Feeling Drunk
 

I'm not sure what's going on with me lately -- I feel drunk. I'm not sure if this is from MG or something else. I recently traveled to a lower elevation and started feeling this way, but now I'm back and still feel this way. I had altitude sickness as a child, but I've never heard of having altitude sickness at lower elevations.

I find it very hard to concentrate and words don't always come out the way I mean them. My speech is slurred. My body feels heavy and limp. While at the lower elevation I had difficulty rising from a sitting position, and even though I'm back home, I still have difficulty getting up.

It seems to only happen with elevation changes and after, but never to this degree. My walking is also wobbly. I'm going to try and get some rest today and see if I get better.

I wonder if MG and Altitude sickness together could be causing my symptoms.

See the recent thread "myasthenia buzz" for a relevant discussion: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...yasthenia+buzz

Everything you describe sounds like typical MG symptoms except the difficulty concentrating and trouble with words. Could that be happening to you just as a result of the extreme fatigue you're feeling?

As for the connection with altitude...who knows. I'm always looking for triggers for my flare-ups, and it's tricky. Sometimes I think I've identified one, but the next time the supposed trigger happens, I'm fine. The altitude shift may very well have set you off, or it may be a total coincidence. The best way to find out is to keep a detailed journal.

Abby

You may have more red cells from the higher altitude living...and these make the blood thick...hard to move along. Until they thin out you might want to watch your hydration, and drink more water, and avoid high fat high sugar foods which also thicken the blood with triglycerides.

If you are using Prednisone, you might want to get a doctor's opinion and triglyceride level measured, and also other blood work.

When we went to Denver for a week, I suffered quite a bit. Standing up was difficult (I'd feel lightheaded), and I don't have MG or other serious neuro issues. I was glad to leave.
I wasn't as old as I am now, either... it was sobering how awful I felt. My husband and son had no problem.

Thank you for the responses. It could possibly be the fatigue which is causing the lack of concentration and I'm thinking you're right that elevation changes might be a trigger.

I don't take prednisone because of bad side effects, and the only medication I'm taking is Pyridostigmine.

I did forget to take my CoQ10 for several days, but I started taking it again and this feeling still persists. I take the CoQ10 for high blood pressure. It's not too high yet to take meds, so I'm trying to get it down with the CoQ10 so I don't have to start taking the meds.

Maybe I didn't drink as much water as normal, but I'll make an effort to keep hydrated.

I've tried drinking a lot of water and resting, but I'm even weaker today and having some swallowing and breathing difficulty when doing anything at all. I think I'm in a flare. I might try increasing the pyridostigmine by half a pill and see if that helps. I drank some caffeinated tea, but it only helped slightly. My forehead is drooping too causing the skin above my eyes to partially block my vision.

So sorry you are having a flare. Have you tried other immunosuppresants like cellcept?

kathie

There's too many people in my family with cancer and I'm afraid of the risk, but I may have to take the chance if this gets any worse. I'm still debating.