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How to Fight MG Fatigue |
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General Information Leaflet 3
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This guide aims to help MG patients preserve their strength. The
helpfulness of the suggestions will depend, to a large extent, on the severity
and individual experience of the condition. The guide is especially directed at
those less familiar with the illness, but there are a number of suggestions more
experienced MG patients will find helpful.
Around the house
- Don't stand when you can sit.
- Plan your activities and assemble everything you need before you start.
- Reschedule daily tasks so you do some only three to four times per
week so you have enough time to rest each day.
- Delegate tasks: ask children or other family members to help.
- Schedule regular rest periods each day.
- Use a cart, wagon, or basket to carry things from one part of the house to
another to eliminate retracing your steps.
- Move things you use often to low, easily accessible shelves.
- Use power tools and labour saving electrical appliances (eg electric can
opener).
While Shopping
- Get a handicapped parking sticker. Your local social services
department has the form that your GP will need to fill out.
- Shop when your drugs' effects are at their peak.
- Shop by yourself only when you need a few items; let other family members
do the major weekly shopping.
- If you arrive home tired, unload only the perishables. A family member or
friend can unload the rest later.
- Shop by mail order whenever possible, or via telephone or on the Internet.
- Avoid peak shopping and traffic hours.
During personal grooming
- Sit on a stool in the bathroom while shaving or applying makeup. Prop
your elbows on the counter top if you can.
- Allow enough time to complete personal grooming in "phases",
allowing for frequent rest periods.
- Take short showers or baths using warm (not hot) water. Prolonged bathing
in warm water worsens muscle fatigue, so you may have difficulty getting out of
the bath without assistance. The hotter the water, the more exaggerated your
muscle fatigue will be.
When taking your medicines
- If you feel extremely weak in the morning, keep one dose of the drug
and some water at your bedside ready to take when you wake up.
- Use a watch with an alarm to remind you to take your next dose.
- If you have a daily medicine routine, tape your schedule to the bottle. A
printed schedule is especially important at times when you are unable to
medicate yourself or are unable to tell someone else when your next dose is due.
- Perform strenuous activities only at peak drug times.
- If you find that you are generally weaker or more short of breath than
usual and have more difficulty swallowing, contact your GP or Neurologist
immediately. Your MG drug dosage may need to be adjusted
- If you have no trouble swallowing, take your medicine with food to reduce
stomach upset and diarrhoea. If you do have trouble swallowing, some medicines
are available as liquids and others may be crushed and added to small amounts of
liquids.
- Keep several doses of medicine in your car, at your workplace, and in
your wallet or purse.
- Do not take new drugs, especially over the counter remedies, without
first checking with your GP, nurse or pharmacist.
- If you notice severe weakness within 30 to 60 minutes of taking your
medicine, then you may have overdosed, though overdoseage is unlikely on less
than 120 mg 6 x day. If you become severely weak anyway, call someone
immediately to help you to get to a hospital or to see your GP.
- Remember that some drugs may aggravate MG. These include heart medicines
(quinidine, propranolol (Inderal), procainamide (Pronestyl), rheumatoid
arthritis and gout medicine (colchicine), antidepressants (amitriptyline
hydrochloride (Elavil), antihistamines (diphenhydramine (Benadryl), antinausea
drugs, antibiotics, muscle relaxants (methocarbamol (Robaxin).
- Avoid any drugs that have ever worsened your MG symptoms.
When you have problems with vision
- Have your eyes checked in case you need glasses or a new prescription.
- If you have double vision, wear an eye patch while reading or watching TV.
Alternate the eye patch from one eye to the other to avoid eye strain and report
this symptom to your neurologist.
- If you have visual disturbances, rest for 30 minutes with your eyes closed
before you go out. Remember to take along an eye patch.
- If reading is a problem, your local library or book store may have
books available on audiotape.
When you have difficulty eating, let your GP know. He/she can alert your
neurologist. Meanwhile
- Grind meats to make them easier to swallow.
- Begin meals with cold beverages; hot foods tend to provoke muscle
weakness and swallowing difficulties.
- Try semi-solid foods. You may find them easier to handle than either
solids or liquids.
- Ask a nurse or a dietician to help you plan meals.
- If you take steroids, avoid salty foods and notify your physician if you
gain weight suddenly or if your vision begins to cloud. Unlike blurred vision,
which improves with rest, persistent cloudy vision may be a sign of
steroid-induced cataract formation.
- Keep nutritious snacks handy. Try milk shakes or pudding for snacks.
Avoid irritants that make your symptoms worse
- Very hot or cold weather may exaggerate weakness.
- Many aerosol pesticides and cleaners contain neuromuscular paralyzing
agents and may exacerbate symptoms.
- Alcoholic drinks, tonic water (because it contains quinine), and cigarette
smoke may cause further muscle weakness.
- Avoid stressful situations as much as possible. Most important of all,
safeguard your health by educating yourself about your disease and medications,
wear a medical identification bracelet and carry a personal medical emergency
card in your wallet.
If you have problems with your breathing
- Let your GP or neurologist know immediately.
Printed with the kind permission of the Americal Journal of Nursing and
Leanne Rhynsburger.
The Association does its best to ensure that the information contained
in this leaflet is complete and up to date at the time of publication, but
cannot accept any legal liability whether for any inaccuracy or otherwise.
