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PALS major panic and stuffy nose issues

Submitted by Kjservant on Thu, 05/12/2016 - 21:32

I'm just at my wits end trying to help my PALS and would appreciate any suggestions.

He is constantly stuffed up and we have tried the saline sprays, gels, Afrin, tissues in water used to wet his nose, Sudafed you name it and nothing has helped. We've mentioned it to our clinic and VA docs and it gets shrugged off as yeah that happens.

Then every afternoon - think sundowners with dementia pts - he starts getting panicked.

My boyfriend has ALS and not sure how to move further in relationship

Submitted by Sharpham on Mon, 05/02/2016 - 09:08

Hello all!  In search of advice from anyone!  My boyfriend told me last night that he has been diagnosed with ALS two years ago.  Being a single mom, I need to know if I would have the strength to move on with my relationship with him?  I have three boys under the age of 11, and I don't know if we were to stay together what will happen?  

Wondering what's wrong

Submitted by Mtey86 on Sat, 04/30/2016 - 21:56

I've been reading through everything trying to compare symptoms.  

It started in February with lots of tingling and numbness in my fingers.  I would wake up with numb fingers and lots of neck pain. I had an MRI in February and it showed a bulging disc. I had physical therapy but it didn't do a thing for me.  

Do I have als? So scared

Submitted by dionlynch10 on Mon, 04/25/2016 - 09:30

For the last few months I guess you could say I had this muscle stiffness in my wrist forearm and left lower calf. I noticed it whenever I played basketball but it never had any impact on me working out or playing basketball. Recently this stiffness progressed and turned into a weakness above my knee/ upper thigh and my foot has this weird sensation that travels all the way to the tip of my toes. Almost like a tingling sensation but not quite. I also have a slight twitch. I fee fatigued in general but I think that's just depression because of these symptoms. I'm freaking out and scared.

Does this sound like als? So scared.

Submitted by dionlynch10 on Mon, 04/25/2016 - 09:13

I am a 19 year old male. I guess for the last few months I had this stiffness in my wrist area and around my calf but I never paid attention to it as it never bothered me. Recently since last Friday, the stiffness increased and almost turned into what felt like a growing pain. Since then my leg and arm have felt a little weaker and twitching. My foot has been getting weird sensations all the way to the top of the toes. Right above my knee is very twitchy, weak, fatigued.

Lara's Tale, Part One

Submitted by Laraliu on Thu, 04/21/2016 - 11:57

I do not know if writing my story down will be of any help to me.  I doubt it will be of help to you but I need some way to purge myself of the crazy roller coaster of emotions I'm going through.  My therapist suggested I keep a log of feelings and issues as a way to help me cope with ALS.  I had tried to journal earlier but hated everything I wrote so I quit writing.

Miss you dad.

Submitted by skipper66 on Fri, 03/04/2016 - 03:42
Hi Dad, I miss you so much dad. I just wish you were here to talk too. I still look at the clock at 11:30 in the morning and at 7 at night and then remember that I can no longer call you. Yesterday, was a hard day for me. It was 23 years ago that Brian asked for your permission to ask me to marry him. Dad, What should I do? I still love him so much. Should I throw in the towel? Is there still hope for us? We still love each other. I am so lonely.

ALS is not a war, it's a roller coaster.

Submitted by Atsugi on Sun, 11/29/2015 - 17:08
I often read about PALS fighting the battle and being told not to give up. Every time I read that, I feel a little confused, and now I understand why. That view assumes a war. And wars can be won or lost. Too often, people dealing with ALS think they're in a war that they're bound to lose. But that's not how ALS works. Normally, life in middle age is a fairly comfortable ride, with no idea how long it will last or how the end will come, so we ignore that.

Successful Grief Recovery: How to.

Submitted by Atsugi on Thu, 09/03/2015 - 02:34
When I first read EKR's On Death and Dying decades ago, I was elated that someone would bring such an important subject out into the light. But I was skeptical of her methods. Indeed, now there is much criticism for her unscientific approach. The 5 Stages of Grief taught in Psyc 101 are good food for thought, but they're certainly not the final word. You might find a book on grief to help. To be honest, I flipped through some books at the bookstore, but never actually took one home.

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