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Managing weakness when waking up

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum/website and I was only formally diagnosed with MG in November 2023. I am 25 and based in the UK.

I have comorbid MG and Lupus, and I have been taking 60mg Pyridostigmine 4x daily and 50mg Prednisolone since late November. During the last 2 weeks, I have woken up extremely weak and being unable to lift my arms and legs, or sit myself up.

I have started taking my first dose of pyridostigmine at 6:30am to help with this and my neurologist suggested that I try 90mg of pyridostigmine instead in the mornings. However, he warned me of the paradoxical response of taking too much and I haven't tried this due to fear of worsened weakness or a crisis during the Christmas break with the current medical strikes in the UK

I was wondering if anyone could offer me advice or previous experience with more severe MG weakness upon waking up in the morning and if there was anything you found useful, especially with understanding the paradoxical effect

Thank you!

  1. Hi , welcome to the MG community! Thank you for sharing about your recent experiences and concerns. I'm sorry to hear that you've been experiencing weakness in the morning. Hopefully, others in the community will jump in to share their experiences, but in the meantime, here are a few articles that you might find helpful:
    https://myasthenia-gravis.com/living/managing-muscle-weakness
    https://myasthenia-gravis.com/living/worried-thoughts
    https://myasthenia-gravis.com/living/muscle-weakness-feeling

    Please let me know if you have any questions or would like any additional information. Best, Allison (Team Member)

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