Luke
Distinguished member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
- Messages
- 317
- Country
- US
- State
- Unspecified
- City
- Unspecified
Hello all,
I've posted here once before about my symptoms and the background of why I came to this board, but basically I've got a number of issues going on that my neurologist is working to diagnose. After my pulminary exam, I was told that my diaphram muscle strength is "below normal, but not diagnostic," and I've been referred to another more involved pulm. exam where they'll do the same test again and then repeat it while I'm lying on my back. Also, after I developed problems swallowing, it was found that I have weakness at the base of my tongue (that part of my tongue is paralyzed), causing pooling and coating in my throat, a little bit of nasal regurgitation, but no aspiration or choking at this time. Finally, I've got increasing weakness especially in my head / neck muscles (clinical) and easy fatigue / heavinesss / loss of mass in legs and arms, preventing me from walking long distances or do much eavy lifting. Long story short, believe it or not, the most distressing thing for me right now is the swallowing. My question: does anyone here experience a problem where food and beverages remain in the back of the throat and no matter how hard you swallow, how much mouthwash you swish around or how thoroughly you brush your teeth, the substance remains back there and becomes very nasty after a couple hours? I know it's not life-threatening but very annoying and I'm self-conscious that it must be causing some bad breath. Any tips for working through this swallowing symptom? I suppose the other big problem right now is I can't sleep. I wake up multiple times per night with labored breathing especially when on my back, and I never seem to reach a deep level of sleep. I often have a headache in the morning and just feel completely exhausted. I got a wedge pillow and try to prop myself up, and this has brought minor releif, but I still can't sleep through the night. Anyhow, this is all from someone not yet diagnosed with an MND or ALS, but my neuro has said we're looking at "possible muscle disease" at this point. In the meantime, I'm trying to live a normal life but these symptoms are frustrating and seem to be getting worse by the week, even if slightly. Thanks for any help.
I've posted here once before about my symptoms and the background of why I came to this board, but basically I've got a number of issues going on that my neurologist is working to diagnose. After my pulminary exam, I was told that my diaphram muscle strength is "below normal, but not diagnostic," and I've been referred to another more involved pulm. exam where they'll do the same test again and then repeat it while I'm lying on my back. Also, after I developed problems swallowing, it was found that I have weakness at the base of my tongue (that part of my tongue is paralyzed), causing pooling and coating in my throat, a little bit of nasal regurgitation, but no aspiration or choking at this time. Finally, I've got increasing weakness especially in my head / neck muscles (clinical) and easy fatigue / heavinesss / loss of mass in legs and arms, preventing me from walking long distances or do much eavy lifting. Long story short, believe it or not, the most distressing thing for me right now is the swallowing. My question: does anyone here experience a problem where food and beverages remain in the back of the throat and no matter how hard you swallow, how much mouthwash you swish around or how thoroughly you brush your teeth, the substance remains back there and becomes very nasty after a couple hours? I know it's not life-threatening but very annoying and I'm self-conscious that it must be causing some bad breath. Any tips for working through this swallowing symptom? I suppose the other big problem right now is I can't sleep. I wake up multiple times per night with labored breathing especially when on my back, and I never seem to reach a deep level of sleep. I often have a headache in the morning and just feel completely exhausted. I got a wedge pillow and try to prop myself up, and this has brought minor releif, but I still can't sleep through the night. Anyhow, this is all from someone not yet diagnosed with an MND or ALS, but my neuro has said we're looking at "possible muscle disease" at this point. In the meantime, I'm trying to live a normal life but these symptoms are frustrating and seem to be getting worse by the week, even if slightly. Thanks for any help.