think the flu shot was more dangerous for me than the flu itself. Neither option--shot or no shot--is completely safe. You have to calculate the risks of each as best you can, understanding that you may not have enough information to make a really solid call.

I think there are a few of us here who got MG after a bout of H1N1 in 2009. The article below says that people who contracted H1N1 responded with an unusually wide array of antibodies. I bet that's one reason why it triggered MG in some people--just like women are more likely to get an autoimmune disease like Graves after childbirth, when their bodies are sending out all sorts of antibodies to prevent infections. That's just speculation on my part.

Abby

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/0...lu-antibodies/