[Dave Hall]

Since I cannot do a lot of the physical chores I used to do, I now do the vacuuming,  dishes, laundry, and any other house chore I can do.  My wife takes care of most of the outside chores.  Not my retirement dream, but we are still .

[Dave Hall]

I was very lucky in that I got diagnosed very quickly.  One Saturday morning I was driving with a friend in my truck, my eyelids kept falling. I wasn’t falling asleep since we were conversing.  Monday, I scheduled an appointment with my primary care doctor.  Later that week, at my appointment, I explained that several months earlier I took my wife out for a nice dinner and could only eat 1/2 of my steak, my jaws got tired.  Then a month later we went out for a Sunday brunch at a fried chicken buffet, I could hardly chew the chicken.  Then I told him about the eyelids and he just said “Myasthenia Gravis “.  My response was “back at ya doc.”  He had seen two patients when he was an intern that had MG.  The blood test confirmed his diagnosis.

[Dave Hall]

Years ago I used to donate blood quite often.  After all, I had the “best” blood, A+.  The blood donation got to be a hassle, too much traffic, too many delays, so I just quit.  Now that I am retired and cannot do near as much as I used to, I thought plasma donation would be a good thing.  Before I could even bring the MG into the discussion, I was told that at 73, I am too old to donate.  They cut off donation in the late sixties.  The joy of aging.

[Dave Hall]

Several years before I retired, I bought a small farm outside of Houston Texas.  I soon had sheep, Nubian dairy goats, egg laying ducks, a couple donkeys, a pair of horses.  My dream was to get licensed so I could sell my goat milk cheese at a local farmers market, along with my duck eggs. To get the license I needed a micro dairy.  My wife found a used micro dairy for sell, only ninety minutes away.  I made the deal.

I had a friend ride along to help load the dairy.  On the way to pick it up, my eyelids kept dropping.  I wasn’t falling asleep as I was talking with my friend but could hardly keep my eyes open.  Anyway, we picked up the dairy and unloaded it into my barn where I had built the cheese room.  Then I made an appointment with my GP.  I explained that four months ago, I had taken wife out for a nice steak dinner but could only eat one half, my jaw muscles got tired and I could not chew any more.   A couple of months later we went out for Sunday brunch at a nice fried chicken buffet, but I could not chew the chicken.  Then I told about picking up the dairy.  He just looked at me and said “Myasthenia Gravis”.  I replied “back at ya doc”.  Anyway, the blood test confirmed his diagnosis.  He had seen two MG cases back when he was an intern.

On the one hand I feel very lucky in getting an accurate diagnosis so quickly, especially in rural Texas.  The downside, I no longer go to the farmers market to sell my duck eggs and I never got the license to sell my cheese.  One retirement dream unfulfilled.  Anyone want a micro dairy?

[Dave Hall]

I am retired, live on my farm, out in the country.  I no longer go to local Farmers Markets to sell my produce, and never thought I would rely on Amazon Prime so much.  But all in all, I feel good about what I am doing.  I still go to the therapy pool five mornings every week, early in the morning to avoid people.  I miss going to the movies with my wife, again, to avoid people.  Life could be better, but I am thankful for what I have.  I can still feed my donkeys, my horse, and love to watch the squirrels run around.

[Dave Hall]

When I retired I weighed 215-220 lbs.  Two years later I was diagnosed with MG.  Now, three years with MG, I weigh 156.  I am careful with what I eat and how much I eat.  I do walk in a therapy pool for an hour three times a week.  Then I take my “off road” walker and walk a mile in the park twice a week.  I don’t know if the MG has caused my weight loss, other than making me aware of my overall health.

[Dave Hall]

Before I retired, before I was diagnosed with MG, I bought a small farm (30 acres) outside of Houston Texas.  Since my diagnosis, I no longer sell  products at a local farmers market.  I don’t do near the farm chores I used to do.  However, I do a lot more home chores.  I vacuum, do the laundry, clean the bathrooms, take care of washing the dishes, basically, do what I can.  I spend an hour, five mornings per week, walking in a therapy pool.  I miss feeding our livestock guardian dogs, milking our Nubian Dairy goats and making cheese, and feeding our various  livestock.  Not my dream for retirement, but I am still as active as I can be.  FYI, the farm looks beautiful from the top.

[Dave Hall]

I was very fortunate in that I got my MG diagnosis very quickly. My farm is outside of Houston, Texas. Consequently, all my doctors are in small, country towns. Not the usual place you would expect to find exceptional medical care. After I retired, I decided to get licensed so I could sell my goat milk cheeses at a farmers market. My wife found a micro dairy that was for sale, just 1.5 hours away. I had a friend in the truck as we drove down to pick up the dairy. My eyelids started to fall, for the first time. I had no clue as to what was going on, after all, we were having a conversation, so I wasn’t falling asleep. I scheduled an appointment with my GP. He just asked what was going on? I told him how I took my wife out for a nice steak dinner four months ago, but I only ate 1/2 of my steak because I could not chew it. Then a couple of months later we went to nice fried chicken buffet, but I could not chew the chicken. Then the trip to get the dairy. He just looked at me and said, “Myasthenia Gravis”. My comment, back at you doc. He had seen two patients, back when he was an intern, that had MG. The blood test confirmed his diagnosis.

[Dave Hall]

While in my fifties, I bought a small farm outside of Houston Texas, for the benefit of my wife. I have always had dogs, with my Vizsla I did obedience, flyball, and hunt tests. My wife was into herding with her border collie. Now, she is very competitive in herding, trains a lot of other people’s dogs, puts on trials, and right now has four dogs in for boarding and training. She has built a nice business. Now, we have a herd of sheep, some dairy goats, cattle, and ducks.
After I retired, I decided to get serious with the dairy goats, ie, get licensed so I could sell my goat milk cheese at farmer markets. While on the way to pick up a micro dairy, my eyelids started dropping. Yes, MG was the diagnosis. At least, I got a very quick diagnosis.
My greatest regret is not that I never got my dairy license, but I cannot feed all my livestock, or help train the herding dogs. I loved working with my dogs. So now my wife handles all of that field work. Me? I vacuum the house, do the laundry, wash the floors, do the dishes, clean the litter box. Not near the fun as working with the canines. But I am still active and useful.

[Dave Hall]

Before I retired I weighed 215 to 220 pounds and was only 5’ 8”.   I was in sales so I was taking customers out for a nice lunch several days a week.  Plus I was taking my wife out to eat several nights a week and weekend breakfasts.   A year after I retired I was diagnosed with MG.  I was very lucky in that my PCP had worked with two patients back when he was an intern so my diagnosis was immediate.   Today, I weigh 155 to 160 pounds.   I now make most of my own meals and rarely go out to eat.  Did the MG effect my weight?  I don’t think so.  I just eat healthier and watch my weight.
One other change is that I walk in a therapy pool for one hour a day, five mornings a week.

[Dave Hall]

A few years prior to retirement I bought a small, rural farm.  My retirement dream was to escalate my agricultural business, get licensed so I could sell my goat milk cheese at my favorite farmers market.   MG made that dream just that, a dream, not to be realized.  I no longer milk my Nubian dairy goats, I feel it is too dangerous since I have become so less stable due to weakness from MG.  However, I do more household chores, vacuuming, cleaning, laundry, etc.  Now, every morning, when I can see the grass from the top, I think it is the start of a good day.

[Dave Hall]

Before I retired I bought a small country farm.  That was a natural since I had always been outdoorsy.  I looked forward to keep milking my Nubian dairy goats, making cheese, and selling at a local farmers market along with my duck eggs.  On the way to pick up a micro dairy, so I could licensed, my eye lids kept dropping.  Made an appointment with my GP, told him what was going on, he said “Myasthenia Gravis “.  The blood test confirmed it, he had seen two MG patients back when he was an intern.  The five years later, the result has been I don’t do near what I used to do.  I no longer milk my goats, don’t make cheese, not my vision of retirement.  However, I do vacuum the house, wash the floors, and do the laundry.  Not near what I used to do, but I contribute what I can.  Yes, there are times I feel like a burden, but I do what I can.

[Dave Hall]

I have always had dogs.  For years I was very active competing in agility and obedience with my Vizslas.  Now I have a farm, lots of sheep, so we have a lot of border collies and a couple of Australian Shepherds.  I can no longer compete but my wife does.  For me, it is a good day when one of the dogs joins me on the couch for petting.  I can not imagine living without my dogs.

[Dave Hall]

I was very lucky, I was diagnosed very quickly.  I noticed I had difficulty chewing a nice steak one night.  A couple of months later I had a problem chewing fried chicken.  Then the big reveal.  I had a friend in my truck, we were going to pick up a micro dairy and my eyelids kept dropping.  I wasn’t falling asleep since I was talking.  The next day I scheduled an appointment with my primary care doctor.  At that appointment I told him what had been going on and he told told me “Myasthenia Gravis “.  The blood test proved it.  He had seen to patients back when he was an intern.

[Dave Hall]

I have been on Cellcept for six years.  As far as I know, I have had no bad effects.  I see my neurologist twice a year and that is when I have my blood tested.  I had some bad side effects when I was on prednisone and was glad to get off it.  I don’t think I have ever been in “remission “ as I am always weak, sometimes worse than others, but at 72 years old I should not expect to be as strong as I remember being.  When I go to my therapy pool in the morning, everyone asks how am I doing.  My response is since the grass looks great from the top, it is a start of a great day.

[Dave Hall]

I would not choose to live without my pets.  When I was younger (pre MG) I did obedience, fly ball, agility, and hunt tests with my dogs.  I no longer can do the dog sports that I loved.  But now that I am old and retired, I own a small farm and my wife is big on Sheep Dog Trials.  She will be gone for a weekend or nearly a week while competing all over the country.  The feeding of all the dogs she did not take to a trial falls to me.  The last trial she went to she only took one dog.  That left me taking care of six dogs and the three cats.  I handled it with no problems.  However, I no longer feed the livestock, we have a farm hand to feed the sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, and our one old Clydesdale mare when she is off competing.   Wish I could take care of them as well, but with the MG, that is not an option.

[Dave Hall]

I have a small farm outside of Houston, Texas. So yes, I have a lot of heat and humidity. I have sold my duck eggs at a farmers market in Bryan, Texas. Most of the time the heat is not an issue since the market opens at 8:00 AM and we are done at noon. To make sure I stay cool, I have made a small cooling box. Just a small styrofoam ice chest in which I put several inches of ice cubes and cover them with water. On one end of the lid I cut a couple of three inch holes for pvc pipe to be the directors of the cool air. At the other end of the lid I cut a larger hole that matches the size of a small (12 inch) battery powered fan. I can turn on my cooling box and sit in a cool breeze. It has worked for me.

[Dave Hall]

I have toyed with the idea of getting a handicap parking permit but so far, have refused. I know I need the extra exercise that I must get by not having the permit.
Sometime ago, at my local grocery store, I watched a young college couple approach a car that was in a handicap space. They both appeared to be physically fit. As they got close I said “handicapped “. The driver looked at me with a surprised look. I pointed to the sign and said “Mental?” There was no response so I went about my business.

[Dave Hall]

I was diagnosed with MG shortly after I retired, six years ago. My retirement plan was to increase my agricultural business on my farm. My farm is outside of Houston, Texas so I have plenty of heat and lots of humidity. One Saturday morning while I was at the Bryan, Texas farmers market selling my duck eggs, I finally had a bad reaction to the heat. I just got into a shaded area and waited it out. That week I got a small, battery powered fan and an ice chest. I made my own custom cooler so I could have a cool breeze whenever I wanted it, or needed it. Now I am very careful of how much heat I let myself get exposed to.

[Dave Hall]

I take Pyridostigmine and I do have watery eyes, on occasion. When it happens, I just use a clean towel to dry my eyes. Usually, that is all I need to do since my watery eyes is not a full time condition.