Concerning Symptoms - Views welcome

[Spendulkar69]

I am a 54 year old male that is experiencing the following:

Loss of grip strength in thumb and forefinger. Worse in right hand than left
Body cramps - legs, hands, stomach
Muscle twitches - constant
Lost some muscle from my hands
Right grip is weaker than the left

On the positive side:
I don’t appear to have lost general limb strength
I don’t appear to have any tongue abnormalities
My balance seems ok
My mental thoughts seem stable

Do any of the symptoms or positives make an ALS diagnosis unlikely?

 

[Nikki J]

What does your gp say? Were your hands affected more or less simultaneously even if one is worse? That would be unusual. You need to get examined though and if necessary referred. I know it is problematic right now given the nhs situation

 

[Spendulkar69]

My GP has refers me to a neurologist. Re my hands, I noticed playing golf that I was struggling to grip the club in colder conditions. Now, even in Summer I have still noticed a lack of strength particularly in my index finger. Albeit not as bad as winter months. I also get very cold feet which I forgot to mention.

 

[Spendulkar69]

Hi Nikki. I have now been for MRI tests and EMG. MRI was clear although there was an abnormality on my EMG. I have now been referred to a nerve/muscle specialist. Would an EMG be definitive in diagnosing MND?

 

[Nikki J]

What was the abnormality? Emgs can be abnormal in many ways most are not mnd. An ALS diagnose requires specific findings on the the emg, ruling out other things by mri and extensive blood work and specific clinical findings. The emg is important but it is one test

 

[Spendulkar69]

Thanks for your reply. My consultant didn't tell me what the abnormaility was. Only that I have a muscle/nerve disease or condition and he is referring me to a specialist in this field. The consultant told me that one of theooutcomes could be MND, although it could also be 5 or 6 other conditions. I'm trying to understand if a neurologist can look at an EMG report and have a high level of confidence that it can be MND?

 

[Nikki J]

Yes but it doesn’t sound like yours falls into that category if it could be 5-6 other things. If you can obtain and post the report blocking your id we could understand better