» On 2/01/2026 12:01:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
If You Have MG, Stress Is NOT Your Friend. 

My First Autoimmune Episode (children's book forthcoming😉) was in 2006, at the age of 55. My boss was making it impossible for me to do my job, resulting in extreme amounts of stress. My skin responded with hives: big, itchy bumps all over my body.

At first, I didn't know what was going on. I thought it might be a heat rash. And during a two-year period, many different types of doctors tried to diagnose the condition, with no success. But I eventually figured out that I could get rid of the hives by reducing the amount of stress in my life, with hypnosis, meditation, etc.

After that, I stopped thinking about autoimmunity until mid-2022, when I decided to have my cataracts fixed. I didn't know about the possible danger of triggering Myasthenia Gravis posed by the surgery and/or anesthetic. After I developed double vision and a droopy eyelid, several doctors said, "Third-nerve palsy." Then I also started slurring my words, and the docs scared the crap out of me by saying, "TIAs - Transient Ischemic Attacks - warning signs of a full-blown stroke."

In late 2023, I began having urinary problems. Since I wasn't yet aware of the Myasthenia Gravis coursing through my body (misdiagnosed until mid-2025) and all the doctors said I was the right age for prostate issues, they stampeded me into another surgery. I didn't realize the extra pee was just another symptom of MG. So I suffered through an unnecessary UroLift, a procedure that also exacerbated my MG.

I've had two bouts with covid, in 2023 and 2024, and I recently discovered: "A U.K. study in the New England Journal of Medicine found people who fully recovered from mild covid infections experienced a cognitive deficit equal to a three-point drop in IQ." (Since I've had it twice, that's six points I'll never see again. And with MG's infamous "brain fog," my number has probably dropped into the single digits by now. 😉)

The three years (2022-2025) I spent in the dark were extremely stressful, as you can imagine. Not knowing that I had MG was hard on my mental health. But now, with an accurate diagnosis and even half-a**ed medications (thanks to Mestinon's diarrhea and Prednisone's moonface), the stress is slowly flowing out of my life. Along with a sh*tload of poop. 😉

Old Stress Joke: an Explosive Ordnance Disposal guy was asked about the stress involved in defusing bombs. He shrugged and said it wasn't stressful at all: "I'm either right, or suddenly it's not my problem anymore."

Labels: mg

 
» On 1/11/2026 07:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Safety Card. 

When I was issued my first pills in the Myasthenia Gravis clinical trial, the study organizers gave me a bunch of xeroxed leaflets to read. It took me a while after arriving home, but I eventually got to the section that said I would receive a Participant Safety Card. This medicine makes me susceptible to several uncommon bacterial infections, so I needed the card to alert any random healthcare professionals who might care for me if I become ill. But when I sorted through the pile of material in my welcome pack, I realized the card was *not* there. So I fired up the trusty Google machine and found a British version, called a *Patient* Safety Card. It had all the right warnings about the drawbacks and side effects of the study medicine, plus information for healthcare workers. So I filled it in with the study's number, the doctor's name/number, my name, and my emergency contact's name/number.

At my follow-up appointment, I gently reminded the study organizers that I had been promised a Participant Safety Card, so they finally gave me a personalized laminated card that contained the study's number, the doctor's name/number, and my Participant ID Number. But not my name. In fact, there was no place to even insert my name. OMG, I felt so... depersonalized! Why would a first responder want to know my number, but not my name?! In the immortal words of Patrick McGoohan: "I am not a number, I am a free man!" 😉

Labels: mg

 
» On 1/06/2026 08:40:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Jenga Birthday. 

Yesterday, Monday the 5th, was my 75th birthday. Three-quarters of a century. Quite the milestone. I never expected to live this long, so it was a complete surprise to me. My lovely wife, on the other hand, saw it coming and decided we should celebrate in style, with a one-day mini-break at this fancy resort. She understands that it's impossible to buy gifts for me, because on the infrequent occasion when I see something I want, I order it immediately. No delayed gratification for this buckeroo - who knows if I'll be around tomorrow?! Anyway, I've always wanted to experience The Boulders, but was intimidated by its snobbish, private-heli-pad swankiness. I was more drawn to the scenic rock formations (see links above). Fascinating. But the complications began right away:

1) Our resort invoice featured a "mandatory" daily fee of $35.00, which included: basic guest internet access, fitness center access, fitness classes, gratuities for bell service, concierge, & shuttle drivers, club storage, local & toll-free calls, and on-property golf-cart shuttle. Mandatory? WTF?! So after checking in online and obtaining our digital room key, we looked up the location of our #236 "casita" and compared it to Google's map. We discovered the nearest parking space was 159 meters away. Worst possible case? We could walk it. But, as decrepit old folks, we realized we would probably rely on the bell service and golf-cart shuttle. We also came to the conclusion that The Management, in its late-stage-capitalism greed, would likely allocate most of the 35 bucks to things other than bellhops and shuttle drivers, who would probably get offended if they were stiffed by us, AS WELL AS by their bosses. A neat Jenga conundrum. Sigh.

2) My follow-up appointment with the Myasthenia Gravis clinical research study was originally scheduled for Monday, the same date as my birthday. Since we receive a generous $150 meal reimbursement for each research visit, we decided to (a) go to the neuroscience center, (b) drive to a nice restaurant and order lots of tasty take-out, and (c) have a food orgy in the casita. I usually take my two research pills at 7am and 7pm, but received a phone call at 10am on Monday, saying I should NOT take the morning pill until I arrived at my 1pm appointment. Too late! So they asked to change my appointment to Tuesday, and since I don't want to screw up their research, I said OK. Both Anikó and I could almost visualize the Jenga blocks starting to fall. But we moved things around as best we could, and decided to have a much more modest food orgy, using the hotel's room service. We would delay the big feast until Tuesday. So when we finally arrived at the hotel, we discovered that a measly club sandwich from room service was FORTY BUCKS. Sigh. And the casita, which looked on the Google map like it was right up against some beautiful huge boulders, turned out to have NO windows on that side. Which meant our balcony had a stunning view... of many other casitas. Sigh. Jenga blocks everywhere. But we eventually carved out a memorable two-day birthday celebration.

3) Our diets begin tomorrow. 😉 [pix on fb]

Labels: mg

 
» On 1/05/2026 12:01:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Mayo Clinic. 

I should not be permitted to use ChatGPT. 😉

[The Myasthenic's birthday collab w/A.I.]
When Sally Met Hellmann's (:30 vid)
Mayo, may-ay-ay-o / Daylight come and me wan' go home...

Labels: mg

 
» On 1/03/2026 07:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
MG Memes. 

I recently found many Myasthenia Gravis support groups on Facebook and Reddit, with thousands of members. A few of them allow memes featuring the issues commonly experienced in our myasthenic subculture. Here are a few samples. (I believe the most reliable way to get to know a group of people is by trying to understand what tickles their funny bones - tap images to embiggen and to see all the wordy words.)

Labels: mg

 
» On 1/01/2026 12:01:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
MG Iconography/Mythology: Snowflake, Sloth, Spoons... 

Myasthenia Gravis is often called the Snowflake Disease because, like snowflakes, no two cases are precisely alike, with symptoms varying widely in type, severity, and timing for each individual. This nickname reflects the condition's unpredictable nature, when symptoms like drooping eyelids, double vision, or muscle weakness can appear and disappear, worsen with exertion, and improve with rest, making each patient's journey unique and requiring customized treatment. Also, an abstract teal snowflake is the symbol and brand of MGFA, the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America.

The sloth is the unofficial mascot for Myasthenia Gravis because MG patients like to use the animal as a representation of the way they manage their energy, adopting "Sloth Mode" to conserve strength by prioritizing rest and pacing activities, mirroring the sloth's naturally slow movements to cope with profound muscle weakness from this autoimmune condition. While sloths are naturally slow due to low metabolism, MG patients embrace slow living to avoid fatigue, turning the animal's trait into a positive, adaptive strategy for daily life.

The Spoon Theory is a concept used by MG patients to signify how they manage finite reserves of energy. Spoons are metaphors describing the amount of physical or mental energy that a person has available for daily activities and tasks, and how it can become limited. The idea was expressed in a 2003 essay by American writer Christine Miserandino. She describes her experience with chronic illness, using a handful of spoons to represent the units of energy available to perform everyday actions. The Spoon Theory has since been used to describe a wide range of disabilities and mental health issues.


And June is MG Awareness Month. (Ribbon 🎗️ color is teal.)
Plus: RareDiseaseDay.org (Last day of February - 2/28 in 2026.)

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/31/2025 08:05:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Myasthenia Gravis Swag. 

Full Disclosure: I have no financial connection to any of the links below, and earn no money from them. I just have a large t-shirt collection, and some of the following items caught my eye. When one of my friends (a self-proclaimed "goddess"😉) saw these products, she wrote: Only Etsy would have a category entitled "Funny Thymus T‑Shirt & Thymectomy Gifts." Right next to its "Hilarious Terminal Diagnosis Tchotchkes" section. BTW, there are no good thymus jokes or puns on the internet. WAY easier to find rhymes for spleen. Pancreas, not so much. 😉

T-shirts:
My Favourite Childhood Memory Is Not Having A Thymus That Is Trying To Kill Me!
Hostile Thymus ⭐ Terrible, Would Not Recommend It!
#LMTO Laughing My Thymus Off
Thymectomy Done! Now Where's The Beer?
I've Got 99 Problems And A Thymus Ain't One!
I Don't Look Sick? You Don't Look Stupid! Looks Can Be Deceiving. MG Awareness
100% Neuromuscular Chaos MG
flare day in progress
personally victimized by my immune system
this body came with a lot of terms and conditions I did not agree to
Autoimmune - Because the only thing tough enough to kick my ass is me. Myasthenia Gravis Awareness
Snowflake Stong MG Warrior (NOT Strong - this hilarious tyop won't last long)

Other MG items on Etsy for The Myasthenic

Rare Patient Voice [[[Monetize Your Illness! There's gold in them thar ills...]]]

Neuroscience Institute t-shirt

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/26/2025 05:30:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
WTF Is A ClinCard?! 

A ClinCard or ScoutPass is a reloadable prepaid debit card used by research institutions to pay human subjects (study participants) in clinical trials. I just received fifty smackeroos, for my first per diem stipend. If things go well during the next two and a half years, I'll also receive meal-allowance compensation for myself and the caregiver (translation: wife) who accompanies me to test appointments, reimbursement for gasoline mileage expenses, and payment for taxi/uber costs (if necessary). It turns out that research subjects are treated pretty well. We represent a significant investment for the pharmaceutical companies (a/k/a "Swiss Overlords" 😉), and they want to make sure we're happy, so we'll keep coming back for our monthly appointments. But hopefully, the efficacy of the medication we're testing will provide the main part of our motivation.

PS: Is it just me, or does ClinCard sound vaguely pornographic? "Hey bay-bee, I'm a-gonna lick your ClinCard 'til you hollah wit' deee-lite!"

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/22/2025 05:20:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Christmas Split Flashback. 

First, Jean-Claude Van Damme did a split between trucks (2013):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FIvfx5J10
Then, Channing Tatum did a split between craft service carts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vj0ugEI0dg
Finally, Chuck Norris did a split between airplanes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-D1KVIuvjA

UPDATE - Ballerina Stunt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGHVE-ikQwM
UPDATE2 - But the one that really cracked me up was the Hamster Stunt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N87uxyDQT0

 
» On 12/20/2025 02:13:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Confirmation Bias? 

It's been 72 hours since I started taking the Myasthenia Gravis research pills, but I still haven't figured out whether they're real medicine (iptacopan) or placebos. The research supervisor told me to wait patiently for a month. My body seems to be reacting in unusual ways, but who knows? It might be the dreaded placebo effect. 😉

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/20/2025 05:30:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
De Quervain's Tenosynovitis. 

Here we go again... about a year ago, my wife had surgery for a trigger finger (stenosing tenosynovitis) on her left hand.

This time, she has a similar inflammation of the tendon sheath on the thumb side of her right wrist. The ailment is named after Fritz de Quervain (1868-1940), a surgeon from Sion Switzerland who documented the condition in 1895. Caused by repetitive strain (like carpal tunnel), it's also called "Texting Thumb," "Washerwoman's Sprain," or "Mother's Wrist."

When Anikó told her new doc (who is a handsome devil, I must say) about the mundane incident that precipitated this latest medical appointment, he translated her actions into "aggressively mashing potatoes" and promptly prescribed a cortisone injection. She liked that--and him--better than last year's surgical treatment. 😉

UPDATE: I really like this guy. He said he's been offering the same advice for 20 years, but he just recently figured out that patients "remember" a lot more info, if he gives them two business cards, printed front and back. Why don't ALL doctors do this?

 
» On 12/19/2025 06:10:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Confessions Of A Psychonaut. 

In 1938, Albert Hofmann (1906–2008) synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD, while working as a chemist at Sandoz Labs in Basel, Switzerland. On April 19, 1943, Hofmann self-administered the first human test of LSD and when things inevitably got weird, he asked his laboratory assistant to escort him home. Due to wartime restrictions on automobile use, they made the journey by bicycle. Since then, Bicycle Day has become an unofficial celebration of the psychedelic revolution. In 1996, Sandoz merged with another Swiss pharmaceutical firm to form a third entity, which I fondly call the "Swiss Overlords." (And there it is: the Myasthenia Gravis connection.) 😉

Little-Known Factoid: My first acid trip took place around the same time that Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast was released by Pink Floyd, on their 1970 album "Atom Heart Mother." Factoid 2: After meeting me in the late 1970s, while I was working at Saturday Night Live as an NBC Page, Paul Simon was inspired to write this 1983 song as a heartfelt tribute: You Can Call Me Al. Just kidding. 😉

In 1976, the U.S. government offered me $725 to be a research subject and participate in an experimental protocol entitled "Clinical Studies of Tolerance to Marijuana." No joke. I was proud and honored to serve my country. 😉

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/18/2025 09:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
The Blind Leading The Double-Blind.  

Yesterday, I received my first batch of pills in the Myasthenia Gravis research study. Since this is a double-blind clinical trial, nobody (except the pharmaceutical company sponsors in Switzerland, the "Swiss Overlords" 😉) will know whether these gelatin capsules are real medicine, or just placebo pills. So this "Guinea Pig" asks:

(1) Is it live, or is it Memorex?
(2) Red pill or blue pill?
(3) Stefani Germanotta or Lady Gaga? 😉

A placebo group is a control group in a clinical trial that receives an inactive substance or "sham" treatment that mimics the real treatment being tested. This group is used as a benchmark to measure the true effectiveness of the active treatment by accounting for non-specific effects, such as the placebo effect (when a person's belief in a treatment causes a positive change). By comparing the results of the group that received the active treatment to the results of the placebo group, researchers can determine if the active treatment has a genuine effect beyond the power of suggestion.

Blinding: In a clinical trial, participants are often unaware of whether they are in the placebo group or the experimental group (which receives the real treatment). This is called a blinded trial. When neither the participants nor the researchers know which group is which, it is called a double-blind trial, which further reduces bias.

Controls for bias: The placebo group helps researchers account for other factors that could influence the results, such as a desire to please the research supervisor, the expectation of getting better, attention from healthcare professionals, and the natural course of the illness.

Types of placebos: Might be a sugar pill, a saline injection, or even a procedure like a fake surgery, as long as it is indistinguishable from the active treatment.

Measuring efficacy: If the experimental group shows significantly better results than the placebo group, it indicates that the active treatment is effective.

Bonus chuckle - Paul Noth's "placebo" cartoon, referencing Henri Matisse's "La Danse" (1910):

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/17/2025 08:48:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Calendar Boy. 

When I left the neuroscience institute this afternoon, I received several lovely parting gifts:

1) A log book to record each pill I take. "Morning Dose" and "Evening Dose." "Date" and "Time." Down to the minute...

...but luckily, they don't require me to write in the seconds. 😉

2) A personalized calendar with 25 rows of dates, plus three columns: "Early date," "Ideal date," and "Latest date." Since I receive only 70 pills at a time (35 days' worth of twice-daily doses), I have to return to the research site every month for the first six months. After the double-blind portion of the Myasthenia Gravis research ends, they will trust me with a three-month supply, then six months. Finally, there are Safety Follow-Ups, which extend through Tuesday, June 24, 2031!! When I was discharged from the Air Force, 50 years ago, I was certain this type of regimented schedule was in my rear-view mirror. But when you think about it, the calendar is a very considerate item. It allows us to plan out our lives to coordinate with the demands of the clinical study...

...for the next FIVE YEARS. 😉

3) A little white bottle of 70 pills, and a 15"x11"x11" insulated case (with FOUR massively heavy ice packs) in which to carry them. It felt like we were transporting human organs for transplantation. 😉

The pills require cold temperatures, and they need to live in a refrigerator. So any time we want to be outside the house for one of my doses, the pill bottle must travel with us, in this insulated case. Which means we have to put the ice packs in the freezer ahead of time, then take the insulated case whenever we go on vacation, or even overnight trips. 😉

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/17/2025 02:13:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Entry-Level Guinea Pig Position With Swiss Overlords In MG Clinical Research Study. 

The Hot Poop: recently, I've been applying for Myasthenia Gravis clinical trials and research studies. I naturally want to get involved with the development of new treatments for my MG, but I'm also not averse to earning a few extra bucks on the side. MG is a chronic neuromuscular autoimmune disease that's rare enough (0.003%) to attract the attention of major-league researchers and pharmaceutical companies (note tennis great Monica Seles' recent MG endorsement deal with a well-known Dutch immunology firm), and some of them are even willing to pay peons like me. At one point, I was in the middle of a half-hour screening call with a big-time research group when my medication began to demand some *immediate* attention. You see, my neurologist has written a prescription for Mestinon, which features a nasty little side effect: uncontrollable explosive diarrhea. So in mid-conversation, I tiptoed gingerly into the toilet, dropped trou, and plunked my bare butt onto the crapper. Luckily, nothing happened immediately, so I wasn't forced into the awkward position of explaining any strange noises to the nice lady on the other end of the phone line.

A few weeks later, I drove 23 miles to a world-famous neuroscience institute, for the heavy-duty screening process in one of their MG clinical trials. I had already completed the blizzard of release forms via email and talked on the phone with their research supervisor. So far, so good. But the screening appointment was a several-hour interview marathon, with blood and urine samples, an EKG, and several strength and breathing tests. Plus time-consuming quizzes on their iPad and two painful shots for exotic types of invasive meningococcal disease. The experimental medicine would apparently leave me open to several nasty bugs, so they wanted to protect me with vaccines. It was exhausting. My MG was not accustomed to so much stress and exertion, and I could feel the life draining out of my body. But I was also very much aware that she was evaluating me at every step, looking for any excuse to exclude me, which would save them some time and effort. So I tried to keep up the energy in the room with nervous jokes and chatter. She slotted me in MGFA Class IIa, but after I scored a 10 on the MG-ADL Scale, she said one less point would have disqualified me. So I was elated when she finally announced, at about the 150-minute mark, "OK, you're on the list - you're Patient Number 6!" I still needed approval from the drug company sponsor in Switzerland, but I had survived the worst of the screening. That's when I wisecracked, "I am not a number, I am a free man!" It's a line from The Prisoner, a cult British TV series broadcast in the 1960s. But she is in her mid-40s, so she's not old enough to understand the reference, and I had to explain it. However, if the Swiss Overlords accept me into their study, you know that I will be using that line as a callback joke. EVERY DARN TIME I RETURN FOR MY MONTHLY PILLS DURING THE NEXT TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS!

* I get a sixty-dollar meal allowance, plus mileage reimbursement and $50 stipend, every time I make the 46-mile round trip. But if I'm accompanied by a caregiver, s/he gets another sixty bucks. So the research supervisor asked: "Do you have a caregiver?"
I replied, "I have a wife."
"Same diff. Bring her along."

* I haven't met Patient Numbers 1 thru 5, and probably won't. They are part of a select group of 140 people at 80 locations worldwide, so the competition to get included is fierce. One of the five travels 1,200 miles from Montana to Arizona every month. Another one is a patient of my neurologist. And my neurologist was a student of the uber-neurologist who's in charge of this clinical trial, plus several others. Small friggin' world. 😉

* This is a double-blind phase-3 clinical trial. For the first 6 months, I might be getting a placebo. But then, all of the experiment's participants get 2 years' worth of pills (dispensed monthly) that will treat the MG in our bodies.

* The medicine being tested is currently used to treat other illnesses, but the Swiss Overlords want to find out if it can also be used "off-label" to treat MG, by "acting proximally in the alternative pathway of the complement cascade." No, I don't understand that gobbledygook, either. But everybody is really excited about the possibilities, and they're spending a lot of money to hire their 140 "Guinea Pigs."

* "Off-label" use refers to a medication that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a purpose or in a manner that differs from the FDA-approved labeling. It's a common and legal practice.

* According to Google, the Wholesale Acquisition Cost of this drug is around $560,000 per year, as of early 2025. Yowza. You know how your local smack dealer says, "The first one's free"? I suspect this may be a new way for the drug company to drum up repeat business: "Hook 'em for two years, and you got 'em for life." But the joke's on them. I'm pretty old, and statistically unlikely to last very long after the 24 months. 😉

* By the way, my MG is not super serious at the moment -- I'm just permanently exhausted, cross-eyed, constipated, and staggering like a drunken sailor -- but it will have a significant impact for the rest of my life. And if I'm not careful, it could kill me. Highly unlikely, but still. I have drilled my wife on what to do if I stop breathing or start convulsing, but she's not very happy about learning stuff like that. Remember, MG supposedly killed Aristotle Onassis (at the age of 69), the Greek billionaire who married Jackie Kennedy. If he had drilled her, he might be 119 by now. 😉

* UPDATE: The Swiss Overlords have just approved Patient Number 6. I've been waiting for this day since August 30, when I first applied for the clinical trial. Stand back. 😉

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/04/2025 07:00:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Change In Protocol. 

I received a Menveo booster vaccination yesterday. It's supposed to protect me from meningococcal infections. You see, I'm going to be enrolled in a Myasthenia Gravis clinical trial on December 17. And the research medicine will leave me open to several nasty bugs. So this latest injection brings the total number of shots I've had to 5 (FIVE, count 'em, FIVE). I was scheduled to enter the clinical trial on November 25, after FOUR shots, but I just found out there have been TWO deaths of research subjects who had only four shots. So the research sponsors, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to change the protocol and require five shots. In other words, I think they're trying to avoid lawsuits related to the two deaths.

BTW, I was warned about the dangers of this clinical research study, way back in September. The two deaths have given me pause, but this little guinea piggy is pigheaded enough to forge ahead, risking his big fat pork butt on the cutting edge of double-blind scientific research. 🐷🐖🐽🐗 Let's hope he doesn't end up as a sliced ham sammich. 😉

UPDATE - They said the cause of death was unrelated to the clinical trial, and they were throwing around phrases like "abundance of caution." But I could tell they were spooked. The stench of fear was overpowering. 😉

UPDATE 2 - Black Box Warning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxed_warning

Labels: mg

 
» On 12/01/2025 04:30:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Toxic Exposure. 

I am a member of this Veterans Affairs program: www.mvp.va.gov

And they just asked me to take a "Military Experiences and Toxic Exposures Survey."

So I did. And when I got to Q22, I remembered the "PB" medicine (Mestinon) I've been prescribed for Myasthenia Gravis. The V.A. considers it to be a Toxic Exposure, and I have to take it every d*mn day. Lucky me. 😉

"22. The next question asks about how often you were exposed to any of the following during your time in the military. Did you experience:"

Labels: mg

 
» On 11/23/2025 06:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Stairway To Heaven. 

During my Catholic years, I checked off the first four of these seven Sacraments: (1) Baptism, (2) Confession [Penance], (3) Communion [Eucharist], (4) Confirmation, (5) Matrimony, (6) Holy Orders, (7) Last Rites [Extreme Unction]. Which ones did you collect?

Ironically, I missed Sacrament #5 because ex-wife #2 got there first. In addition to obtaining her divorce decree from hubby #1, she insisted upon getting a religious annulment so her immortal soul wouldn't burn in the eternal flames of H*ll. Her priest required us to perform many baffling gyrations, twisting ourselves into pretzels to obtain the annulment, leaving neither one of us in the mood to solemnize our union in the Church. The certificate below explicitly itemizes three of the Sacraments I had already amassed before marrying her, but if you're the first person to explain how the fourth is included by implication, you'll win four Papist Points, redeemable at your nearest Chapel, Church, Cathedral, or Basilica. Additionally, you'll receive your choice of religious candles: Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Bismillah Special Edition, MagicLight Heavenly Glow Flameless LED, or The Faith Can Move Mountains Saints Collection Devotional Prayer Vigil Divine Crown Living Grace Immaculate Mercy Holy Coronation Biblical Oil Conical Votive Pillar.

Happy Sunday!

PS: When I first heard of Extreme Unction in Sunday school, I thought the teacher was saying Extra Munction. So I asked what Munction was. 😉

Led Zep song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly6ZhQVnVow

 
» On 11/15/2025 05:50:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Did Something Go Down The Wrong Pipe? 

Has this ever happened to you? Of course it has. Occasionally, it used to happen to me, too. But now it's an all-too-regular feature of daily life. Myasthenia Gravis causes fluctuating weakness in the muscles that control swallowing, including the tongue, jaw, and muscles in the pharynx. Weakness of the tongue makes it difficult to manipulate and move food and liquid to the back of the throat for a swallow. The so-called 'experts' call this "impaired bolus management." That phrase cracks me right up - reminds me of a little kid who's showing off by trying to use words he doesn't really understand. 😉 And how about all that extra phlegm, or mucus, produced by the MG? That's why "bulbar oropharyngeal dysphagia," or difficulty swallowing, is a common MG symptom. I used to chew and drink without a care in the world. But now I need to practice mindfulness, and pay close attention to each mouthful and every sip to avoid getting Heimliched. Otherwise, if I don't stay focused, I could be rushed to the E.R. with aspiration pneumonia, an infection resulting from food or fluid reaching the lungs.

I'm such a yutz. 😉

Labels: mg

 
» On 11/12/2025 06:28:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Risky Bidniz. 

Yesterday, I got my first Bexsero booster. I'm nearly ready to be enrolled in a clinical trial (research study) testing a new treatment for Myasthenia Gravis, and the medicine will lower my defenses against meningitis. So the study organizers want to make sure I'm protected, with three different vaccines. Bexsero is one of them. I knew this study would be somewhat risky, but... 😉

UPDATE - I just researched the details: three separate shots, with two boosters, that protect against six different types of invasive meningococcal disease & sepsis-causing bacteria: Neisseria meningitidis - serogroups A, B, C, Y, W-135; and Haemophilus influenzae - type b. Woo-hoo! Ride 'em, cowboy!! 😉

UPDATE 2 - Meningitis is an infection, most commonly caused by bacteria or viruses. The experimental medicine is a complement inhibitor, which affects a part of the immune system crucial for fighting certain bacterial infections. Like meningitis. The study organizers promise that, if their medicine screws me up, they'll give me IVIg (Intravenous Immunoglobulin), an infusion of antibodies from many, many healthy, non-MG folks. A six-thousand-dollar consolation prize, for free! But this medicine is much more likely to be a successful treatment for the Myasthenia Gravis that's screwing me up in oh-so-many ways. The drug has already been through Stage 1 and Stage 2 trials, and has advanced to this Stage 3 trial, which wouldn't have happened if there were any negative outcomes. I'm pretty darn safe. But if I *DO* need the IVIg, that's a excellent deal, too. So: Win-Win! 🏆😎

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