Never thought I'd be cut out for lifting heavy things.

lorigem

Imagine this. You're waking up from a deep sleep. It's time to get up for the day. Only you feel a bit paralyzed but figure you're just really fatigued...again. You go to the bathroom to brush your teeth. But the toothbrush feels as though it weighs 50 pounds. Picking up the hair dryer is nearly impossible. Your hairbrush is just as heavy and you can't keep the movement of actually brushing your hair up for long because you soon start to get very, very tired.

It's just another day though.

You get to work. Open the door and fall out of the car because your legs are too weak to hold you up. But you laugh it off because that's all you can do at this point.

This was me every day until I was about 23. I was overweight but not huge - probably in the 150s. I just figured I wasn't a fit person. But this started to really get out of hand when I couldn't even walk the distance from a parking lot to my college class without feeling extremely weak by the end. And going up stairs? Forget about it.

What did my doctor say? "Exercise more." So I tried. But I couldn't - I physically just couldn't do it. When I was a cashier at a food market, my "weakness" was so bad, I couldn't even scan a can of dog food. At a military ball I was invited to, I was dancing with someone. I knew my legs were getting weaker and weaker but I didn't want to just stop. So I kept going. Big mistake. I fell to my knees. The guy I was dancing with was confused. My family was there and they thought I was drunk. And I really felt like just crying.

It was then that I demanded the doctor really take a look at me. So he sent me to a neurologist. And 'lo and behold, when he walked into the exam room and took one look at me, he knew what I had.

"Myasthenia Gravis," he said. How did he know? My eyes. He called them "bedroom" eyes. I always was told to "wake up!" or asked "are you sleepy?" People really must have thought I was a pot head growing up.

MG is a rare muscle disorder most prevalent in young females. A noticeable sign of it are the eyes.

So I got my thymus gland taken out (have the 5 inch long scar in between my boobs to prove it). And I got better. That was in 2005.

Even though I have a looong way to go - fitness and weight wise - every time I do a squat or deadlift, I get a little teary because I never thought I would be able to do this. But I'm on my way. Slowly but surely I'm getting stronger and slimmer. And I thank my barbell and plates for that (and that neurologist that gave me my life back).

Just thought I'd share my story thus far. :flowerforyou: Happy Friday! :drinker:

NovemberJune

WOW thanks so much for sharing your story. Your strength is such an inspiration! :happy:

Shawshankcan

Glad you were able to find what the true problem was, and correct it. Sometimes when a person is saying something, it is not just an excuse.

Shan790

I love a happy ending! Glad you got it figured out!

MoreBean13

What a great story. Congrats!

RockClimber69

Wow! Thanks for sharing and hope you continue to go from strength to strength.

ShannonMpls

This is really, really awesome.

Keep it up, and thanks for sharing.

BeachIron

Wow! Thanks for sharing that!

uneik3

That's great that you didn't let it stop you and now you're achieving things you never thought you would! What an amazing feeling and thank you for sharing!