hello again

[naynaydevil]

i posted about a month back, because of bodywide twitching and other sensory issues. since then ive' seen my neuro. twice..who says NO WAY do i have ALS.

i am a hypochondriac and do suffer anxiety, so that is what she is blaming my symptoms on, and that she is so confident that its not als that she isnt going to do any testing such as emgs...etc.

my questions for you folks------

1. does als ever start out with pain/soreness?

2. if i started having symptoms a month ago would "I KNOW" by now if i had it?

3.

the last 3 days ive' had an annoying dull ache in my heel only in one foot (more near my achilles tendon).. its when i walk that it really bothers me.

i also have a dull pain/ache in my right jaw. the past 3 days also.
im just unclear on what "weakness" really is. i can walk fine, but i feel the pain /ache when i walk. would this be the onset of very early als? the body wide twitching is also still here, just mostly in my legs now.

i havent seen my neuro since this new stuff with my heel and jaw started so im just asking you folks for support.

i am also 34 weeks pregnant and 29 yrs old, but don't want to just be shood' off as pregnancy being blamed for every ache and pain that i get. im very sorry to bother you folks , but i dont' know where else to turn

 

[sadiemae]

NO NO and NO.

 

[naynaydevil]

ok....so the NO to my 2nd question-- i wouldn't have significant changes since a month ago if i did indeed have als? and im sorry to be a bother, i thought i read somewhere ( i dont' remember where) that my type of symptom could be the start of something

 

[Alyoop]

I think you really should take the advice of your neurologist. Your heel pain, jaw problem is extremely minor. Heel pain is often caused by ill fitting shoes, especially at the bottom of your achilles tendon. Jaw pain is commonly caused by anxiety. You would know if you had weakness. It would not be something you would need to think about as it would bh causing disability of somesort, which you do not have.
You are making yourself sick with worry. Try and get a referral to a psychologist to help you through it. You have a baby coming and need to get your anxiety sorted ASAP for the babies sake. If your neurologist thinks you have hypochondria then you should get it treated, as it IS an illness and treatment is available, but most importantly, stop visiting this forum which I think is increasing your anxiety.

 

[TedH5]

I have to be honest; what you describe sounds nothing at all like ALS. On top of that you Neuro is extremely confident you do not have anything to be concerned about. So to answer your question your types of symptoms are not indicative of ALS. I think that you and your neuro both were accurate in saying the fact that you have hypochondriac tendencies and anxiety are leading to your symptoms. Run away from your fears and focis on the many positive things that exist in your life!

 

[sadiemae]

My husbands onset of ALS was Oct 07. By Oct of 08, we knew something was really going on, but were waiting to go to doctor till beginning of 09 when new insurance kicked in. In Dec 08 the company closed, and we were left with no insurance. Finally went to a doctor in Sept 09, and got DX. It was a slow progression of things going wrong. Weakness is not being to open a bottle of water, not being able to walk up 3 stairs without help, not being able to do one push up. Weakness is not a feeling of fatigue after doing something, It is NOT being able to do things at all.

 

[Marjorie R. Wilcox]

no, no and no

 

[naynaydevil]

thak you everyone. i guess i just need a little more reassurance then others. when i get brand new symptoms ...more then 1 at a time...i get confused and nervous.

 

[naynaydevil]

sadiemae--- what were your hubby's initial symptoms

 

[sadiemae]

Severe charley horses in his leg. And I mean severe where he couldn't move and had tears streaming down his face. Next was speech issues, sounding like he had been drinking. He did get shoulder pain, but this was later found out to be from a torn rotator cuff, caused by him continuing to use his shoulder muscles even though they were being weakened by ALS. He did notice fasticulations, but only in his affected right side at first. It was when they moved to his left side a year later that I suspected ALS.

 

[ktmj]

naynay, I see a tendency in you to stay and linger on this website, and find symptoms of ALS that you then start obsessing about.

With a hypochondriac, OCD personality, asking questions and researching is not going to be helpful for you. I've been here a while and have seen this many times over.

And I am not casting stones, because I can admit I was once there too. The doc, and some very knowledgable people here have told you it is not ALS. My advice is to RUN RUN RUN from this site unless you have a very definite sign like true weakness.

I mean that with utmost sincerity and helpfulness. You will drag yourself into despair when you have so much to be thankful for right now.

Best wishes...

 

[naynaydevil]

yes, i have had several wonderful people here, my own family and my neuro tell me no way do i have als! you would think after all of that i would believe someone. but its hard, when one symptom pops up after another, and somehow i always link it to my worst fear---als. i have also read horror stories on the internet of course..about people being diagnosed with carpal tunnell one day---then 6 months later it ends up being als... or people getting misdaignosed or missed... ive also read so many different things about how als starts in different people, some say weakness, some twitching and pain, some say falling and dropping things etc ... well you see where im going with this. being pregnant/having anxiety/and hypochondriac tendencies are horrible. im looking into therapy after the 1st of the year when my new insurance kicks in. until then, thank you very much for your kind words.

 

[naynaydevil]

yes, i have had several wonderful people here, my own family and my neuro tell me no way do i have als! you would think after all of that i would believe someone. but its hard, when one symptom pops up after another, and somehow i always link it to my worst fear---als. i have also read horror stories on the internet of course..about people being diagnosed with carpal tunnell one day---then 6 months later it ends up being als... or people getting misdaignosed or missed... ive also read so many different things about how als starts in different people, some say weakness, some twitching and pain, some say falling and dropping things etc ... well you see where im going with this. being pregnant/having anxiety/and hypochondriac tendencies are horrible. im looking into therapy after the 1st of the year when my new insurance kicks in. until then, thank you very much for your kind words.

can someone help me with the confusion that ive read/heard about with als? :-?

 

[trfogey]

If you would specify exactly what you are confused about, there are many of us that would be happy to help you understand more about ALS.

 

[LizT]

were you on any meds for your anxiety issues before you were prego? going off of some psychological meds can cause a lot of issues. your anxiety alone can get out of control. anxiety can cause pretty much anything physical. you have said yourself that you have hypochondriac tendencies- but you still cant shake this als thing, even though many people have told you its not als.
i do not mean this to be rude, but just because you think you have something, doesnt mean you do. would it make sense to you if i told you that my leg has been hurting and everytime i squat, my knee cracks and my toes are curling under, so i must have lung cancer?! Doesnt make sense at all, does it? its sort of the same with you. you are assuming that you have als, when you do not have the classic signs of it. someone who spent alot of time and money going to school told you that you dont have it. people here, who experience it everyday- though we cant diagnose you- have told you that you dont have it.
sounds to me like this is a psychological issue. i know your options are few and far between while you are pregnant, but maybe you need to go back onto a "safe" anti- anxiety med (i say back onto- assuming you were on something for it). Good luck