What are the symptoms of myasthenia gravis?

The main symptom of MG is weakness in the voluntary skeletal muscles, which are muscles under your control.

Muscles typically fail to contract if they can’t respond to nerve impulses. When communication between nerve and muscle is blocked, weakness results. The degree of weakness can change daily, and symptom severity typically increases over time if left untreated.

Weakness associated with MG usually gets worse with activity and improves with rest.

People with MG may experience different symptoms affecting different parts of the body, such as:

Eyes

When affecting the eyes, MG can cause:

drooping eyelids (ptosis)

blurry or double vision (diplopia)

issues with eye and eyelid movement

Face

MG can affect your control of your facial muscles. This can cause:

Throat

When MG affects the muscles of the throat, you may experience:

difficulty speaking (dysarthria)

issues with swallowing

difficulty swallowing or chewing

hoarse voice

neck weakness, which can make it difficult to hold up your head

Chest

When MG affects the muscles of the chest area, you may experience

This can lead to myasthenic crisis and respiratory failure.

A myasthenic crisis is life threatening and requires emergency medical treatment.

Arms and legs

MG can also affect muscles in your arms and legs, which may cause: