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brisal73

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Oct 25, 2013
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Learn about ALS
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US
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California
City
Azusa
I am currently 39 years old and I fear that I may have developed ALS. Mostly because of what I read on the internet and that my Grandfather passed away from it in 1999.

The only thing that stops me from thinking that I have ALS is that I took an Antibiotic called Levaquin and this is when my symptoms started to develop.

I took Levaquin (500mg) for 10 days and during and especially immediately after I started to feel weakness and tightness in all of my arms and legs. Then came the twitching all over my body (legs, arms, back, buttocks, and a few times under my eye). The feeling of dehydration and constant set diarrhea. I immediately started to lose weight (BRAT Diet), I noticed that the muscles in my body are starting to deteriorate.

Currently the twitching has been less frequent, when I try to start minor arm curls my arms feel weak, when I go to sleep its hard to sleep throughout the night as I feel sharp pain in my arms, hands, feet, and legs. I notice when I sometimes talk I am having a hard time getting my words together. However, the diarrhea is getting better. So that's a good thing.

I know I am probably worried about nothing, but I am afraid that the antibiotic has screwed up my DNA or nervous system and has started my ALS.

Should I be worried?
What is the best way to get tested?

Thank you to anyone that replies,
Brian
 
Brian

Have you been to a dr about everything going on? I have heard of others having bad reactions to that drug. Did you read the drug information sheet they give you? I doubt you have als, but I am not a dr. Als doesn't start with body wide symp toms. I would say you should go to a dr and see what they say before you decide you have a terminal illness.
 
Hi Brian
Please take a deep breath. The family of quinolones to which levaquin belongs can certainly cause both neurological and musculoskeletal symptoms which the dehydration and possible electrolyte imbalance would exacerbate.

Pain and symptoms in multiple areas is not the way ALS starts.

If your grandfather is the only family member with ALS then FALS is highly unlikely. It is the cause of 5-10% of all ALS cases and most of us FALS people can point to multiple relatives.

Antibiotics certainly could not alter your DNA and as far as triggering FALS if your DNA is already damaged I have never heard of it. A couple of years ago I had a severe infection and had to take several courses of a quinolone and it did not trigger ALS to start in me.
If you are getting better and the symptoms are not too severe I would wait and see. If they are bad or not improving go to the doctor not because of possible ALS but because of your probable medication reaction
Good luck
 
Dear Brian,
1 relative with ALS is not familial. Probably your grandfather's case was sporadic.
I really know your feelings. I already started a thread in the Current Caregivers topic, "Broken family, fallen apart". My mother (59) was diagnosed with ALS 7 months ago. Then I started a desperate research on the internet about ALS, spent nights and nights with that, and maybe 5 weeks later, my twitching and bizarre sensations started. Now I have this for 6 months. Although I do not know about more relatives with ALS, I have been driven crazy by thought of having ALS, I have a 1 year old son and 3 years old daughter, my husband is legally blind, gradually losing vision by an uncurable, progressive disease. I became obsessed with self-testing, went to extreme levels. Went to the doctor, said it was BFS with severe anxiety. Now I need to see a psychiatrist before totally becoming a nervous wreck.
Anyway, an EMG is quite a reliable testing for ALS. And clean EMG means no ALS.
I wish you the best.
 
Dear Brian,
1 relative with ALS is not familial. Probably your grandfather's case was sporadic.
I really know your feelings. I already started a thread in the Current Caregivers topic, "Broken family, fallen apart". My mother (59) was diagnosed with ALS 7 months ago. Then I started a desperate research on the internet about ALS, spent nights and nights with that, and maybe 5 weeks later, my twitching and bizarre sensations started. Now I have this for 6 months. Although I do not know about more relatives with ALS, I have been driven crazy by thought of having ALS, I have a 1 year old son and 3 years old daughter, my husband is legally blind, gradually losing vision by an uncurable, progressive disease. I became obsessed with self-testing, went to extreme levels. Went to the doctor, said it was BFS with severe anxiety. Now I need to see a psychiatrist before totally becoming a nervous wreck.
Anyway, an EMG is quite a reliable testing for ALS. And clean EMG means no ALS.
I wish you the best.
 
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