Does MG run in families?
 

Posted this on the wrong spot - hate my stupid MG - really screws with my memory......

My mom has a lot of my symptoms - blurry/double vision, really weak, etc......a few years ago she couldn't even drive b/c her eyes were so weak and when she went in to have her eyes examined, the doctor was afraid to put drops in her eyes b/c they were moving all over the place.......

Then the other night, she fell backwards in my chair and wasn't able to get up - I had to lift her up - weird!!!!

Recently she has been able to sleep 17-20 hrs STRAIGHT - something I've never been able to do - no matter what........

She won't see a dr even though I've begged her to - she hates all the blood wrok, etc, but I'm really worried that she may have MG and don't know how to convince her to tell our family physician what is going on........

Granted, she has never had any problems swallowing or breathing, but neither did I until I got so sick after our trip to Belize - I caught some weird bug there - they (my docs) still have no idea what it was.........

Have any of you heard about MG running in families???????

Thanks!@
Erin:D

This is from the MGFA site...(the link is above the main forum page where is says "useful site for myasthenia gravis"...

"Is MG hereditary?
Researchers are uncertain of the cause of MG, but do not believe that it is hereditary. A genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases can run in families, but MG is not thought to be directly hereditary."

Although in Alberta, there is a curious case that I am aware of where both male siblings have MG. (The sister is keeping her fingers crossed she doesn't get it).

Lydia

I haven't, but will be interested to see if anyone has heard if it does. My mom's doc says no it doesn't but they used to say the same thing about ms and still do even though there are multiple families with ms in them.

Yes, MG runs in families
 

Yes, MG runs in families, but rarely. I have MG and so do both of my brothers. We have a super-rare form of congential myasthenia, which is thought by some to be a different disease from garden variety MG because it is genetic. However there are other instances of familial MG. In my many, many years of discussing MG with other MG patients I have encountered more than a few folks whose parents or children have autoimmune MG.

It is time to play hardball with your mother and insist that she see a specialist, probably an neurologist or at least an Ophtho-neurologist. Otherwise, guess who's going to be her caregiver. Tests for MG are uncomfortable, but bearable. The great thing about MG is that it is treatable. Most patients eventually enjoy some acceptable level of strength with proper medication. It just takes a while to figure that out. The longer your mom waits for a diagnosis, the longer it will take her to get back up to par. Good luck.
Set your Google Alerts to "congenital myasthenic syndrome" and "familial myathenia," and you'll find evidence. Not exciting reading, but we're out there.
Marika in Maryland