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Floridason

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Learn about ALS
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j
My name is Elliott Warner, I’m 23 years old.
In the process of 4-5 weeks, I’ve gone from considering how to get promoted at my job and graduating college(started late) to be scared I won’t wake up the next morning.

It started when late January, early Feb I thought my left leg was a bit weaker than my right one. But I’m right side dominate so it didn’t come off as a big deal. Just work out more right? Not even a week later my neck felt weaker moving up and down as opposed to side to side. As I was already in the hospital Jan 25 for heart palpations, which I thought I was having a heart attack, I already have a sense of hypochondria. I’m just that sensitive and fearful of my own health.

So what did I do when I felt weak? I goggled “muscle weakness”, and stumbled on the roller coaster that’s ALS.

I know that’s dumb, I know that’s silly. Doing so lead to paranoia and just intense fear that every little twitch on my body(which I’m already a twitcher) or feeling of weakness means I’m heading on the road towards my grave. I’ve checked my own reflexes for Babinski, watched my tongue for twitching, did speech tests, and of course internet research to fuel my own fears. I regret it and I only have myself to blame.

I went into a panic when as I was clenching my fists for muscle strength, something just didn’t seem right. My pinky and ring finger, just didn’t clutch in like they used to. Yes, at this point I’m looking too hard for things. I panicked, pretty much tossed myself into an anxiety attack, and went to the ER the following morning. I told them I was feeling these sensations and even mentioned ALS. They took me into the ER, gave me a CT scan of my brain, told me I was fine, nothing life threatening, and discharged me later that evening.

In the week of that (March 4th) and now, I’ve developed swallowing difficulties, my tongue is fairly inoperable, facial weakness, slight foot drops in both feet, hands are weaker, shoulders and abdominal muscles weaker, as well as lost 15lbs. I’ve begged and fought my way to doctors, nueros to see me, which I eventually did get openings.

I’ve had an MRI come up clean, my Nuero after testing me, says she doesn’t suspect ALS and my reflexes were a bit brisk, but my symptoms are concerning especially the sudden weight lost and swallowing issues. I even posted on the forum in the “Do I have ALS” section, describing my problems and just finding an outlet to my fears. Maybe it was all in my head. I’m just out of shape; it has to be something else. I’m way too young for this.

Yet when my hands, wrist, legs, tongue, and feet started weakening to the point I thought I was feeling the tension unravel in them, I’m terrified. That I haven’t been able to eat a solid meal in 2 weeks I’m shaking here. Everything I’ve read about this says symptoms progress, but over the course of months-years even. Not days. Especially not to young adults if at all.

I’ve yet to be diagnosed, I’ve got another appointment with Mayo in the morning. And with clinical processes I suspect it’ll be months before I’m ever “confirmed” with what I have. Yes, like a dummy I’ve looked up GB, CIDP, MMN, just stuff, hoping it’s something else entirely; That I could be a special case when the tested and usual symptoms don’t match. I’ve been praying that it’s all in my head and I’ll wake up all better, able to eat, talk clearly, everything I was doing just a month ago.

Even worst, I feel like I’ve scared myself into this sickness. Because I researched, I put it inside my body.

I wish I was making this story up. I wish it were just something teenagers came up to troll people. But it’s not a fabrication. It’s something that’s happening to me in a way that’s unheard of, and it has me absolutely lost and scared.

I’m not a terrible person. I’ve done all the right things. I don’t drink, smoke, I go to church(occasionally), donate to charities, etc. I’ve sacrificed things in my life, with the hope that playing a safe, logical, and reserved lifestyle would return with me having a long and fruitful one.

Only to be ambushed by this in a month’s worth of time.

Again, I haven’t been diagnosed, I’m still praying it’s something else entirely, but everything, as far as my knowledge goes, is pointing to ALS but at the same time, it’s like “what else could it be” after doing that process of elimination.

This is moving way to fast to be ALS, it has to be something like Gullian Barre, despite that I don’t have tingling or back pain.

Because if it is ALS, I don’t know how to fight it. I’ve never been put up with something like this. How do I go from wondering what suit to wear to work to how many months I have to live, and a lot of them in a wheel chair state.

I’m sorry to everyone if this story seems made up, I said anything offensive, or anything of the sort. I just don’t know what to do at all. I pray, I give this up to God that this’ll work out, but there is a fear in me that am killing me just as fast as these symptoms are.

Any words at all would be appreciated.
 
FL,

Only a doctor can diakgnose you. We can only give you our opinion. I didn't before and still don't believe you have als. Ik a few hours,you will be seen at mayo and kyou will probably havke an emg. Don't be surprised if they take a lot of kblood. I know at 1 time, they took15 vials of mine. Or thek doctors may test you for weakness/strength tests.

You need to get away from oogling the doctor. Often times he has been known to be a quack. You also need to get your anxiety under kcontrol. Between oogling and your anxiety, yes, you have made yourselfk sick.

Please come back later today and let us know how it went. We love good news.
 
FL...take Toto's advice and get your answers from a real doctor. What ever the out come we are here but let the profesionals diagnosis you with all the proper tests. Let us know what they say. Worrying will NOT change the future.
 
Posts like this belong in the Do I Have ALS? forum. That's what that forum is for.

A word of advice; shorter posts are more likely to be read and subsequently answered. Long, hysterical posts p*ss off the people who are likely to answer you and reduce the chance that you'll get useful answers.

Finally, your mental and emotional problems are not our problems. The one type of doctor you haven't mentioned consulting in the last month is a psychiatrist. You should consider doing that, because you are coming across as pure crazy now, where you were only trollish before.
 
And, by the way, with regard to your intimation that you've lived too clean and virtuous a life to deserve ALS -- just about everybody here is even less deserving of it than you are. At least the PALS and CALS here try to fight the disease, instead of rolling over on our backs and begging for it like you are doing.
 
I thought I was posting this in the right forum. My mistake.

I'll wait till what the doctors say. I need to get myself under control and get help.

I didn't mean for my comment to mean I'm less deserving of one condition or another. No one deserves this. That was really terrible of me. I can apologize, but I don't deserve to be forgiven.
 
Fl,
You are emotional and scared. Like mentioned before, we do not believe you have ALS...and as mentioned before...you need to see a therapist for the anxiety you have.

Your problems all have stemmed from g o o g l i n g symptoms...you very well can have a pyscogenic disorder. This is real, and something that has to be dealt with because it can be life changing and certainly affect your health. Your quick progression also backs up this. Your ER visits would have caught GB, so that is not it. Good luck to you....See a thereapist!
 
Many people answered in your first post--why this one? We can't diagnose you. It helps us reading to have everything in one post. Some of us here type with their EYES or TOES.

With no clinicial weakness on exam--you don't have anything sinister to worry about.
 
FL,

Lets slow down and take a deep breath here. There is a lot yet to be determined for you and you have already out the cart before the horse. Allow your Dr to diagnose you with whatever is going on including possibly anxiety and depression which can manifest itself in physical symptoms.

As others have told you we are not Dr's and can not tell you what is or isn't wrong with you only a trained Dr can do that. Please stay away from Dr. G 0 0 g l e.
 
Do. Not. G. o. o. g. l. e. Anything. Anymore. Step away from the laptop. You are making yourself ill laddie. All you need is one twitch and a laptop and you're off. My family are no strangers to this disease, it has collided with us no less than 6 times in one way or another. Some of my family have recently admitted that there were times (stressful ones) when they too thought they had ALS. I have fascilations in my legs constantly, to the point of keeping me awake at night. I've had this for years, it's annoying, nothing more. Everyone experiences palpitations at some time, I get them mostly at night especially when lying on my left side. So I lie on the right. Never underestimate stress, it can mimic all sorts of things going on in your head. It likes to mimic angina i.e. neck pain and swallowing difficulties. It also causes weight loss, even if you are eating like a horse. You are too young to be doing this to yourself laddie, you are fixating on this one disease. Stop it. See your doc about stress and anxiety, get your symptoms under control and start living your life again. You only get the one, so make the most of it. Now, away you go, and no more of this nonsense.
 
So my appointment at Mayo didn’t go through because the person who was supposed to fill in my cancelation-didn’t. Instead I’m still set for the 20th of this month. However, at around 1, my GP called and said he could get me an EMG/NCV test at a spine care center if it would make me feel better. I agreed and these were the results.

All nerves tested(as indicated in the following tables) were within normal limits.

All F waves latencies were within normal limits. All H Reflex left vs Right side latency differences were within normal limits.

Needle evaluation of the Left MedGastroc muscle showed increased motor unit amplitude and moderately increased polyphasic potentials.

The Left Peroneus Long muscle showed increased motor unite amplitude, increased motor unit duration, and moderately increased polyphasic potentials.

The LeftBicepFemL muscle showed moderately increased polyphasic potentials. All remaining muscles, as indicated on the following table, showed no evidence of electrical instability.

Impression:
There is electro diagnostic evidence of a chornic left s1 radiculopathy.
There is no evidence of peripheral polyneuropathy, compressive neuropathy, or myopathy
Clinical correlation is recommended.
 
Fl,

Wright and trfogey are the interpretors of emgs. Give them time to see it or you could pkossibly send it via visitor message.
 
Floridason,

It looks like the EMG shows a problem in the spinal nerve roots that serve your left leg. Most likely, it's caused by a disk problem or possibly a vertebra misalignment that's pinching the nerves to your leg. This appears to explain the weakness in your left leg.

You didn't mention which other limbs were needled, but they were normal. In the opinion of the interpreter of this EMG, you're not showing any electrodiagnostic signs of MND, so you should relax until your Mayo appointment on Tuesday.

Good luck on Tuesday, even though I doubt you're going to need it. One piece of advice: don't bring up ALS or MND unless you want them to think you're crazy. If they think you have ALS/MND, they'll let you know.
 
You already have an expert who has looked at your EMG and given you his impression/ conclusion. You do not have ALS as you have already been told. It's great news and you shouldctry your hardest to look on the bright side. You will no doubt be sent for a spinal MRI, but what all this is showing you, is that itsvprobably your immense anxiety that is causing your swallowing issues and therefore weight loss. It's very very common on this part of the forum, to have people with ALS anxiety quickly develop what they think is bulbar issues. If you g o o g l e anxiety you will probably see weight loss and swallowing difficulties.

You need treatment for the anxiety. It is destroying you. There is way too much fun to be had in this wonderful world. You can't spend it worrying about illnesses you may or may not have. You can't get back a day you have missed worrying.

Hope you get the help you need
 
The S1 nerve root is being impinged. Were it me I'd take those results to a neurosurgeon and have them check your back. Good luck and congrats on no ALS
 
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