May I get a reasonable, rational, experienced insight towards my muscle problems?

[JAJ23]

Hello. First I would like to thank, in advance, anyone who spends their time to read this and provide info.

I am a 19 year old male, and a little over 3 months ago I experienced sudden weak & stiff legs.
I kept going to doctor appointments, but only to get negative blood tests and words like: "you need to see a psychiatrist." Not even a couple days after the weakness and stiffness had set in, I started getting a repetitive, small twitch in my upper right calf that I eventually was able to ignore. The twitching, within a weeks time, then developed into being widespread throughout my entire body(sometimes can be small, other times can cause an extremity to jolt). NOW I still currently have the twitches, along with body-wide muscle fatigue(possibly weakness). When I exert my muscles, during and after, they shake really bad and TRULY have less stamina, which stops me from working out what so ever. The shakiness also applies to when I just extend or flex my muscles.
I've encountered, only a couple times, pins and needles in my hands and feet as well.
Every so often I experience aching in my muscles also.
When I straighten out my hands and fingers completely, they are a bit shaky and I can watch my fingers, individually, slightly move left to right. About a month ago, I had a few nights where I woke up with my left arm being completely asleep, and I've experienced this in my left leg, right leg and right arm also. Sometimes I will get tingly, sometimes I will have a tickle/buzzing under my skin on my leg(which i've gotten off and on, once in a blue moon, since i was probably 12). I can sort of recall, throughout this all, some days being better than others with my symptoms. Just about 3 days ago, I unfortunately, instinctually, hopped on the computer, opened google and looked up my symptoms to find nearly a panic attack(ALS discovery). When I had this sky-rocketed episode of anxiety, I seemingly noticed my symptoms(twitching, stiffness, shakiness) had increased. I seem to have slight double vision when looking at letters on the computer and other bright things(not sure if this is related to any of my symptoms). I tend to get light headed often and ringing in my ears... Memory seems to be lacking.. My body parts seem to be more prone to falling asleep/going numb. My sister has "SVT", and I notice that I have rapid heart beats and palpitations often.(could be related?)
Another main thing that has been going on since before any of this started/became noticeable is frequent urgency to urinate. A couple weeks ago, I caught tonsillitis from my girlfriend and my symptoms didn't seem to be affected, but I have noticed my eyes have been glossy ever since I caught it. Also recently I have been getting extremely hot, but no fever, and sometimes cold chills/goose bumps come along. I had NEVER experienced any twitches in my facial area, besides a couple in my eyelids, but ever since my anxiety episode a few days ago, I am now getting the twitches all over in my face/head, including my tongue. Swallowing, I'm not sure of, but I have choked on some liquids a few times since this all started, just not frequently. I was seeing an awesome neurologist a little after a month of this onset, which provided me with normal EMG results along with a normal MRI of the brain. I'm going to see another neurologist on Tuesday, because I just moved to FL with my girlfriend. I can't help but sit here and worry away, I am already a hypochondriac and a psychosomatic. Does it sound irrational to consider ALS?

 

[JAJ23]

I mean.. I am still capable of mowing the grass.. And walking a mean distance.. Also I was able to carry a 5 Gallon water jug out of the grocery store and to the car, but my muscles have dramatically become more prone to getting overly worked. please commune

 

[JAJ23]

Another thing, I used to weigh 280 LBS until I started working out like a mad man to currently weigh 150. Since that, working out became an essential daily therapy.

 

[JAJ23]

I DID randomly just STOP working out one day though.. a few months before these unfortunate few months. About a month before this all started, I hit the gym for the first time in a while and might have went a little hard, which resulted in multiple charlie horse cramps in my feet, hips and calves. It took a couple days longer than usual to recover from this

 

[ECpara]

Sounds like you've just overworked your muscles. Everything you mention I've experienced when I was an aerobics instructor; twitching, soreness, numbness, pins and needles, cramps, body parts falling asleep, and body-wide fatigue. What you DON'T sound like you have is ALS. My husband has it and your symptoms aren't like anything he has. And frequency of urination, glossy eyes are not a symptom of ALS. I think you're wasting your money seeing another neurologist, your first one ran all the tests needed to confirm an ALS diagnosis. Relax, continue getting in shape and enjoy your youth!

 

[vickim]

Nothing you have described sounds like als. It sounds like ECpara says overworked muscles and overworked anxiety, with possible dehydration. Your chances of having als are next to nil due to your age. My advice would be stop the internet searches, relax, enjoy your friends and the summer sun. I wish you peace.

 

[JAJ23]

ECpara, I know you probably get this a lot, but after this prolonged SCARE(understatement) I have been experiencing, I am sincerely sorry to hear about your, your husband's, your family's and THE WORLD'S misfortune(another understatement). Some things within this sphere make me wonder why "sphere" is spelled with "PH".

Vickim, I appreciate the positivity.

All, I'm just concerned as to how this started out with weakness FOLLOWED BY twitching.. And twitching in my TONGUE? I stumbled upon BFS(Benign Fasciculation Syndrome) and that brought on a bit of temporary ease that is still trying to make its way to the negative spots of my mind, which consist of pessimistic, schizophrenic elves sending out boxes of anxiety on the conveyor belt.

I just mowed the grass and then decided to go on a small walk around the neighborhood..I felt "OK" besides soreness above my knees, a cramping type pain in my lower right abdominal region(I've had "GI" problems for about a year now that haven't been resolved), and a very rapid pulse along with some palpitations. I guess I forgot to mention that after physical activity, my twitches are more frequent in the muscles which were more primarily required for said physical activity. How exactly do I seem to, in no way, have ALS?

 

[JAJ23]

I'm also certainly not dehydrated. I drink only water, coconut and almond milk. Plenty of fruits and veggies as well, I am merely a vegetarian since this has all started. I've read on forums and other sites about how some people still ended up having ALS after a clean EMG?

 

[JAJ23]

Nearly every piece of research I can find regarding Benign Fasciculation Syndrome says its not associated with weakness, but can sometimes be associated with "exercise intolerance". Wouldn't exercise intolerance technically be considered weakness?(contradiction?)

In regards to the "overworked muscle" theory: After my muscles had recovered finally from the possible over exertion, I seemed to be absolutely fine.. Nearly a month later, the stiff, weak legs settled in. If the 'overworking' is the cause, how would it make sense to experience the troubles nearly an entire month later?

This could be irrelevant and just a mere coincidence, but I also used to be a heavy, every day, cannabis smoker. 3-4 days after I had stopped cold-turkey, the stiff and weak legs came about. Doctors seemed to think this was the root of it all, but not after it continued after a month and a half had passed by. I just want my life back, I am NOT completely fine or else I wouldn't be using my time on being such a pessimist.

 

[vickim]

Twitching is als is in the late stages, death of muscles and nerves. There is little to no sensory involvement is als. Als usually starts distally in hand or foot and on one side of the body. If you would read the stickys this is explained. The average age for als is 50s. You see the odds are stacked against you to have als.

Are you staying hydrated? Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying you don't have a problem, just don't zero in on als, these neuro diseases mimic each other and it takes time, lots of testing and patience. Some it has taken years, some months and some are still waiting. And self testing and internet searches are the wrong way to go about it. Only drs can make a diagnosis, hang in there.

Veggies and water are good. But with a lot of exercise there should be some protein in the diet some where, that's what builds muscle. Ask a nutritionist.

 

[JAJ23]

I am getting plenty of fluids and protein as well, I could probably actually BE a nutritionist LOL

So you're saying if I were to have ALS, and I'm having twitching all over my body, I probably wouldn't be able to even mow the grass?

 

[JAJ23]

I remember when my first freak out over this was finding out about MS. Boy do I feel greedy after coming across ALS..

 

[vickim]

There are 5 different sticky threads here and you should read them, it explains a lot of your questions. Only .03% of the als population are in their 20s. You really should let a dr do the diagnosing. Now, go relax, enjoy your youth, have a great life. Don't let this get the better of you.

 

[ottawa girl]

Jaj23,

At the risk of being rude, you need more help, I think, than this particular couch can provide to you.

You came here seeking advice. Please, if you disagree with your doctors and the good people here who take the time to try to allay your fears - nothing else can be done for you. You will have to do it yourself.

You quit eating cold turkey and lost weight. You quit the pot cold turkey and you're seemingly lucid.

So go ahead, I beg you, quit the hypochondria cold turkey, and you'll have it made in the shade.

 

[JAJ23]

LOL ottawa girl, i'm not sensitive, you aren't rude, you're a genius. I like you lots