Recommended Supplements for Myasthenia Gravis patients

By George Barron
Those of us with myasthenia gravis struggle to fight the disease on many levels. One of those levels is developing a nutritional balance that we believe will help subdue our symptoms. Most of the advice from doctors will be to eat a balanced diet and maybe suggest a vitamin and mineral supplement. However, many of us insist on trying different regimens and are constantly searching for the right mix of diet, exercise and effective nutritional supplements. In that spirit, I pass along the following suggestions that I personally use or read about while browsing a natural healing book.

From The Family Encyclopedia of Natural Healing
By John Heinerman and Lyndon H Smith


Generalized Myasthenia Gravis affects muscles in any part of the body but most often the muscles of the face and neck. In the disease, there is an interference with the availability of acetyicholine, a compound the transmit nerve impulses to the muscles. It is characterized by exhaustion and progressive paralysis. Symptoms include double vision, drooping eyelids, choking, and difficulty in breathing, swallowing, and talking parents imperfect articulation, stammering, and stuttering,).

The following supplement program was worked out independently by one of the authors of the book that I noted above. He happens to be a medical doctor that claims to have experience treating myasthenia gravis patients. However, the other other author, who is a medical anthropologist, has made a couple of contributions of his own. When put together,their advice represents a reasonable nutritional therapy for formyasthenia gravis sufferers.

Below are their recommendations. Please try my favorite supplement supplier, VitaBase if you're looking for a great online company to deal with. Prices are reasonable and the quality is excellent. What I particularly like is that their dosages usually make sense for what I need.  

Manganese: 15 mg.
Vitamin E : 400  I.U.
Vitamin C: 2500 mg
Brewers yeast: 1 tablespoon
Vitamin B:  two tablets
Rex Wheat Germ Oil*: 1 teaspoon
Vitamin D: 400 I.U.
Liquid lecithin: 1 tablespoon

While I see nothing wrong with the above supplement plan, I have modified it for my personal use - based on my own independent research. Notably, emerging research indicates much higher doses of vitamin D are required to keep blood serum levels optimally. I also think that vitamin B6 should be augmented. And the it is my own feeling that there is a slight risk with the manganese when taken on a regular basis so about every three months I will take 50 mg, every day for two weeks.

Here's my MG supplement pack:
1 Multi-vitamin and Mineral supplement daily
Plus the following:
Manganese: 50 mg. , every other day for two weeks, every 3 months,
Vitamin C - 1,000 mg - twice a day
Vitamin E - 1,000 I.U. (use to take 400 I.U.)
Vitamin B-6 - 100 mg
Flax seed oil: 1,350 mg
Calcium - 1,200 mg
Potasium - 99 mg twice a day (see my post about prednisone and leg cramps)
Magnesium - 250 mg (see my note below)
Vitamin D-3 - 5,000 mg
Vitamin B-12 - under tongue - 5,000 mc

I take a few other things as well but the above is what I more or less consider specific for my myasthenia gravis. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but I, like so many other patients, don't want to leave any stone upturned in my pursuit to feel as normal as possible. If a steady intake of these suppliments will help me feel even 2% better then I'm on it!

*Everything can be purchased in any health food store or nutritional outlet, with the exception of Rex Wheat Germ Oil It can be obtained from a livestock feed supply company or it can be ordered from Amazon.com using the above link.

Note about magnesium: : Do a little research on the magnesium for yourself but I've found that the advice to MG patients to avoid it is not only unwarranted but could be detrimental. I learned that additional magnesium is required if there is an increase in calcium.