Fell and confused
 

This morning I got up to go to the bathroom and suddenly felt that I couldn't walk and was generally weak so I grabbed for the wall to steady myself and proceeded to fall hitting my ribs on the toilet bowl and bruising my leg and hand. At that moment I was unable to get up as I didn't have the strength to push myself up from the floor. I rested a few moments and was able to get up and then went back to bed and took my meds. I am fine now except rib pain and some bruising.
I was diagnosed in 2010 with a presenting symptom of double vision and a droopy eyelid. I do have very mild generalized weakness that is not very troublesome and my voice gets weak. The only medication I take for the myasthenia is mestinon. I have never had muscles totally give out on me before or have difficulty moving as I did this morning.
I do have trouble doing anything fast, but I can normally function and perform tasks if I take my time. I am very reluctant to go the emergency room and feel fine now so I am planning on calling my internist in the am so I can get a rib x-ray. My neurologist is in Manhatten and will let him know as well.
Any thought or advice is well appreciated, I really don't now what to make of all this.

I have had several episodes similar to yours. It doesn't happen often. Usually it has been when I got a bit behind in my mestinon schedule. If you do get any warning, take it seriously and sit down. Sorry that you fell. This does not necessarily mean that you are going to do this all the time.

I'm sorry you fell. It has happened to me a lot in the last three years but I don't have a confirmed diagnosis and I'm not on meds. However, I do know it can be a very frightening experience. For me it is a warning I need to take things much slower for a while. I can't advise you from my position but you have my empathy and I hope you are able to rest up and take care until your health is more stable again.

Sounds like it was a frightening experience for you and you were really caught off guard. Let us know how it goes..... I´m sure you´ll figure something out pretty soon :)

Thanks
 

I 'll let you know how it works out. I never thought I would have weakness severe enough for me to fall down. Usually I just feel mild weakness that is easily resolved with rest, but this episode was sudden and severe and I literally couldn't lift myself up without resting for a bit.
Thanks again, I feel better just for sharing with you.
Jean

You need to go to the hospital to get checked out NOW. Just like after a car accident, you may not "know" the full extent of your injuries until a couple days later unless you get checked out by a doctor. You cannot tell by how you "feel" how you are doing. You could've cracked a rib, which is dangerous. I won't scare you with details of what might happen, just go in!!! :hug:

I'm sorry you fell. And, yes, quite a few of us have had falls. I always make sure I've got Mestinon in my body and am steady before I even get up and start walking. My legs have been having trouble contracting if I don't.

It's a good thing to follow up with your neuro.

BTW, Are you "feeling" confused or confused about an aspect of what happened. Feeling confused is something that needs to be checked out right away (i.e., how people feel after they hit their head and have a concussion).

I don't know why I even tell people things like this. You've obviously already made up your mind that you're fine. But the problem is that only a doctor can determine if you really are okay. I hope you will be.

Annie

Followup from fall
 

Thank you Annie B, I took your advice and went to the emergency room and feel better for having gone. I have a chest wall contusion, thankfully no fractured ribs. I am a recently retired RN who worked in an emergency room and am reluctant to go unless it is a dire emergency.

SOOOO glad you took Annie's advice!

*sigh* Guess you didn't realize this WAS a dire emergency!

A couple of things I have noticed over the years of "talking" with other MGers:

• Most of us are "Type A"
• Most of us don't want to be viewed as "wimps"
• Some of us have WRONGLY been accused of symptoms being "all in our heads"

Learning curve...............MG is a MAJOR learning curve.

Gulp! :eek: I´m a teacher - What hope do I have of knowing when to go? :)

Glad you went.

Anacrusis

jeatak, I'm very glad you did go in. What is that saying . . . doctors (and nurses) make the worst patients. ;)

A contusion, as you know, can be worse than a broken rib. Did they grade the contusion for you or let you see the x-ray?

I really hope you'll heal quickly. Did they check your oximetry? Do you have an oximeter at home? If it's not a bad contusion, it may not interfere with your gas exchange (lungs).

I hate going to the ER too. It's not exactly a fun time.

Jana, Is it a type A thing or a control thing or a denial thing or all of the above? :cool:

Anacrusis, I think that teachers, being critical thinkers, would probably know when to go in. Of course, I'm biased since my parents were teachers and so was I.

Annie

As misery loves company, a similar thing just happened to me. I lost my balance backward and knew there was no way I'd be able to shift my weight back forward. I fell backward into the tub and luckily the curtain wasn't in the way so I was able to catch myself and direct my fall so that my head didn't hit the tile.

Wasn't sure what to do either, except check "yes" to the have you fallen question now. This is why I try to stay near walls.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Good one!!

Yep, with me it is "all of the above"! I've gotten a little better with the control-freak thing...........................not much choice because MG is SOOOOOO out of my hands. I try, now, to "go with the flow". :D

Denial?? Moi?? How did you GUESS?!?!?!?! Told my first neuro for a year after dx that I was JUST FINE! Can you imagine?? One of my grandmothers was a world class hypochondriac and I was (and am) DETERMINED not to repeat this trait.

:hug:

Hey jana!
 

:hug:I CAN TOTALLY RELATE! AS A TYPE A PERSON, I TRIED TO FIGHT MY WAY THRU THE WEAKNESS, THEN WHEN I FINALLY TRIED TO GET TREATMENT WAS TOLD I WAS DEPRESSED......KEPT FIGHTING WITH THE DR'S, BUT NO ONE LISTENED UNTIL I WAS LITERALLY TOO WEAK TO BREATHE AND KEPT ASPIRATING INTO MY LUNGS.....WHEN I WAS DX'ED HAD TO SPEND OVER A WEEK IN ICU; SAME THING HAPPENED WITH MRSA.....STUPID DR TOLD ME I WAS FINE - ANOTHER 2 WEEKS IN ICU AND 104 FEVER.....FROM NOW ON I'M GOING IN CRYING AND SCREAMING..MAYBE THEN I'LL GE THE ATTENTION I NEED!
BIG HUGS!
ERIN

Hey Erin!
 

You go, girl -- kick, cry, and scream away!! :) I think it takes that, sometimes! You've been through SOOOO much -- I can't believe the docs don't take EXTRA care when you feel bad.

MRSA -- Yikes!! Staph of any kind just makes me CRINGE!!

Missed you! Hope all is going well!

Big HUGS to you, too!

To jana
 

MISSED YOU,TOO! HOPE ALL IS WELL AND YOU HAVE A BLESSED AND SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON!:hug:

ERIN

Falling? Intimately connected to the floor!
 

First I have to tell you that for 20 years I was told I had fibro. Treated for it and was able to live a fairly useful life for most of it. Got my horses, and went from riding for 20 minutes before I was used up, to doing a 5 mile ride on my 28 year old Saddlebred.
Then this past spring I started going downhill really fast, and falling. I bent over the big dog to put medicine in her ears and I was suddenly on the ground with her! What the.....? Did her ears, crawled to the sofa and got myself up. I spent most of the summer on the sofa. The Florida heat was tolerable for 5 minutes, and then I was exhausted! Mornings went something like: empty dishwasher (and it's just me, so not a lot of dishes), fill cats' dry food bowls, lie down. Go feed/check on old horse, go back, lie down. Feed dogs, take pills, start coffee aaand breakfast, lie down. East breakfast, lie down rest of day until evening chores. Went to neurologist for a annual sleep study and he diagnosed MG, just by looking at my eyelids. Did the Tensilon test, and the U turn was incredible! More testing, Mestinon, then Mestinon and pred. Still, every now and again, I fall.
Friday I was in the barn, moving an upside down cart out of the way, and I went down again. There's never any warning! Just a sudden list to the right and boom! Hit the barn wall, cart seat on my feet, thinking this is gonna hurt. Waited a bit for the adrenaline to settle down, and triangled myself up.
Yup, hurt next morning, but I've been through worse. It was the day of our Christmas Parade, and Chunky Monkey and I were the designated reindeer and elf for Santa Claus(who has been working Chunky for me and was doing the driving). So Santa(Frank) fixed the cart wheel, then I did the decorating, and off we went.
Long story shorter, the Amish obviously do not do Christmas Parades! Chunky went nuts till he spied a friend, and we travelled with them, rather than being in the end. There's a reason, but too long.

There gets a portion of the road where it splits around a tree, and friend horse goes left, we go right, and a CAR comes along our other side. That was all Chunky needed, he started bolting, then rearing and all sorts of stuff till this idiot leaves. We get Chunk back on the street and its immediately apparent he's lame! I yell at Frank to stop h I'm, jump out of the cart to go to his head, and next thing the pony has knocked me over, between his front legs. And I think, good. Now a broken leg, waiting for the pony to step on me. He saw me there, did the most elaborate cross-over of my legs....
I became the reindeer, pulling the cart home while Frank took care of Chunky. My back is now locked up like you wouldn't believe, and what I thought was road rash. Saw pain management this morning, will have injection next week as fish oil is making me clot funny. The best part of this all? I went to chiropractor this afternoon, showed her the road burn, and she says, it's not road burn, it's shingles!
I absolutely give up! I just finished cataract surgery, now this? ARRRUGH!
:mad: