Uncle might have ALS...

[ShadiM]

Hello everyone, my uncle who is currently living in Beirut, Lebanon has recently been experiencing ALS-like symptoms. About a year ago, give or take a few months, he went in for an operation concerning the ability to father children, and ever since the operation, he has noticed pain in his legs, that has been getting worse over time. As of now he is still able to walk and drives himself to work and whatnot, albeit he is beginning to have a bit of difficulty speaking. The doctor diagnosed him with ALS, and I have photos of the reports, the doctor even went as far as to tell him that he has only 3 months to live and that the disease will fully progress within these couple of months and kill him. From what I've read online this is very highly unlikely, could the doctor have misdiagnosed him? Or could he at least be mistaken about the survival time? I was reading through the report and noticed things like Cervical Lordosis Straightening and Mucosal Thickening involving Ethmoid Air cells, and other things that have to do with corticospinal T2 and FLAIR signals being abnormally high.

 

[Atsugi]

ShadiM, let me say this. Although ALS Forum members are pretty smart, I would not trust any of us to second guess your uncle's doctor.

Your uncle's diagnosis and prognosis are incredibly rare. But then, his doctor certainly knows your uncle's case better than the posters on this forum.

Also, pain in the legs does not support a diagnosis of ALS, especially if he can walk. (ALS does not trigger the pain sensory nerves.) Typically, PALS report pain in the legs because the joints ache AFTER being paralyzed for awhile.

 

[Dusty7]

I'll just agree with Atsugi. I can't second guess your uncle's doctor, but putting that kind of a timeline on the prognosis is rare. Ditto what he said about pain.

However, whenever a patient has doubts about a diagnosis, I believe a second opinion is in order so that the anxiety over the uncertainty does not add other symptoms and affect the patient's quality of life. But I don't know whether the uncertainty in this case is your uncle's or only yours.