Very concerned, new to forum..help is appreciated

[LindsayLeigh022]

Hello,

My name is Lindsay and I am 22 years old. Before you read this I really don't want to sound like everyone and their brother on the message boards thinking they have ALS. I know this is a very serious disease and shouldn't be taken lightly. Especially for those who suffer with this daily. I really appreciate anyone taking out the time to read this, it means a lot to me. Anyways, I have been having a lot of problems for the last 6 months or so. I saw a neurologist the first time and she didn't seem to do anything at all. I just recently saw a wonderful neurologist who really listened to what I had to say. I have been having periods of extreme muscle tightness, along with constant muscle spasms on a daily basis. I also have a lot of fatigue. The muscle twitches are so constant I literally can't go 5 minutes without some muscle on my body twitching. They are all over from head to toe. Whether it be my feet, legs, trunk, arms or face they are all over and won't stop for anything. I am currently taking slo-mag twice a day and a multivitamin which seems to not help at all. He did an EMG in the office and everything was normal. The bloodwork he ordered for me is an ESR, CPK and Serum Protein Electrophoresis. I am not sure what any of that means or if any of this helps in diagnosing ALS. He did mention ALS as a worst case scenario to me, and at the time I really didn't know what it consisted of. Now that I have done some research I am virtually terrified. I know my age also makes it less likely that it could be ALS but anything is still possible.

I am wondering if those blood tests could determine anything? Also I'd like to hear your input on what you think about everything. Thank you SO much to anybody who took the time out to read this, it means more to me than you will ever know.

 

[notme]

HI

ESR is checking for inflammation. CPK is checking for muscle damage (as would be seen with a muscular disease) since both are normal--that's good. Now for the good news: If your EMG is clear, it is definitely NOT ALS. So, there you are clear.

Are there other things? Yes. Fibromyalgia is a possibility. MS, although your symptoms don't sound like it to me, is also possible. With normal labs and clear EMG, though, you can put ALS to rest, I'd think.

There would be EMG changes probably before you even noticed any symptoms.

BFS-- benign fasciculations is possible. Basically, it's twitches with no disease process going on.
Potassium levels being off can cause muscle spasms/cramps, too.

I'm not saying something isn't going on--something is--but at this point, with the EMG, at least a muscle or nerve disease is very unlikely.

 

[LindsayLeigh022]

Thank you so much for reading and responding to this! It does make me feel a lot better. I haven't had the blood work done yet since I had the EMG on Monday I have to wait a week he said for the blood tests. I am just curious if the bloodwork does come back normal can this completely rule out ALS? if so what could be causing these constant 24/7 muscle spasms? It's so frustrating not knowing what's wrong and going on ya know? I really appreciate you helping me out with this though, it makes me feel a lot better.

 

[notme]

Hon--your clear EMG rules out ALS

 

[ktmj]

There are many many things that can cause muscle spasms and twitching, besides simple stress and anxiety.

IF CLINICAL EXAM, EMG IS CLEAN, AND THERE IS NO WEAKNESS, YOU DO NOT HAVE ALS!

Check out Isaac's Syndrome if you must worry. It is bothersome but benign.

And, it was irresponsible for him to mention ALS at all.