"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
...
Old Thom Stewart sounds like a pretty nice old chap. I read in a post
he made recently where he has an auto-immune disease called myasthenia
gravis. Maybe he does have it but I think he could have been
mis-diagnosed. I did a little research and found the following:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/m...nia_gravis.htm

"What are the symptoms of myasthenia gravis?

"Although myasthenia gravis may affect any voluntary muscle, muscles
that control eye and eyelid movement, facial expression, and
swallowing are most frequently affected. The onset of the disorder may
be sudden. Symptoms often are not immediately recognized as myasthenia
gravis. In most cases, the first noticeable symptom is weakness of the
eye muscles. In others, difficulty in swallowing and slurred speech
may be the first signs. The degree of muscle weakness involved in
myasthenia gravis varies greatly among patients, ranging from a
localized form, limited to eye muscles (ocular myasthenia), to a
severe or generalized form in which many muscles - sometimes including
those that control breathing - are affected. Symptoms, which vary in
type and severity, may include a drooping of one or both eyelids
(ptosis), blurred or double vision (diplopia) due to weakness of the
muscles that control eye movements, unstable or waddling gait,
weakness in arms, hands, fingers, legs, and neck, a change in facial
expression, difficulty in swallowing and shortness of breath, and
impaired speech (dysarthria)."

Notice the part where it mentions difficulty in swallowing. I've seen
pictures of Thom and there's no way in the world that man has ever had
difficulty swallowing. From the size of his stomach it looks like he
swallows whole cakes, pies and sides of beef.

Muscle weakness is mentioned as a primary symptom. But, considering
the ponderous mass Mr. Stewart's muscles must attempt to move around,
is it any wonder they appear weak? It mentions the muscles that
control breathing are often weakened. But proper breathing means
having the diaphragm move down towards the stomach. But when the
stomach is as large as Thom's even the strongest diaphragm muscles
don't have a chance to move against such a mass. Compounding this is
the natural process of aging where the rib cage becomes less flexible
and more difficult to expand when breathing. This puts a premium on
the diaphragm's being able to move down into the stomach area
unrestricted.

This brings me to a cure for Thom:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

"Many diseases in the obese population have been found to improve
after weight loss. A 56-year-old female with a long history of
myasthenia gravis (MG) and morbid obesity is reported. Preoperatively,
she presented with a BMI of 46.5 kg/m2, and was on three medications
and IV immunoglobulin every 5 weeks. After the surgical procedure, she
improved and required less medication. Because MG and morbid obesity
require careful perioperative management in order to avoid
complications, a multidisciplinary approach is recommended."

Check with your doctor please, Mr. Stewart. Get serious about losing
weight. It just might improve your quality of life greatly. Your MG
may be relatively minor but exacerbated by obesity.

Wilbur Hubbard



Yeah, Wilbur! U might B on2 sumthing. Fats bad 4U. It sez it here 2
http://www.lakesidepress.com/pulmona...athe/Sectl.htm

"Perhaps the simplest explanation is that excess weight of the chest
wall caused by the fat makes it difficult to take a deep breath. Also
the massive weight of the abdominal fat makes it difficult to move the
diaphragms. However, weight alone cannot be the only explanation for
respiratory impairment, since patients equally overweight often have
very different breathing test results."

Lose the fat. B healthE. B happE. B kewl. U can sail Agin.

todd