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Myasthenia Gravis Symptoms (MG)
The characteristic symptom of myasthenia gravis is fatigability, which means that a muscle that is used repeatedly starts to become weak. Generally when the patient wakes up in the morning the muscles have had a chance to rest and that is the typically when they are the strongest. As the day goes on they the patients use their muscles more and the muscles tend to get weaker and weaker. The symptoms usually start in the face muscles and spread to the other parts of the body as the disease progresses. One of the first symptom of myasthenia gravis is drooping of the eye lids eye lids that gets worst as the day goes on; other signs that could develop include double vision, difficulty talking, and difficulty chewing. Generally eye drooping and the double vision get worst when the patient reads or does similar activities that use the eye muscles. PatSWients often notice that they have difficulty chewing hard foods like steaks where their jaw becomes heavy and fatigues. As a result the patients tend to eat soft foods. Talking is also a difficulty. Initially when the patient talks they could have a normal voice, but as they talk for prolonged periods they tend to loose their voice and regain it with rest.
As the myasthenia gravis progresses the symptoms spread to the shoulders and thighs . The patients notice that when they use their thigh or shoulder muscles repeatedly they tend to get tired and heavy. For example when they shampoo heir hair the shoulders become fatigued and heavy. The disease could eventually spread to the muscles that are used to breath; the patient could develop shortness of breath and stop breathing if not treated properly. As the disease progresses, the patients develop weakness with shorter periods of activity and eventually could have weakness even at rest.
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