"Wrong" Diagnosis for Years?
I was Dx for MG last year. Yet, twice since 2008, I had extreme fatigue and was sent to 2 different Rheumatologists, who thought I had something called PMR. Bloodwork indicated I did not and after about 11 months, my fatigue subsided. Finally, last year, double vision broke through and I was diagnosed in literally one minute by my ophthalmologist. What I would like to stress is, since the 2 Rheumatologists didn't think it was a rheumatoid disease, why didn't they- as specialists- ask themselves "WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?" No such luck. Left to wander around since 2008 until I got double vision.
Just like many other diseases, we've gotten better at diagnosing and treating MG
Many physicians and health care professionals ARE NOT well trained on recognizing, diagnosing, and treating MG.
Larger cities with major Academic/Specialty clinics have Neurodegenerative Clinics.
I was diagnosed and initially tested at Duke University in Durham, NC when I was in a crisis situation.
Thank God for my great treatment team and for my angelic wife who stayed with me for my initial 3 months stay.
Oh so true. Probably nine out every ten MGers out there has a similar story. There are nine wrong doctors for every ten you visit. If their only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. So, to a rheumatologist, it looks like polymyalgia. An infectious disease specialist sees Lyme disease. An Ophthalmologist suspects Amblyopia. A cardiologist will look for a blocked artery. An internist will focus on your swallowing and probably send you to a speech pathologist. Even your dentist will weigh in when you have chewing problems. If only just one of those doctors would have ordered a simple blood test for ACHR Binding Antibody, If only...
