mike123
Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2011
- Messages
- 17
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- US
- State
- MI
- City
- Flint
Been trying to figure out what's wrong with me for the past 6 months. All this seem to have been kicked off after taking an otc supplement betaine hcl to increase stomach acid to improve digestion. It's been a really scary time. The doctors are not sure what's wrong. Does this sound like early signs of ALS?
My symptoms are: stiffness (legs, neck, arms),
Veins are appearing that I never saw before, in my hands, arms, legs, feet. They are more pronounced on my ankles and are now painful, hands becoming painful as well. The veins seem to be a main problem, it hurts now when I get IVs and blood draws. Not sure if this is because I'm also becoming thin in my hands, lower arms, feet, and lower legs. I've become very skinning in my lower extremities.
My palms (bottoms of hands) are painful when I pick things up and hold things. I get more impressions/indentions from things I hold and it hurts. Same for the bottoms of my feet. The padding seems to be weak.
For a while my muscles would twitch in a particular area, face, butt, arm, Now I get twitches here and there when I'm laying down mostly. Seems like after I exert a muscle and then rest it will twitch. also some muscle tightness, cramping
Seems to be a weight redistribution lot of flab/fat in my abdomen and skinny in the extremities. I'm a thin guy, 135, never had much fat in the stomach area, now I have like a beer belly.
pain in the feet and legs when standing, standing in one place hurts, I feel better if I'm walking
joint pain (jaw, knee, wrist, elbow) and lots of snapping, cracking with slightest movement
cracking, gnashing, grinding when moving my neck
tinnitus, not healing as quickly from cuts and getting bruises
increased sweating at night, and in the feet, was never a big sweater
Multiple emgs done, last one came back abnormal. NCV was normal.
EMG demonstrated muscle irritability and fibrillation potentials in distal muscles bilaterally. Borderline to mildly long duration motor unit potentials in paraspinal and bilateral medial gastrocnemius. The interpretation states the combination of fibrillation potentials and subtle neurogenic motor unit changes suggest mild bilateral sacral radiculopathy vs pn, a mild myopathic process is not entirely excluded.
All the neurologist say it's not ALS, they say to me ALS is not painful. And they also say the NCV is normal. But everything I read from what people are saying is that ALS is painful and it's the EMG that's important, not the NCV. So I don't know what to think about this.
Other lab findings, slightly elevated csf protein, straightening of cervical spine, lower spine dessecation, osteopenia in lower spine, slightly elevated calcium levels. Brain mri normal. MS, lyme, rheumatological diseases, small fiber, and infections have been ruled out. The drs have run everything they can think of.
Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks
My symptoms are: stiffness (legs, neck, arms),
Veins are appearing that I never saw before, in my hands, arms, legs, feet. They are more pronounced on my ankles and are now painful, hands becoming painful as well. The veins seem to be a main problem, it hurts now when I get IVs and blood draws. Not sure if this is because I'm also becoming thin in my hands, lower arms, feet, and lower legs. I've become very skinning in my lower extremities.
My palms (bottoms of hands) are painful when I pick things up and hold things. I get more impressions/indentions from things I hold and it hurts. Same for the bottoms of my feet. The padding seems to be weak.
For a while my muscles would twitch in a particular area, face, butt, arm, Now I get twitches here and there when I'm laying down mostly. Seems like after I exert a muscle and then rest it will twitch. also some muscle tightness, cramping
Seems to be a weight redistribution lot of flab/fat in my abdomen and skinny in the extremities. I'm a thin guy, 135, never had much fat in the stomach area, now I have like a beer belly.
pain in the feet and legs when standing, standing in one place hurts, I feel better if I'm walking
joint pain (jaw, knee, wrist, elbow) and lots of snapping, cracking with slightest movement
cracking, gnashing, grinding when moving my neck
tinnitus, not healing as quickly from cuts and getting bruises
increased sweating at night, and in the feet, was never a big sweater
Multiple emgs done, last one came back abnormal. NCV was normal.
EMG demonstrated muscle irritability and fibrillation potentials in distal muscles bilaterally. Borderline to mildly long duration motor unit potentials in paraspinal and bilateral medial gastrocnemius. The interpretation states the combination of fibrillation potentials and subtle neurogenic motor unit changes suggest mild bilateral sacral radiculopathy vs pn, a mild myopathic process is not entirely excluded.
All the neurologist say it's not ALS, they say to me ALS is not painful. And they also say the NCV is normal. But everything I read from what people are saying is that ALS is painful and it's the EMG that's important, not the NCV. So I don't know what to think about this.
Other lab findings, slightly elevated csf protein, straightening of cervical spine, lower spine dessecation, osteopenia in lower spine, slightly elevated calcium levels. Brain mri normal. MS, lyme, rheumatological diseases, small fiber, and infections have been ruled out. The drs have run everything they can think of.
Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks