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Healthy1

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2012
Messages
24
Reason
Learn about ALS
Country
CA
State
Ontario
City
Oakville
Hello, I have been following the threads on this site for about 7 weeks and I am truly appreciative of and inspired by the amazing support that is offered here.
My situation began 7 weeks ago with a sudden brief episode of tingling in my arms and tongue along with some visual disturbances. I had two or three of these in the seek following and then it became simply tingling sensations in my arms and legs. I thought this may be a stroke and had a CT scan and blood work that came back negative.

I went on the internet and searched tingling and tongue and immediatley was gripped by the potential of having ALS.

Shortly after reading about ALS, I began having fascics in my calves, quads, upper arms throughout the day. I have lost dexterity/coordination in my hands. My biggest concern is atrophy. I have lost muscle in my chest, quads, neck and arms all in about 7 weeks. Those musclegroups seem soft with little tone. I have not worked out for 6 weeks due to this situation and this could be playing a factor in my tone.


I feel that my tongue mobility has been compromised though no slurring or choking.

I have seen 3 GPs, two Neuros who performed physical exams, and one Physiatrist who performed an EMG on my left arm and left leg (shin, calf, quad, tricep, forearm and muscle between thumb and forefinger). All of the reports have indicated that I do not have ALS.

I have learned from the experts here, that emgs and dr assessments can be faulty and I would appreciate your support with a couple questions..

1. Can fully body symmetrical atrophy occur within 7 weeks?
2. Can symptoms that involve all limbs as well as the neck and bulbar area present in 7 weeks?
3. Is a 6 muscle emg sufficient?
4. My baby toe separates from the rest of my toes upon extension. Has anyone ever heard of this as a symptom
5. How much of a role can anxiety play in the above scneario. I am convinced that I have ALS and find it difficult to think of anything else.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I truly appreciate it.
 
I neglected to mention that I am a 41 year old male. Very active. Many thanks again.
 
Congratulations on not having ALS!

You do appear to have a problem with time, though; you have been reading the site for 7 weeks, your 'symptoms' appeared 7 weeks ago, and yet you claim to have only looked up 'symptoms' after at least a week or more of CT scans and bloodwork.

You also have a seriously weird search function on your computer; tingling arms and tongue pulls up many references but none of them seem to have anything to do with ALS.

And you need a dictionary; the word 'couple' means two; your list of five questions is therefore a list of five questions. My answers to those questions are no, no, yes, no and a very great deal. It would probably help if you read the stickies but I doubt you are going to do that when you could be staring at your baby toe instead.

On the other hand, congratulations on not having ALS!
 
Hello from Ottawa neighbour -

Your "Healthy1" handle says it all - trust your Doctors and stop fretting. If a neuro tells you that you don't have it - get a second opinion if you must - but if I were you - I'd be happy that the first one said you don't have ALS. I am new to this disease - and I'm certainly no doc tor, but I can tell you honestly that in my case, the muscle wasting occurred slowly - over a year's time - not in 7 weeks.

It's a gorgeous day - go take a walk by the water in Oakville - it's such a beautiful place (as I remember it). Try to relax - as you surely have read in other posts, anxiety can and likely does contribute to your list of symptoms.
 
I have seen 3 GPs, two Neuros who performed physical exams, and one Physiatrist who performed an EMG on my left arm and left leg (shin, calf, quad, tricep, forearm and muscle between thumb and forefinger). All of the reports have indicated that I do not have ALS.



Well, there you have it.
Congradulations.

I am also 41, and this really doesn't sound anything like I've gone through.

If two Neuros aren't concerned, you probably shouldn't be either.

Cheers,
Casey
 
Well look at that, three of the same answers at around the same time.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
 
Hello Grateful,
I am grateful for your replies. Sorry for the time thing. I actually started looking up symptoms the first day of tingling and ended up on this site. I didn't really get concerned until after the CT scan came back negative. You are correct, I have been on here regularly for about 6 weeks.

So you really think that a six muscle emg is enough? I still have twirching all of the place and specifically in the muscles that have atrophied (chest, arms, legs etc).

Also, could a number of weeks of not weight training be the reason for the atrophy in my muscles.

I appreciate your candid feedback.

Sincerely,

Healthy1
 
Asked and answered.

Get back to the gym - and you'll be able to answer your own question in due course.

Please - do me a personal favour - be elated and grateful that your body is "heathy1" and think about getting some counseling - life's way too short buddy to be obsessing about nothing!

That's about as candid as I dare to be in a public forum.
 
Hello Ottawa Girl,
Thanks for your two replies. I really don't want to come off as over anxious, but the reality is that I am very concerned about my symptoms. I have read here that folks have been to 4 neuros and have had 4 emgs before something showed up as ALS. I feel like I am wasting and that my tongue is weak and less mobile. My hands are less coordinated than before as well.
I see changes in my muscle mass, but somehow can't believe this would occur in 7 weeks across my body.
My EMG was this past Tuesday, July 10. Reflexes normal, EMG normal, still muscle loss and coordination concerns.
It may seem like a weird personal assessment, but I am able to do as many pushups in a row now as I was before this whole situation started. I tested myself this morning for the forst time in weeks.
You were very candid with your last reply and I appreciate that. Please feel free to comment in any fashion that you likee if it will get your point across.

I know that you are very new to this whole thing as well, and I know it isn't typical progression, but have you ever heard of vast muscle wasting in less than two months.

Thanks again.
 
This really does not sound like ALS. You have seen 6 physicians in a very short time span. What did they say? Do they also see the muscle wasting? If so what is the next step they have recommended in your work up?
 
Hello H1,

Help me (us) understand your reasoning. You thought you had a stroke, and after a couple of medical tests you're able to easily dismiss that idea. Now you are convinced you have ALS, and no amount of medical testing will change your mind. Why is that?
 
Hi Seaside,
Thank you for your response. It seems that each day, my symptoms align more and more with ALS. Despite DR assurance, I get cought up in the fact that many on here had numerous drs dismiss als only to have it doiagnosed by another doctor. Dexterity issues, muscle atrophy, twitches concern me and wanted to get the perspectoive of the forum members as you are all so very well versed on this topic. I do not slur my words but my tongue seems a bit weak. So you don't think that I shouls waste time worrying about this?
Thank you again for your thoughts.
 
I have to say at this point, having read Healthy1's latest response to ottawa girl, wanting her to reply yet again, that I am beginning to doubt whether any of this has actually happened.

I don't think anyone who has worked out regularly in a gym would be unaware that if you stop working out you lose muscle tone, and the insistence on getting answers to questions which have already been answered suggests that Healthy1 is enjoying jerking people around...
 
I get cought up in the fact that many on here had numerous drs dismiss als only to have it doiagnosed by another doctor.

And what have you done to verify those statements from anonymous sources that you value more than the paid medical opinions you've sought?
 
Hello Grateful,
The last thing that I want to do is to offend those on this board or bother you unnecessarily. All of my symtoms are real and I am simply trying to gather the perspective of those more knowledgable than I. My intent is certainly not to mislead any of you. I am simply scared at this point and attempting to gather inforrmation specific to my situation. I have an unhealthy focus on potentially having als at the expense of enjoying life and just trying to find some answers.
My sincere apologies.
 
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