You’re sitting across the desk from your doctor having just been told you have myasthenia gravis, or MG. Suddenly she starts dropping words like “diplopia” and “acetylcholine.” She looks expectantly at you, thinking that if she knows what those words mean, then you probably do, too. You, in turn, look at your doctor like she’s got two heads. The moment has arrived for you to start asking questions.
First of all Doc, you’d better back up and tell me what myasthenia gravis is all about… and then we’ll get to the meaning of diplopia and acetycholine.
She sighs. Yes, you caught that. Your doctor just sighed because you’re not fitting into her managed care time clock. Well, too bad. If there’s one thing I’ve learned writing for Patient Worthy, it’s that you have to advocate for your own health, and a big part of that is asking questions regarding the things you don’t understand–particularly when you’ve been newly diagnosed with something you’ve never heard of.
You may not be the world’s most convenient patient, but at least by the time you punch her time clock, you’ll have a basic understanding of what the disorder is, what treatment options are available, and what your next steps should be. (I always suggest getting a second opinion. It can’t hurt, and it might help.)
So, that said, I’ll tell you the meanings of those two five dollar words: Diplopia is the term for double-vision. (Your doctor could have saved time and called it that, but hey…) and acetycholine is a chemical made in nerve terminals that’s released to signal a muscle to contract.
