Columns

There are conversations I’ve had so many times that I can feel my body tense before the first word even leaves my mouth. Living with myasthenia gravis (MG) means carrying a story that most people can’t see, and sometimes the hardest part isn’t the symptoms. It’s the explaining. I…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Mestinon (pyridostigmine bromide). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. I started noticing slight muscle weakness about six months before I began to seriously think that something might be wrong.

While staying at home and resting are a go-to piece of advice when living with myasthenia gravis (MG), I’ve always loved challenging that idea and trying to live life to the fullest. But what are the real limitations imposed by MG? What’s the list of things to never do…

With more than 5,000 square feet of space, incredible exterior grounds, a swimming pool, a cabana, and splendorous decorations — especially at Christmastime — it was a house that couldn’t help but impress. Every room glowed with warmth and light. But on that particular morning, it felt enormously empty. I’d…

Living with myasthenia gravis (MG) means living with questions. Not the big, existential ones, but the small, relentless ones that follow you through your day. Is this an internal trigger or an external one? Is it something I can control, or is it happening no matter what I do?…

Even 26 years after his myasthenia gravis (MG) diagnosis, my twin brother, Aaron, struggles to talk about the effects of his disease. But he is beginning to open up a little more. Recently, he’s begun to talk about the trouble he has with walking. I thought this was…

Anyone who knows me would completely agree that I am too talkative. It is not always easy for my entourage, but for me, it is necessary. If I keep everything inside, it drains me, and I can spend hours trapped in my thoughts, overthinking every step, questioning every decision, and…

Looking back, there were signals that something was wrong. At the time, they seemed small, almost trivial, the kind of thing you notice for a moment and then forget. But hindsight has a way of turning minor details into important clues. The road to a myasthenia gravis (MG) diagnosis…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusions. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. One of the most disorienting parts of living with myasthenia gravis (MG) is how quickly everything can…

I have sometimes been told that I must be happy to have myasthenia gravis (MG). Maybe this is because I appear too comfortable with it, or perhaps it’s easier to think I’m happy than to face the reality of living with this invisible disability. Hearing such a thing used…