Robb
Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2014
- Messages
- 21
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- TH
- State
- Bkk
- City
- Bangkok
Hi All,
My last post on here was almost 2 years ago, about the time i was having my 4th EMG, which came out clear of any serious issues, i wont lie and say everything went back to normal after that, i did have my bouts of weakness, twitching, new symptoms etc etc but since September 2017 ive had some issues with swallowing and coughing, at first it started off as coughing, very intense and a hacking kind of cough, i went to the doctors to ask what was going on but since i have a history with Gerd they played it off and gave me meds, the meds however have hardly done me any good.
Then came the swallowing issues in Sep 2017, i went to a specialist , he did a barium swallow, PH monitor and Esophageal Manometry, the barium results said my swallowing was normal however there was some pressure in my left bronchus which they couldn't explain, the manometry came back relatively normal, only showed slightly lower amptitude in the mid section of the esophagus which he said could be normal or due to stress and couldn't explain it further, the Ph monitor showed acid relfux but not as sever as i would have thought, anyways the doctors gave me some medications which haven't helped much and sent me on my way.
On the bright side my swallowing issues didn't get worse and in fact i didn't notice them that much over the past few months after that until 2 weeks ago when it sudden got pretty bad again, but since november i developed voice issues, basically i was coughing too much and very hard and i felt like i strained my vocal cords, the doctors kept saying its because of GERD and there's not much i can do about it, since Nov i have lost my voice on and off pretty much every couple of weeks, they tried steroids a few times which worked a bit but after it kept reoccurring a few times it doesnt seem to work anymore.
As of today my voice is extremely strained , i have pretty much lost my high pitch voice , during a sentence i literally loose air at certain words, my voice is extremely hoarse , apart from that the cough is severe again and literally causing my stomach muscles and ribs to hurt, my chest hurts and feels weak as well, sometimes i feel like i can't even breathe, apart from that my swallowing is bad again as i feel like the food is getting stuck in my throat and i have to clear my throat often or even cough sometimes when im eating.
However i should mention i have never choked as yet, meaning like a real choke where the food or water went down the wrong way, only coughed sometimes or had to clear my throat, also thats usually after ive swallowed a bite or already had a drink maybe a few seconds later.
I went to my regular Neuro Muscular specialist who checked me out last week, in terms of my body and strength and reflexes, Spasticity, bebinski, my tongue movement, checking for fasciculations he said everything looked alright, they haven't repeated any emg's since late 2016 because they had already done 4 since 2014 and didn't think it was necessary. I do feel like i slur sometimes but ive mentioned it to my doctors and family and no one has noticed it yet.
Ive also been to the various ENT's, one just a couple of days ago, he put a endoscope down my nose to see my throat, he said the motor function looked normal, it moved like it should when i said E... they said it was a bit inflamed which could be caused by the acid reflux and said most likely my voice issues are due to that, they have given me some asthma spray and some new medication to try now and so far its still the same for the past few days.
The only reason im back on here is because im aware that alot of these symptoms are similar to ones found in MND'S such as hoarseness, loosing high pitch voice, chest muscle feelings tired, even my breathing gets tiring sometimes and i have to take breaks when i talk or get tired when i climb up stairs etc..
I understand that there's other factors that could be contributing to it such as my GERD but sadly im still worried about the Neuro Muscular side of things more, i am being truthful and not exaggerating any symptoms, in fact i have even done a lung function test back in Oct around the same time as the barium which was normal as well and even today my peak flow meter reading is over 720ml on each blow.
Could there be something going on ? or should i stop focusing on the Neuro muscular side of things ?
I would really appreciate if anyone who has had a similar situation or has any idea of how these symptoms or things manifest or progress.
Thanks again for your patience and sorry for writing alot as i don't want to waste you time with the back and fourths and would just like some feedback to address my concerns.
My last post on here was almost 2 years ago, about the time i was having my 4th EMG, which came out clear of any serious issues, i wont lie and say everything went back to normal after that, i did have my bouts of weakness, twitching, new symptoms etc etc but since September 2017 ive had some issues with swallowing and coughing, at first it started off as coughing, very intense and a hacking kind of cough, i went to the doctors to ask what was going on but since i have a history with Gerd they played it off and gave me meds, the meds however have hardly done me any good.
Then came the swallowing issues in Sep 2017, i went to a specialist , he did a barium swallow, PH monitor and Esophageal Manometry, the barium results said my swallowing was normal however there was some pressure in my left bronchus which they couldn't explain, the manometry came back relatively normal, only showed slightly lower amptitude in the mid section of the esophagus which he said could be normal or due to stress and couldn't explain it further, the Ph monitor showed acid relfux but not as sever as i would have thought, anyways the doctors gave me some medications which haven't helped much and sent me on my way.
On the bright side my swallowing issues didn't get worse and in fact i didn't notice them that much over the past few months after that until 2 weeks ago when it sudden got pretty bad again, but since november i developed voice issues, basically i was coughing too much and very hard and i felt like i strained my vocal cords, the doctors kept saying its because of GERD and there's not much i can do about it, since Nov i have lost my voice on and off pretty much every couple of weeks, they tried steroids a few times which worked a bit but after it kept reoccurring a few times it doesnt seem to work anymore.
As of today my voice is extremely strained , i have pretty much lost my high pitch voice , during a sentence i literally loose air at certain words, my voice is extremely hoarse , apart from that the cough is severe again and literally causing my stomach muscles and ribs to hurt, my chest hurts and feels weak as well, sometimes i feel like i can't even breathe, apart from that my swallowing is bad again as i feel like the food is getting stuck in my throat and i have to clear my throat often or even cough sometimes when im eating.
However i should mention i have never choked as yet, meaning like a real choke where the food or water went down the wrong way, only coughed sometimes or had to clear my throat, also thats usually after ive swallowed a bite or already had a drink maybe a few seconds later.
I went to my regular Neuro Muscular specialist who checked me out last week, in terms of my body and strength and reflexes, Spasticity, bebinski, my tongue movement, checking for fasciculations he said everything looked alright, they haven't repeated any emg's since late 2016 because they had already done 4 since 2014 and didn't think it was necessary. I do feel like i slur sometimes but ive mentioned it to my doctors and family and no one has noticed it yet.
Ive also been to the various ENT's, one just a couple of days ago, he put a endoscope down my nose to see my throat, he said the motor function looked normal, it moved like it should when i said E... they said it was a bit inflamed which could be caused by the acid reflux and said most likely my voice issues are due to that, they have given me some asthma spray and some new medication to try now and so far its still the same for the past few days.
The only reason im back on here is because im aware that alot of these symptoms are similar to ones found in MND'S such as hoarseness, loosing high pitch voice, chest muscle feelings tired, even my breathing gets tiring sometimes and i have to take breaks when i talk or get tired when i climb up stairs etc..
I understand that there's other factors that could be contributing to it such as my GERD but sadly im still worried about the Neuro Muscular side of things more, i am being truthful and not exaggerating any symptoms, in fact i have even done a lung function test back in Oct around the same time as the barium which was normal as well and even today my peak flow meter reading is over 720ml on each blow.
Could there be something going on ? or should i stop focusing on the Neuro muscular side of things ?
I would really appreciate if anyone who has had a similar situation or has any idea of how these symptoms or things manifest or progress.
Thanks again for your patience and sorry for writing alot as i don't want to waste you time with the back and fourths and would just like some feedback to address my concerns.