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