sorka
07-29-2006, 09:47 PM
I'm really freaking out right now. I had no idea what ALS was before yesterday. Back in March, I noticed that my right hand got tired fairly quickly while driving wood screws into a post. I had to switch to my left hand which never did tire out. Also, at some point my right foot started catching on things occasionally. Sometimes a stair, sometimes a doorway, and even a grout line in the tile every now and then. Thought nothing of it except maybe just aging(Oh, I'm a 37 year old white male. Occupration: software engineer for 17 years). Then about a month ago, my right hand and leg started feeling ever so slightly week with mild almost barely perceptible cramping. This got slightly worse until about two weeks ago I've had noticiable weakness in both the right hand (really the forearm) and right leg theigh and several days ago calf. In the last week, it's been more difficult to push the mouse around and I'm starting to miss keys with just the right hand. Recently when lying in bed at night, I've experienced mild heat and cold sensations in the right limbs and and the sensation that I need to stretch them. My gate is not yet effected. I'm not limping, but it feels like I might soon. When I touch each of my fingers to my thumb going back and forth as fast as I can, my right hand can only do it about 2/3rds the speed of my left hand before I start missing or just can't go any faster.
The symptoms sometimes improve slightly the next day, but then are always worse than they were before on the next following day.
I had an MRI of the neck and brain back in November for probably unrelated symptoms but interestingly enough they were on the same side. I had slight paralysis and numbing but it was different in that my limbs felt heavy and I had numbing that came and went. I was told it was most likely a migraine. The other symptom that started then and has never stopped is that my left eyelid opens slower than my right if I've been laying down for a while(usually sleeping). If I wake up and don't get up, the left eyelid continues to open slower than the right. But if I sit up, it istantly clears and both eyelids open up at the same time.
I'm seeing a general practitioner at Stanford on Tuesday morning and I'm sure she'll refer me to a neurologist.
But in the mean time, I'm totally freaked out. I was mildly worried about something like MS over the last few months, but then I read about ALS and my symptoms seem spot on. Of course there are other things that could cause these symptoms? Right? But I'm still freaked out.
The symptoms sometimes improve slightly the next day, but then are always worse than they were before on the next following day.
I had an MRI of the neck and brain back in November for probably unrelated symptoms but interestingly enough they were on the same side. I had slight paralysis and numbing but it was different in that my limbs felt heavy and I had numbing that came and went. I was told it was most likely a migraine. The other symptom that started then and has never stopped is that my left eyelid opens slower than my right if I've been laying down for a while(usually sleeping). If I wake up and don't get up, the left eyelid continues to open slower than the right. But if I sit up, it istantly clears and both eyelids open up at the same time.
I'm seeing a general practitioner at Stanford on Tuesday morning and I'm sure she'll refer me to a neurologist.
But in the mean time, I'm totally freaked out. I was mildly worried about something like MS over the last few months, but then I read about ALS and my symptoms seem spot on. Of course there are other things that could cause these symptoms? Right? But I'm still freaked out.
