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dragnman12

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Learn about ALS
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Indiana
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Indianapolis
Hi There,

I'm new to this forum, and first off, I want to say I really sympathize with all of those with ALS & all that have been affected by ALS. I come to this forum with the utmost respect for all of you, and my intent here is not to offend, but list my symptoms to see if they correlate at all w/ ALS.

First off, I am a 23-year-old male. I went to the ER last weekend & came out with a Bell's Palsy diagnosis (half (the right side) of my face is temporarily paralyzed due to inflammation of the cranial nerve). This is only supposed to be something that affects the face, but I started feeling some weakness in my right arm & leg. I don't know exactly how to describe the weakness, as I can still lift things, open bottles, walk on my toes/heels, etc, but it feels like both are almost heavy & weaker. Also, I get some twitching in both my right arm & leg.

I went on a run last night & when I came back, my right hip was in a lot of pain, and I thought that may have been because I was forced to run with ill-form due to some form of weakness in my leg (Not sure if this is actually what happened). Does ALS onset come on unilaterally in both arms & legs? I've freaked myself out a bit about ALS, so I wanted to come here to see if my symptoms align with possible ALS?

Thanks for taking time to read this & reply. I really appreciate it!
 
Hello Dragnman,

Doesn't sound like ALS to me. Typically, ALS starts at one motor nerve, then moves to the next, so you would lose the use of your foot before your next foot is involved. Then it moves to one hand, then the other. It moves in series because it destroys one nerve at a time near your brain stem. So it wouldn't come on at the same time in both arms and legs. These are typically months and many weeks apart.

You're 23. If you had ALS we'd call the Guinness Book of Records. ALS typically strikes after 50.

If you can still run, you don't have ALS. Paralysis means limp and useless. You describe, as many people do, a "feeling" of weakness. But in ALS, there is no feeling of weakness at all; you just can't lift your foot up, and you don't feel anything wrong.

Possibly you suffered a stroke? There are over 150 nonfatal neuromuscular diseases, too. We really can't diagnose anything but ALS on this board, and we're really good at that. I'd go back to a doctor if I were you.
 
I have a friend who experienced similar symptoms in early July (actually, his entire left side was fairly severely affected for a couple of weeks) and he was diagnosed with Bell's Palsey and a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA- temporary loss of blood flow to the brain with no long term damage). The doctors originally suspected a stroke, but ultimately diagnosed the TIA w/Bell's after ruling everything else out.

This isn't how ALS presents.
 
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