Very Frightened

[Ohno:(]

Hello all,
For the past 1 1/2-2 months I have been having very uncomfortable symptoms and I am still very worried about them..

When it first started, I was trying to sleep one night and I had severe Testicular Pain. I went to the ER and they did an ultrasound that came up clean. Over that next week, the pain persisted. I went to 3 different hospitals and they could not get a diagnosis. They assumed it was an infecction and sent me home with anit-biotics and pain killers. The pain (in my lower groin/abdomine/testicles) subsided for a few days. Then i started noticing pain in my arms and legs. The pain was kind of like a shooting pain from my forarms down to my thumbs, and from my upper thighs down to my feet. I went back to my doctor and he checked me out and noticed something was causing pain in my stomach (right side), and sent me to get an CT scan to make sure it was not appendicitis. At the same time (within the same couple of days), I had a bloodtest to check for lyme and other things. During the follow up, everything came back normal. At this time the pain was still very excruciating, and I was also very nervous (I have bad anxiety). He put me on an anti-anxiety/depressiant called Citalopram.

Over the past few weeks (still taking the anti-anxiety meds), my symptoms have beed leaning more towards something along the lines of ALS or MS. I have jaw/gum/tooth pain, blurred vision (mostly in my right eye), neck stiffness, weakness and pain in my hands, feet, arms and legs,.. I am constantly having muscle twitches in my calfs, knees and upper thighs (mostly my right leg/foot), lately trouble swallowing and somewhat slurred speech, and I sometimes have trouble holding on to things and I've noticed I'm stubbling or tripping much more often then before. These symptoms cause insomnia and I average about 3-5 hours of sleep per night, but it's just really hard for me to sleep with all of this going on, especially because it gets worse at night time or before I go to bed.

About a week ago, I went to my doctors office and saw a PA. I had told her my symptoms (which are persisting to get worse), and also my fear of ALS. She looked at me and said "You don't have ALS." I did not know what to think because I know her eyes are not an EMG test. She said I needed a lifestyle change and told me to take Alive (which is not helping at all and to be honest, acetominephines((sp?)) hurt my stomach lately). The past few days, the twitching/spasms have gotten much more noticeable, and I can barely get out of bed in the morning. I can barely do a pushup anymore and I am always fatigued. I have an MRI of my spine or back (not sure if it's upper or lower) to check if anything is wrong in that area, which I strongly believe there won't be. The stress and anxiety/worry I have from all this is basically consuming my life and I feel hopeless.

I'm 17, turning 18 in a few months, and I'm very worried about what's wrong with me.
I'm sorry for writing so much, and also sorry if I sound stupid, I Just don't know what else to do.

I would really appriciate some feedback/input and I know I can't be diagnosed over the internet, but this forum seems very supportive .

Thanks a bunch.

 

[skipper66]

You are wasting your time and ours on this site. You don't have ALS symptoms. See you doctor again and get the tests run they recommend. Keep on them until you get some answers. Hope you feel better soon. But, this forum isn't for you. It will only cause you anxiety and stress over a disease you don't have. Good luck and good bye!

 

[HelenL]

You're about the same age as my kids, so I'm going to be Doctor "Mom" here... you do not have any symptoms of ALS, your doctor has told you to your face that you don't, and you're very anxious. Talk to your parents about seeing another doctor to help you with the anxiety, and see if that helps. You said you were tested for Lyme, get the Western Blot test for a more accurate one, the Elisa test is not accurate. Honestly, it sounds more like a lingering virus or something, but Doctor Mom is not a real doctor!

The ONLY thing I can recommend for you is to trust your doctor, and stop worrying about a rare disease. Enjoy your summer and please stop worrying.

 

[Grateful]

Just as a practical addition to skipper66's advice: if you read the instructions included with your medication you will discover that just about all of your post-medication symptoms are noted as side effects of the medication itself.

This is one of the difficulties with convincing yourself that you have something dreadfully wrong with you; after four separate hospitals failed to find any underlying physical cause for your testicular pain it is unsurprising that your doctor prescribed anti-anxiety medication. Unfortunately there is no such thing as a risk free treatment and you now have the symptoms to prove it...

 

[brooksea]

Son, these are not symptoms of ALS. Have a nice summer!

 

[notgivnup]

Please listen to all posts here and take their advise. You do not have A L S symptoms. Go back to Doctors and get the right diagnosis of your problems. Best wishes to you.

 

[clichti]

I would say the lack of sleep explains the tripping - I'm a train wreck if I'm over tired.

I'm the furthest thing from an expert, but my call is you're totally, totally fine. And waaaaaay too young to even be considering this as an option.

 

[lpcarr]

It is very stressful to be 18 yet alone to have these symptoms. I suffered from anxiety three years ago before my husband was even diagnosed with ALS. Anxiety and depression is a very dark place. Your body becomes so over aware and can play strange tricks on you.
There are very good medicines for anxiety, but they take awhile to build up in your body.
You need a diagnosis from a doctor. Try to get outside, take walks, listen to music anything to get your mind off of yourself. You are too young for all this. Try to get through each day at a time. You are not a candidate for als. TRy to stay off this site and occupy yourself with things to do that bring you joy. If it is not bringing you joy, don't do it. Good luck to you young man. Chin up and get strong.