Thank you, Annie, for this very informative post on mental fatigue. I have noticed it, also.

My response is not going to be scholarly, but I have noticed that my mental fatigue acts like my other symptoms. I am better at the start of the day, and I get worse with my alertness and mental focus at the day progresses and I get more tired. So, if there are things I need to do which require concentration and thought, I try to do those things in the morning and get them done right away! If I attempt to do them in the late afternoon or evening, it usually doesn't go very well. I'm just too tired, and it's a lost cause. Some days I am just too tired and having too much trouble with my symptoms to really do much of anything, and I have to take the day off from everything. It's just the way it is. It's hard when I have multiple days in a row like that, but I don't know how one fixes it. I hope things will gradually get better with time, but that's the way things are for me at present.

Best wishes to everyone,
Erin

Erin, I so appreciate hearing from you in regards to your experience with mental fatigue!

By the way, I am not using my real name here, but rather "2Fatigued." I was discouraged from using my real name when I joined NeuroTalk. For me it makes sense to write anonymously, especially in case someone from,, say, my Longterm Disability insurance company found some nasty way to use my posts against me. (I know that sounds paranoid.) I'm not assuming, by the way that "Annie" or "Erin" are your real names.

But Erin and Annie, just having someone else's experience against which to compare my own is WAY helpful.

Thanks!

I think many people use pseudonyms. I would prefer if doctors couldn't track our every word on the forum. They tend to become offended enough when we speak openly!

Yes, thanks, Erin. I worry that you are having such persistent issues though.

I didn't really relay my own experiences, did I?! In order for me to be active later in the day, I take a morning nap after breakfast. If I don't, I'm useless for the rest of the day. But, again, I don't take anything but Mestinon. Everyone is different in how they cope with that persistent fatigue.

Driving while MG is bad is similar to driving drunk. Response time is reduced, fatigue can alter reflexes, weakness can make holding the arms on the wheel harder, legs might not push as hard on the gas or brakes, and double vision causes all kinds of problems! I won't drive if I'm not up to it.

I'm lucky that I don't have swallowing issues too often. But I don't socialize much. When I have what I call an MG choking attack, that can be so bad that I strain my back muscles (like I do when I have pneumonia). You never know what muscles will become weaker, thereby adding to the overall fatigue.

Even with treatment for MG, there will be some level of mental fatigue. And physical too. Unless someone is in remission, MG is still exhibiting some signs of existing. That's why we still need to alternate activity with rest. MG is unique in that need, even though some other diseases do cause cognitive issues or sleepiness.

Listen to your body. That's the best way to know what will happen next. I can tell when I'm in a downward spiral and will need to go flat soon. And if someone wonders why you are kind of out of it, ask them how they would feel coming out of general anesthesia! MG is similar to that (anesthesia reduced acetylcholine), but MG doesn't wear off!

Annie

sounds just like me
mike