How hard is MG to be diagnosed?

[Franky1980]

I am a 31 yo female, with high myopia (7.5-R, 8.5-L) and a history of tears in the left eye retina that were treated by laser. Since I have this eye problem history my eye doc asked to be extra vigilant regarding changes in vision. About two months ago I started having a weird feeling during work hours (my job is fairly phisical- I am a manager and waitress at a bakery-coffee house) that i later attributed to double vision (diplopia).  My left eye is visibly "off". When i close one eye this stops.This was an on/off thing that got better when I concentrated. Found myself shutting the left eye a lot just to be able to perform my job. After about two weeks this stopped, only to return permenamtly for the past month. I have a slight ptosis in my left eye which comes and goes. I was hospitalized for a week and a half, admitted to the Neurology ward, where they ran many neurologists assesments, Ab blood tests (all negative), a SFEMG (negative),a Tensilon test (also negative). During my hospitalization i started feeling a weakness in my arms. MRI of the brain was clear so they sent me home with a differential of: MG, graves or conversia (however they called it symptoms that appear neurological but stem from stress. I have been diagnosed for Chronic depression when I was 18 and have been taking Prozac since I was 19 was). Some doctors who tested my reflexes said my left side reflex of leg are weak. They all agreed (Neuros, eye docs and neuro-ophthalmologist) that I have skew deviation and some restriction in eye movement.
Meanwhile- from being an active and self reliant person I cannot work, drive, clean, cook or read (I get headaches). A rheumatologist suggested I start taking Prednisone for a month just as a form of diagnostic measure since I am so very frustrated..
I have read some posts by ppl who where diagnosed with MG that said it took years!
Some other disorders where mentioned such as MS..
This is all very scary for me. will the steroids give me an answer?
Thank you in advanced!

[Red_Star]

I have done my fair share of home tests for various medical conditions :) and for MG i tried the ice test for my ptosis, the upwards gaze test, and the arm outstretched test.  There are quite a few other clinical tests for MG as well.  Youtube search: "Ice Test for Myasthenia Gravis" to see the improvement of ptosis and ocular motility in a patient with MG.

***

"A prospective, non randomized comparative study was conducted to examine the efficacy of the ice test in differentiating myasthenia gravis (MG) ptosis from non MG. Twenty patients with MG ptosis and 20 with non MG ptosis were evaluated by measuring the palpebral fissures pre and post ice test applied on the eyelids for 2 minutes.

The difference in widening of palpebral fissure 2 mm or more was considered as a positive ice test. The results showed that 19 from 20 MG patients had positive ice test, whereas, all non MG patients had negative results.

The sensitivity and specificity of the test were 95.0 per cent and 100 per cent, respectively while the accuracy or efficacy of the test was 97.5 per cent. In conclusion, the ice test is a useful, simple, safe, fast, cheap, and easy to perform for the screening and diagnosis MG patients with ocular ptosis." - Ice test for ocular myasthenia gravis - Pubmed - PMID: 11529325

[Barb135]

Not sure what MG is, but appears that your issues are vision related.  This is a thyroid forum, so it's unlikely that you will find much help here