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lorisboo7

New member
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
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2
Reason
Loved one DX
Country
CA
State
NL
City
Mt Pearl
I am new to this forum. Let me start by telling you that my father passed away almost a year ago from ALS. For my dad, the disease progressed VERY fast. From the first sign (slurred speech), it took only 4 months before his body was completely paralyzed. He died 11 months after diagnosis. Dad's neurologist told us that his ALS had the signs of being a completely isolated, case (as opposed to being the inherited type), as there was no history of any kind of neurological disease in our family. All of dad's family lived into their 90's - except him :(

Now my big, scary concern - about a month ago I started having sharp, shooting pain in my right calf. I saw my doctor who said I may have pulled a muscle. She put me on medication, which did nothing to help. Since then, the same type of pain has spread to my left calf and both lower legs feel very tight. I've also had sporadic, shooting pain through the bottom of one foot. I remember my dad telling me he never had any "pain" in his legs, just stiffness. I am worried SICK! Am I being crazy here? Had my father not suffered this awful disease, I probably never would have connected this leg pain to ALS. I have 3 small kids and I would hate for them to see me go through what my dad went through. Someone please tell me I'm being paranoid :)
 
What you have described, has nothing to do with ALS. Yes you are being paranoid, which after your experience with your dad, is understandable. It would never start with pain in your calf. Relax and best not to hang out on this forum, it can be bad for your anxiety. Trust in your Doctor and go back and see him if you are worried.
 
Someone please tell me I'm being paranoid :)

Go back to your primary care physician and let him/her know that the prescribed medicine isn't working.

And stop coming to sites like this to see if your symptoms match up with somebody's ALS story. You'll drive yourself crazy doing that. Start worrying about ALS when a doctor tells you to worry about ALS -- not before.

Good luck.
 
Thank you so much for the comments! I wasn't concerned until I started having the same type of pain in BOTH legs. It is just very difficult, having seen what my dad went through. We cared for him, as a family, at home until his final few days. It was devastating and is still so fresh in my mind as it was less than a year ago. Thanks again for the advice - I will go back to my doctor and try to keep my worrying to a minimum. God Bless.
 
Sensory issues (pain) usually point away from ALS. Yours could be as simple as not enough calcium.

AL.
 
My guy had NO pain. His leg just didnt work.
 
Don't tell me that there isn't pain with ALS

Welcome to the board. Do you always snarl at people to introduce yourself or are you putting on a show just for us?

Please note that Al didn't say that there is no pain with ALS. He said that sensory issues -- like unexplained pain -- tends to point away from ALS in the diagnostic stages. There are lots of neuropathic conditions that do present with pain.

Enjoy your stay here. If you are having problems with pain, you might put a post up in the General Discussion forum or the PALS forum. Someone's bound to have some suggestions for you.
 
One potentially serious cause of calf pain is blood clots. They can occur in anyone, bit risk is higher in women that are over 35 and taking birth control. A simple blood test can test for them.

If you're having leg cramps, there can be lots of causes...good luck to you
 
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