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hike62

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Hi Everybody,

First off I want to say that I have been frequenting this site since August when my symptoms first started and have found this site not only extremely helpful but also encouraging.

I have been waiting to post any messages until I could rule out some of the testing that the doctors have been doing over the past few months. I was trying not to be the overanxious poster who points to ALS way to early in the process and clearly has no reason for worrying. However as the Neuro's are eliminating one disease after another I decided to post my symptoms to see if any other member has had similar symptoms.

I am a 25 year old male who started developing strange symptoms in August of this year. I developed strange muscle twitching throughout my body however mostly in the biceps and Quads. Along with this twitching I started noticing that my arms in particular were feeling tired and fatigued very quickly after doing normal everyday activities (EX. brushing teeth, Shaving etc...). Basically I feel like my arms are heavy and lead filled after routine use of them.

Around this time I also started developing pain in my forearms and hands on both sides. I would associate this pain to an achy, cramping feeling that seemed to come and go with no discernible pattern. Recently this feeling has intensified and seems to be occurring with more frequency. My neuro performed a physical examination of me and the only weakness she seemed to find were the fingers on my left hand would bend with barely any pressure applied.

I realize that I am very far away from any kind of diagnosis (whatever it may be) and I also realize that the chances of this being ALS are considerably slimmer than almost any other disease out there. I just wanted to take the time to post to see if anyone had similar experiences to mine or if I am completely barking up the wrong tree and should not be wasting your time.

Either way I think this site is great for not only people with ALS and other MND's but for people who don't know much about the difficulties and the process that it takes to diagnosing MND's.
 
I just can't believe you people:

>> I have been frequenting this site since August - and yet you would still post the same symptoms that since August you have read us consistently say points AWAY from ALS.

If you have been frequenting here then you know that the only people who have had similar symptoms are others who do not have ALS. All our posts are public so you have had the opportunity to read all our real ALS stories and all the NON ALS panics here in this section.

This is indeed a great site for people with ALS, that's what it is for.

Please stop coming here and encouraging yourself by reading whatever you read. Please do work with doctors to find out what your medical issues are.

I sincerely wish you all the best
 
Hello, Hike.

My first inclination is to say that you're barking up the wrong tree. Your chief complaints seem to be arm tiredness, forearm pain that comes and goes, and twitching in the major muscles.

I have exactly those symptoms, and I don't have ALS or anything like it. If the pain doesn't go away next month, I'll see my doctor.

First, the twitches. Widespread body twitches point more toward stress and anxiety, but could be anything at all, so they're really not diagnostic of anything in particular. That's just not the way twitching occurs in ALS. Typically in ALS, twitches occur localized at a muscle area that is experiencing neural destruction. ALS destroys motor nerves in a linear fashion, usually from one foot, its leg, to the other foot, its leg, and moving upward from there. Random, diffuse twitching body-wide twitching without paralysis is not ALS.

Second, the pain and tiredness in your arms. ALS is not painful in itself. ALS does not affect the "feeling" or sensory nervous system. Therefore, ALS people don't feel tired after lifting a weight--we just can't possibly lift the weight. You see, ALS destroys motor nerves that signal the muscles to move--so they don't move. ALS people don't feel tired, exhausted, or in pain--they just can't move the muscle because the nerve is destroyed. When ALS people are in pain, it's usually joint swelling that occurs after being motionless and paralyzed for too long.

I really doubt you're experiencing anything like ALS. Certainly nothing fatal. I rather suspect you have a pinched nerve somewhere. But then, I'm not a doctor. Although I know ALS fairly well, I really don't know anything else, so trust your doctor to investigate and find the problem.
 
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