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fossil

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Learn about ALS
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I have been to the doctor about tingling hands and feet 3 years ago and he said all of it was caused by anxiety. I have a history of OCD/Panic attacks, but the symptoms I am dealing with seems too physical for that. The tingling started in my left pinky 7 or 8 years ago and now it is present in all limbs. Years have passed by and I actrually had a small period without tingling after I was told it was caused by anxiety. This year the sensation spread to my left cheek/scalp and now as I type this, my left thumb is constantly twitching and I am having leg spasms! I was sent to have an EMG at the start of these symptoms and it was normal and I am goping back for another in six months. These symptoms happen mostly on left side of body, but not completely localized to it. This is just crazy. My left arm feels like I have restless arm syndrome and as well as my left leg. the crazy thing is that I am a 22 year old male and athletic. My thumb has been twitching for a week already. I hope i am not sound paranoid, but I am feeling these things. Please do not attack me, I would like to hear some opinions.
 
this is just one of the most strangest things in the world lol. My doctor issued another EMG, because he said the first one could have been too early to pick up any nerve problems. One would think if symptoms are present, the test/exam would be able to show any abnormalities if something was wrong. This was about 3 months ago
 
Your symptoms don't sound anything at all like ALS. The first EMG showed that -- normal. The problems caused by ALS show up on EMG long before they cause any symptoms that you can detect -- like twitching. Don't know what you do have (beyond a vivid imagination and too much free time on your hands to look up extremely rare diseases on the Internet for no particularly good reason), but I hope they figure it out soon for you. Wouldn't want to see you lose control of that health anxiety and OCD that seem to be coloring your judgment right now.

Good luck to you.
 
Believe it or not it sounds like your symptoms are due to your anxiety. esp. by what you said that the symptoms went away after being told it was anxiety..once your mind got going again of problems just from maybe a normal body twitch one day your mind went a little bit too far with it. Clean EMG= No ALS. Dr. Prob. just wanted to wait the 6 months to see if your symptoms progressed any or if they get better. If you have no weakness I wouldn't worry about it . Maybe check out the BFS website as it seems that may be more in the direction you need to head if it doesn't get better. Good luck to you.
 
Let me tell you a little story that might ease your mind.
A few days ago, the vision in my right eye got extremely blurry very very quickly. I went to the mirror and saw that my pupil was HUGE. So big that there was no color in my eye. I called the ER and they said to get in ASAP- as this COULD be some sort of brain thing- such as stroke, or anuerism (sp?) etc...
By the time I got to the hospital, I was tingling... which can also be a sign of stroke when matched with other symptoms. But heres the thing that I hope helps you...
Even though I had multiple symptoms of a stroke or aneurism (sp?), I know I also have anxiety issues and YES it WAS the anxiety that was causing the tingling. I was hyperventilating and didnt even know it.

The point? Anxiety can cause all sorts of crazy things to happen to your body. I didnt necessarily think I was having a stroke, but my anxiety got out of hand and gave me more stroke like symptoms. Fortunately, I was able to keep myself somewhat calm (as in I didnt get hysterical). It also helped that I was pumped full of Ativan. I dont know if this makes a difference to you, but I am young as well- 28.

Oh, and Im ok.
 
...but the symptoms I am dealing with seems too physical for that.

You are wrong when you say that, and many people are making the same mistake (including some people actually suffering from anxiety issues). Yes, your main problem is probably in your mind but your mind can actually do many things to your body.

I have mild anxiety issues. Over the years I learned to manage them, relaxing when needed and taking some magnesium pills from time to time works great for me. A few months after my wife got diagnosed with ALS, I got a bad case of fasciculation. Real tremors (I don’t know if it can be called fasciculation, I m not a doctor), obvious to spot, recurring many times a day… I did not even bothered talking about it to my doctor because I knew perfectly what it was (and I hid it carefully to my wife for obvious reasons). I took magnesium pills for a month, took it easy on my work and it went away and never came back.

You would not believe what your body can do to tell you there is something wrong in your mind. Now, I m kind of used to all those weird symptoms (that was a “nice” one by the way) but it took me some time.
 
Thanks for all of your thoughts. I know that these sensations are nothing serious, but when it happen daily, it makes me worry again. I do feel better about the situation, I think some of us have minds that have such a large imagination that projects things out of nothing and makes us worry. I guess my doctor probably thinks I am crazy. Sorry if I have offended those who have als and I pray that one day this thing is beat. This surely sounds like the most serious disease I have ever heard of when compared to other modern illness. Is there not a working medication for this disease yet? I have read the trial forum and some look promising.
 
To read posts from 20/30 year old people living life with this disease makes me feel angry at myself that I would be selfish to post my problems, or even dare to think I had such thing.
 
No worries fossil.
 
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