CONFUCIUS SAY EAT WELL, EXERCISE, DIE ANYWAY.

William Bradley Dunagan

After 6 years and five different Neurologists I finally received a diagnosis. They determined I do have a brain. However, that's not the problem. I was recently diagnosed with Sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis.

This is a recent photo on my 69th birthday. The first thing you may notice is the muscle tissue in my forearms are gone, just hanging skin. I have very little strength remaining in my hands, wrists and feet which for a long time I thought was arthritis developing in my extremities. Turns out, not to be the case. My quadriceps muscles, the large muscles on the front part of the thighs, have weakened to the point it's becoming a real challenge to stand up from a sitting or lying position. When I first begin to notice these developing symptoms, almost six years ago, I was scared to death that it might be ALS. However, the diagnosis of Sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis now has been confirmed by three Neurologist from Emory and The VA. They still want to do a nerve and muscle biopsy to be sure.

There is good news though! Life is Good! I've been told that this rare muscular degenerative disease should not shorten my life expectancy. However, the probability of me ending up in a wheel chair in a few years is very likely. The best news of all is it is not believed to be genetic or hereditary and this is the reason I wanted to post this information on the family blog primarily for the benefit of my children and my10 grandchildren. As I understand it, there is an autoimmune factor involved and it happens to mostly men past the age of 50. They don't know the cause or cure.


What is inclusion body myositis (IBM)?


Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is an inflammatory and degenerative muscle disease that causes painless weakening of muscle.

IBM gets worse slowly and is sometimes misdiagnosed as treatment-resistant polymyositis, another inflammatory muscle disease that causes muscle weakness. IBM also may be misdiagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

Symptoms of the disease usually begin after the age of 50, although the disease can occur earlier. IBM occurs more frequently in men than in women and is the most common muscle disease in people aged 50 and older.
What are the symptoms of inclusion body myositis (IBM)?

In IBM, the onset of muscle weakness usually is gradual, occurring over months or years. 

Falling and tripping usually are the first noticeable symptoms. 

For some people, IBM begins with weakness in the hands. 

People with IBM may have: Difficulty with gripping, pinching, and buttoning.
Weakness of the wrist and finger muscles.
Atrophy (shrinking or wasting) of the muscles of the forearms.
Weakness and visible wasting of the quadriceps muscles (the large muscles on the front part of the thighs.)
Weakness of the lower leg muscles, below the knees.
Weakness of the esophageal muscles, which can cause dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) in about 30 to 40 percent of patients.
Weakness of other muscle groups as the disease progresses.

From a medical historical perspective for the Dunagan Family on my side:

My father, George Dunagan, died a few weeks shy of his 93rd birthday from kidney failure and just old age. His brother, William Melvin Dunagan, suffered from diabetes before his death.

My Grandfather, William Andrew Dunagan, suffered from diabetes and heart disease. He died at age 59 from complications of Diabetes.

My great Grandfather, Jeter Andrew Dunagan, died in 1923, at the age of 60. Dad told me he was a builder and a craftsman carpenter. He fell from a scaffold working on a house and he never fully recovered from his injuries. I'm not aware of any health issues he may of had.

My 2nd Great Grandfather, John Franklin Dunagan, died at the ripe old age of 58. The only photo we have of him, he is sitting in a wheel chair and looks like he is at least 90 years old. He fought with the 43rd Infantry Regiment of Georgia in the Civil War and participated in over 100 battle campaigns which had to have taken a lot of years off his life.

My 3rd Great Grandfather, Joseph Ellis Dunagan, died at the age of 68. As far as we know he had no serious health issues but died from what they called "the fever" on his return trip back to Georgia from his second gold prospecting adventure out west.

Darline Dunagan Scroggs thinks that her great grandfather, Joseph Alexander Dunagan, one of 4 sons of John Franklin, may have had Parkinson's.

Ezekiel Dunagan, the patriarch of us Georgia Dunagans, and beyond, was my 4th great grandfather, died at the age of 66 in 1837, after fathering 19 children before viagra was invented, I might add. I stand in awe of this man! Veteran of the War of 1812, as was his first born son, Joseph Ellis Dunagan. To my knowledge he had no specific health issues that contributed to his death other than he was one horny dude. 😂