Its all in your head !!!

I had planned to write structurally, starting off with what MG is, moving on to the causes and treatment, and then to my story and social issues that I have to face, and so on. But i ended up going randomly because this issue has been intriguing me for so long.

I have been very lucky as my condition was quickly diagnosed by my physicians and I did not have to go from one doctor to another, and hearing the statements that 'its psychological', 'its due to stress and tension', 'or its all in your head'. But fluctuating and vague nature of the symptoms, ignorance on the part of doctors and prevalence rate being very low all contribute to the misdiagnosis of MG with psychiatric illnesses.

I can recall my talk with Dr. Zohair Ali Nanjiani (an esteemed neurologist in Pakistan) who told me of a case of his MG patient who was diagnosed earlier by a reputable psychiatrist at an esteemed hospital of suffering from Major Depressive Disorder and put her on anti-depressants and other psychoactive drugs for so long, but no cure. Finally, the patient was taken to Dr. Nanjiani who ran some tests and diagnosed her MG. But this misdiagnosis took a toll on patient and by the time she was taken to Dr. Nanjiani, her condition was so worsened.

Its not only in Pakistan, even in countries which are considered to be much more developed with medical facilities, patients are often misdiagnosed. It's so easy for the doctors to attribute symptoms (they are unable to answer) to psychological factors. Its too common for misdiagnosing MG with psychiatric illnesses and this leads to considerable delay in accurate diagnosis and administrating relevant treatment.

Neurologists are capable of understanding and diagnosing MG, but by the time patient goes to neurologist, he has been to several other inaccurate diagnosis and medicines. Often, the first symptoms to be noticed by patients are eye-related (drooping eye lids or double vision), chewing and swallowing problems, and change of voice or slurred speech, or shortness or breath. And thus, patient goes to general practitioner or eye specialist or chest specialist for the presenting complaints. It is highly necessary that such doctors should have enough information about MG and send the patient to neurophysician immediately for the check-up, instead of saying 'its all in your head' and suggesting to see psychiatrist.

It is highly necessary that awareness campaigns and programs should not only be held among general population, but among at medical schools, and hospitals. This is so necessary to save patients from misdiagnosis and wrong treatment and psychological and financial burden.

For Non-MGers, Questions to Ponder!!!

This image istaken from one of Myasthenia Gravis Groups on Facebook.

MYASTHENIA GRAVIS AWARENESS

Teal Ribbon is a sign of MYASTHENIA GRAVIS AWARENESS. And the snowflake symbol (flowery sign) is there to explain that the disorder varies so much from person to person, just as two snowflakes can't be same, no two MG patients can be alike. Hence, the disorder is often called SNOWFLAKE DISEASE.

My Very First Blog

Well, I had always wanted to share my experiences with Myasthenia Gravis (MG for short), the story of my survival, the problems I have to face, the people who supported me in this journey, etc. etc. But being a lazy ass, I never put my thoughts into action :P. Much thanks to my dear friend Myeda Jawwad, who listened to my MG talk, who showed interest in my story, understood it, and told me that she would play her part in raising awareness, and also encouraged and motivated me to spread the word about this mysterious disorder. And suddenly it struck my mind why not to create a blog. Searched google for 'how to create a blog' and finally with few clicks, I was able to have my own blog.

And finally the title of the blog 'Myasthenia Gravis Resistance', it was mutually decided by me, the above mentioned friend, and another friend Daniel Whitmer (another Myasthenic living in USA). As all those who have MG are struggling and fighting against it, and are SURVIVORS. Yes, there are times when we collapse, we lose hope, we get depressed, we weep silently; but we rise again to deal with inexplicable and obscure nature of its symptoms.

Having presented the background, I want to end this post by merely saying that I am really excited to take up this initiative.