Difficulty swallowing and choking is often one of the first signs of Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Other signs, which usually do not occur all at once. Often a droopy eyelid, blurry or double vision is the first symptom but not for all with MG. Other symptoms of MG are: choking and difficulty swallowing, limited facial expressions (looking like a sneer or angry), weakness in neck, arms & legs, slurred speech. Gradually, I had ALL of these symptoms. I dismissed all except slurred speech as 'old age' as I was 75 when I was diagnosed with MG. Many doctors, even specialists in the above neurological fields DO NOT HAVE A CLUE ABOUT MG! I went to an ENT specialist for my speech. He said that I would need a palette surgery but at my age, it would NOT be recommended! Thankfully, I went to my PCP who wanted to rule out mini stroke although he really felt that was not the problem. At the hospital, after eliminating all obvious causes of my symptoms, the hospital staff neurologist new slurred speech was a symptom of MG, put all the pieces together, did the Tensilon test (drug into IV line) and within seconds after my voice started to slur, I could speak NORMALLY! He smiled and said 'you have Myasthenia Gravis'. He 'double confirmed' with the blood test for the ACHr antibodies. Yes, normal ACHr count is 25 or below. My count was 49! It took me TWO YEARS to find a neurologist who KNEW how to effectively treat MG! My MG was stabilized, I started a MG support group and am a fervent advocate of MG education!!

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