[Barbara Goodheart]

Hi–I’m 78. When I developed double vision about 12 years ago I visited a general neurologist who diagnosed my myasthenia gravis. He referred me to a neurologist at a major university. The new neurologist performed nerve conduction studies to determine my seronegative status. My therapy began with mestinon, when my disease was in the ocular stage, but within a year I developed generalized disease. I’ve had several IVIG sessions, but those were long ago. Mestinon makes me nauseated and sometimes causes me to vomit, so we’ve discontinued it. I’ve been taking only azathioprine (Imuran) 75 mg bid for several years, and my myasthenia is under very good control. At times I have double vision, but when I do I don’t drive. Several times recently I’ve had major surgery, and we always see to it that the anesthesiologist is aware of the myasthenia and knows the appropriate cautions. I’ve always turned down steroids because of the difficulties in discontinuing them once started, and my neurologist has always respected my decision. I feel extremely fortunate to be under his care! I see him every six months (sooner, if needed), lately by Zoom, because of COVID-19, and during my half-hour, a second expert shares the appointment time–often it’s a visiting fellow (a highly qualified neurologist who is studying under my physician), or, occasionally, a resident physician. I am so lucky.

[Barbara Goodheart]

I had my third shot–Pfizer–five months after my second.  The soreness in my arm was quite minor–even a little less than I had with the first two shots.