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mma0413

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Joined
Mar 25, 2018
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4
Reason
Learn about ALS
Country
US
State
Texas
City
Arlington
Hi Everyone,
I feel bad about posting here incase I bother or offend anyone suffering from this disease but I have been lurking for awhile and my symptoms have developed to a point I cant ignore. I have read the stickies and realise alot of what I say doesnt sound like als but these past two weeks I have gotten symptoms that do sound like als.

About a year and 9 months ago I half my face went numb suddenly and I developed an intense pressure in my head and stiffness in my neck. I noticed and still to this day the right side of my face that went numb doesnt move as easily as the left side of my face. At the same time I noticed that my left arm when doing pushups or working out was not moving fluidly but was moving in steps if that makes sense I dont know how to describe it but it was clicking like the nerves were not firing properly. Also extreme fatigue still to this day. Initially I thought stroke and went to the ER twice thinking something wrong like that. after CT scan showed clear i started researching and thought MS. First neurologist did MRI showed clear no MS but he did EMG on left and right arms and said the EMG on left arm showed nerve damage but didnt say he was worried about anything. I didnt know about ALS then so didnt worry too much. After a few months of symptoms getting worse and now weakness and heaviness in legs i thought adult onset muscular dystrophy. My right leg feels weak and I started developing sharp pain in my right hip and when i get up from sitting too long sometime i notice my hips are shifted out of place, like acute scoliosis. Saw second neurologist, did EMG only on right side arm, hand, leg and foot. Said no nerve damage so no ALS but when i explained first neurologist said nerve damage on left side he brushed it off. He refuses to do any more testing on me because he is sure this is anxiety. Now onto what i fear is the beginning of als. A couple weeks ago i noticed shaking in my left index finger and thumb whenever I try and move them or curl them. MY typing is clumsy with the left hand at the same time i am getting twitches mainly in my legs. I try to do the pinch test and try and lift something using only a pinching motion with my index and thumb and my left is definitely weaker and cant lift like my right index and thumb. There is no feeling of weakness my left index and thumb feel the same as right except definitely weaker. Can someone please tell me what you think. Dirty emg and definite weakness on left fingers. Im very scared.

Thanks for your time.
 
Sorry just needed to add one more thing. Starting yesterday i noticed im having trouble saying the letter S.
 
Hi, Arlington,

If you could post the EMG report, we could be more helpful. But ALS would not be anywhere near the top of my list from your description, and if there were any real suspicion from your testing and exams, I daresay you would know.

Best,
Laurie
 
Thanks for the reply Laurie. I do not have the EMG report but I will try and get it.
 
I'll try and make this the last post unless I lose complete function in my fingers. I just wanted to ask can als start with weakness and clumsiness in fingers but no noticeable loss of function just weakness? The sticky says no it can't but I swear I read a post about someone who said theirs started like this with weakness and clumsiness in fingers. The fact that my emg showed nerve damage and my thumb and index finger are definitely weaker on that side has me very worried this is the start and I may wake up tomorrow with complete loss of function. I'd appreciate any feedback you guys can give me and my heart goes out to everyone with this disease.
 
"Weakness" without loss of strength is a feeling, not a symptom. Post the EMG if you want advice pertinent to your situation, but we won't have anything much further to say without it. We're missing some key parts of the story here, and can't fill in the blanks ourselves.

I would be quite surprised if you woke up without function in your fingers. In fact, I haven't heard any reason as yet for you to be more scared than your docs seem to be.
 
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