Possibility of having ALS?

[Ezio-Auditore]

Dear Friends,

I am a newcomer to this forum. I am 27 years old, live in Riga, which is the capital city of Latvia. Unfortunately in our country there is not very much information about this terrible disease in internet so I was looking for some additional useful info in the foreign social portals until I found this forum.
The thing is that I have lots of strange symptoms till the September of 2011 - rigidity in arms, legs, pain in joints, strange feeling in head (like I have been drunk), problems with speech (very often I say one word instead other), tingling feeling in different parts of the body, back pain and so on and on.
I went through lot of medical examinations and most of them did not find anything wrong except the following ones:
1. Slight variations of the left leg in neurometry as a result of detected sensory polyneuropathy;
2. Immunological analysis showed a significant number (291%) antibody level against Asialo GM-1 (all other antibodies were in normal level).
3. Routine blood tests all the time areed ideal, but the expanded show an increased D-dimers (0.65) and homocysteine ​​levels (11.4.

I read a lot in the internet about Asialo GM-1 antibody and found that it has something to do with lots of neurological disorders and ALS as well. Does anyone have an experience regarding this antibody due to the ALS and what do you think of my situation? The doctors told me that I have an autoimmune polyneuropathy and said nothing about ALS. What examinations should I do?

Thank you very much for your help in advance and for your kind attention to above mentioned.

Best regards,

Ilvars

[Ezio-Auditore]

I am sorry for mistake - had symptoms from September 2011

[kmendsley]

Tingling or feeling 'drunk in the head' are not symptoms of ALS.

Just because you have ASialo GM-1 does not mean you automatically have ALS.

If you have been told you don't have ALS, then chances are you don't...if they were skeptical at all you would have been tested for it.

Go with your diagnosis of autoimmune PN, spend time on it, research it, and find out how to live with it. Don't go looking for other diagnosis on top of this one...one is enough.

Oh and BTW, if you look at an expanded blood panel of any person there will be little variations from normal in everyone.

Good luck to you.

[Kitchener]

Hi
An elevated GM-1 titer is associated with autoimmune PN
An EMG specifically performed to detect nerve conduction block could result in a definitive diagnosis
The symptoms you have described a consistent with an autoimmune polyneuropathy. They are not consistent with ALS.
I don't know what treatment you have been prescribed. The standard treatment for immune meidated polyneuropathies is human immunoglobulin (IVIg). If you receive a course of IVIg and the symptoms moderate, by definition it is a PN you have and not ALS.
It really doesn't look like you have ALS anyway
Kitchener