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Dune

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Jul 12, 2018
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Learn about ALS
Country
DE
State
Nrw
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Arnsberge
Hello there, I'm really sorry to bother everyone here with this, I have really conflicting thoughts on this.

So I'm 26 year old and recently (1,5months ago) finished med school, after I wrote my last exam I started to have a twitch in my thumb, it felt weak and strange, since I knew what it could mean I was aware of it but didn't give it too much thought. Some days later I started feeling that my right leg felt off, stiff, not so smooth - tense.. that started to freak me out more and more, I developed symptoms and twitches specially in the right leg, but also weak hands etc. So I felt something is very wrong, I went to my neurologist teacher and he examined me for reflexes and balance, nothing he said, he prescribed me some mild anti anxiety medication and it will go away.. that was one month ago, for 1 week when my family was over the symptoms disappeared and came back once they left... More and more and more.. I started to obsess about my strength, did lots of work out routines, compared my legs and still manage 100 single leg calf raises (I'm a gym guy) so now for over 3 weeks this stiff feeling, tired exhausted leg won't get better. Some mornings I wake up thinking "that's feeling better" then 1h later I'm back where it was..

Now my real fear strikes.. I can't drive a car anymore properly.. I need to transfer my car from one country to another in an 7 h drive, and it gets more and more difficult for me to drive, not due to foot drop or strength..it feels like my leg is burning, my quadriceps and glutes on the right side are exhausted aching after 2 hours and I need a break.. this really freaks me out.. my leg has no atrophy, the twitches are broad but mainly in my calves.
I'm afraid this is how the weakness starts.. On the other hand it's my anxiety keeping my leg so tense that it just won't relax and then gets exhausted easily.. I haven't found anything in this forum on this issue.. Why is it only the right leg, I read that early symptoms are weakness and tight tense muscles + twitches... I'm not clinical weak but it somehow impairs my daily habit, I'm scared to drive my car to find out the burning exhausted feeling comes earlier and earlier...

Please help me..
 
Yeah, Dune, take care of that anxiety.


You've heard that med students often feel the symptoms of the diseases they study? This is a classic case.


Get "back in the saddle" with driving.



ALS doesn't burn, ache or get exhausted. Burning and exhaustion come from overwork of a muscle. In ALS, the muscle doesn't work, so it doesn't burn.


Also, ALS doesn't get better. It just gets worse--not better one day and worse another and then better. Once ALS destroys a motor neuron, its corresponding muscle will never work again, because its nerve is gone.


What happened when this started? You graduated. Major life change. Stress. Anxiety. See a psychiatrist for diagnosis.


No ALS there at all. That is just not how ALS comes on.


Enjoy your life, Dune. It's going to be a great one.
 
I really really appreciate the time and effort you took to help me out with my symptoms!
Thank you so much! Well a bit more about my private life would include starting a long distance relationship and right now I feel like I'm in a joke between studies and job.. my life is changing, Im anxious I admit that - I'm sorry to bother you with this issue..

Thank you so much again ! I hope I'll beat my health anxiety somehow, I'll have to find a way to relax and get my muscles calm down so I can use them for a prolonged period of time again .. for me it was just so strange I though, maybe those motor neuron degradate slowly and over time denervation requires more energy from the fibers which are still alive, however - anxiety plays really tricks on your brain..

Thanks, you really got me relieved!
 
Mike is right, Dune, get back in the car and start driving. Take breaks if you need to, with lots of hydration and protein, but that trip is in the bag.

Maybe the next time you want to work out, find a tai chi or Pilates or ballet class instead -- get some real stretching in, not just reps.

But don't drive under the influence of drugs.

Best,
Laurie
 
Yes that's right, you both are right, thank you for the support Laurie, it might also be some venous insufficieny so I'll wear those stockings just to make sure my circulation is adequate!

And you're very right about those type of sports, I did incline mountain climbing 4 days a row, to prove my legs can do it... I guess my right leg wasn't just taking it all to well..

Thanks again!
 
Thank you Laurie!

Yes - I think one reason why it went out of hand is because I was proving myself that I CAN do everything even though it hurts and exhausts me, so everytime I pushed my muscles beyond their physiological limit which in turn made the symptoms worse, a vicious cycle of some sort!

I'll take care and drive as you said with more breaks and with hydration :)

Thank you!
 
Is this shoulder weakness?

Hello there, I'm sorry for bothering everyone..I'm 26 years old.

I have had posted previously with an exhausted feeling in my legs and calf's + twitching, no foot drop though, that was going on for 1,5months..
I don't feel weak in those muscles but fatigued. But anyways my main concern actually is for like 2 weeks - my shoulder.. 2 weeks ago I was sleeping, woke up and felt my shoulder was trembling, I couldn't lift my arm above shoulder level, I started to freak out but after some minutes this feeling went away and I went to bed. From that moment on my shoulder felt off and weak the next days, 1 week later I again woke up with the same sensation at night, and lately I get up every morning and my shoulder feels weak and when I move it above my head it feels like it's jumping around and not very stable?! I don't have pain while using my shoulder and that freaks my out, cause some sort of shoulder impingement usually comes with pain..

So my worries is that ALS starts slowly creeping and making it weaker and weaker. However I can hoist any amount of weight and it feels weak even sitting or lying without any movement associated.. in addition to that of course I read -.- that Limb onset of ALS has an 80% chance to go with contralateral leg weakness ... And I was like... Yaiks..
Please can anyone tell me if that is how shoulder weakness starts, does it come like that? My finger strength perceived is all the same however it might com

Please help me, I'm really struggling to find an end for this and it freaks me out :(

Thank you!
 
Please stay on one thread. It allows people to see all your issues in one place. Review the sticky( important post) called read before posting. In it you will find posting rules and also answers to common concerns.

Had you read it you would have seen the phrase failing not feeling. That is how ALS presents. The inability to do something even though you feel completely normal and it doesn’t get better
 
Hey Nikki, thank you for merging, I'm sorry, I didn't know I had to continue that thread.

Yes of course I read the sticky, about failing not feeling, but as I thought the degenerative progress is a progress which occurs over time, so I thought "This is how it begins and maybe next week it will be even less, and after 2 weeks, I'll not be able to lift it at all anymore"

It's very difficult to find information on the detailed progress on how it goes down, so I am scared that it might end up like that later -

Would it rather be like I wake up and all of a sudden I just couldn't lift my arm anymore, or perform any kind of movement associated with that muscle? Or rather it becomes harder and more difficult to endure a certain movement?

Thank you again, and I'm very sorry about this post! Really..
 
It doesn't go down as you describe. More likely when things feel loose, you are doing too much lifting, sitting or testing and not enough walking and stretching.

You can do things like arm circles day and night to keep the joint lubricated, just as you can move your legs out to the side on the ground and in the air to exercise the hip muscles, etc.

Still nothing to worry about.
 
All right, thank you Laurie!

When I start working as a doctor end of July I suppose it all will vanish since I'll be too busy too worry about anything!

Have a great day!
 
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