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rugger

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Hi all
had a disturbing development today. I had been noticing some problems recently with swallowing and biting my tongue when chewing. This morning,I noticed difficulty talking,and then someone asked me"what's wrong with your face?" I went to the and he asked the same thing when he first saw me. the appearance is similar to someone who has novacaine, on the left side. Unable tosmile evenly, and talking my lips move asymetrically.

Doc suggested some sort of palsy or facial droop, so am having an mri tomorrow,other possibility is MS, I also notice that I am having trouble typing, particularly with my left hand,many typos. He also suggested lyme or something stress related,but I find these unlikely.

I also have carpal tunnel and tinglingand numbness, but haven't notice too much weakness,I lift weights still, pretty much ok. am a 50 yr old male, fairly active. But manual dexterity seems to be impaired on my left hand. I laos get twitches between thumb and forefinger.

So as youcan gues, am sort of freaking out right now.

Best regards to all and thank you for reading.
 
Hi rugger. I'd go with Bell's Palsy until you get more tests. Try not to worry. It really can make symptoms worse.

AL.
 
Has anyone mentioned the possibility of a stroke at all?
 
Stroke is very unlikely, as although the droop is somewhat sudden,the other symptoms are not,which is whyI also am skeptical about palsy. I have none of the other symptoms. The MRI should pick up a stroke

But I appreciate the input
 
I'm so sorry that you are having these problems. It does sound like Bell's Palsy. Bell's is caused by many things including Lyme which can be diagnosed with an easy blood test, viruses, diabetes mellitus, stroke, tumor, etc. the list goes on and on. The MRI will def tell the story but I agree not to worry. Ive never heard of Bells as a presentation of ALS. Thoughts are with you.

Kel Bel
 
My friend has Bell's Palsy and her face is how you describe yours. She had no problems with swallowing nor any limb problems.
please don't jump to conclusions. It is good you are getting an MRI tomorrow.
 
rugger- glad to hear that youve already went down that path (stroke possibility), and glad to hear that it isnt that.
I just wanted to throw that out there in case it hadnt been brought up. i didnt know how fast your symptoms came on.
good luck with your MRI.
 
Thanks for the thoughts and encouragement.Part of my concern is that in hindsight, I was experiencing other ALS type symptoms months ago, but followin the advice of my neuro(I was checked out in 2009 for fasciculations) I tied to put it out of my mind.SO some of the symptoms have not beens sudden. It sems like this is jus the latest step int the progression. Othe things I'm noticing like the recent problems typing this also could be another sign,losing the coordination in my left hand. A sleepless night to be sure. Too many ALS relaetd symptoms,IMHO.
 
If by other symptoms you are citing fasiculations . . . that means absolutely nothing, no matter what you have read on the internet. Fasiculations are not a criterion and are not used to make an ALS diagnosis.

Your story is the story of someone with Bell's palsy and carpal tunnel syndrome, which you said you have. I'm not sure why you are taking these unrelated symptoms and shoving them into an "ALS box." Stop self-diagnosing yourself with a disease that there is absolutely no evidence you have. You'll sleep better if you stop, too.

I wish you luck in resolving your issues. Take care.
 
Wright
thanks for the input. Question though, why don't you consider my loss of facial and tongue control tobe atypical of ALS? It seems to be one of the typical symptoms. I had noticed myface and tongue feeling weaker for a few weeks, but total control disappeard withina ay or two.

thanks again
 
. . . because ALS does not move that fast. It is an insidious disease that slowly robs you of muscle control. It is not a disease that hits you over the head in a matter of days or weeks. Again, please get off of the internet and leave the diagnosing to the professionals. You will thank yourself later . . . I promise you.
 
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Wright,once again,looks like you were correct, I have a brain tumor. scheduled for surgery tomorrow. So far looks to be limited to the motor strip,so hopefully I will retain cognitive abiliitie. Pathology will detemine which follow up procedures I need,radiation,chemo, etc.
 
I'm very sorry to hear of your tumor . . . but . . . it sounds promising since they are operating. Good luck and let us know how things go.
 
Sorry to hear that you have a brain tumor. I hope your surgery is successful. When you get the opportunity, I know it will most likely not be for a while but please update us on how you are doing. Good luck and my prayers go out to you.
 
Sorry to hear the news Rugger. Hope things work out. Let us know please.

AL.
 
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