Firstly, I would like to take the time to appreciate anyone who may answer my concerns.
I am a 24 year old female. While I know for my age, ALS is very rare, I still have troubling symptoms which I fear may manifest in that way. For the last 4 months I have been having all over body twitching that initially originated in my right foot, spread up my right leg, and from there on. After 2 months, I saw a Neuro who did a basic exam and stated everything appeared normal, come back in two months. The last 4 weeks, I have noticed tongue twitching (while not resting) in primarily the tip and side of my tongue. My jaw also tremors when positioned certain ways. I have also noticed the past year or so that I frequently finding myself needing to yawn or sigh in order to feel like I've gotten an adequate breath. I get hiccups frequently all the time, having eaten or not. All times of the day, but not constant. I feel also as if I've had some trouble speaking, not slurring per se, but more like tongue feels kind of stiff and I can't pronunciate certain things efficiently. Next, the muscle that looks like a ball in the foot, just adjacent to the ankle down from the pinky toe, in my right foot, has vanished. I saw the Neuro yesterday who stated he was slightly concerned about my tongue (but only examined it while stuck out all the way) and wants to watch it over time. He won't consider an EMG at this point, but did schedule an MRI. My CK was normal. I'm not really terribly stressed about anything, just want to find out what's going on with my body so I can pick up from there.
Do my symptoms sound typical of early stages of ALS (Bulbar or Classic)? Why or why not?
Again, thank you. The Neuro has somewhat brushed me off more than likely because of my age, so during the waiting period, I wanted to see if I could get some answers from some people who have been through the whole process. I have so much respect for you all. Thank you.
I am a 24 year old female. While I know for my age, ALS is very rare, I still have troubling symptoms which I fear may manifest in that way. For the last 4 months I have been having all over body twitching that initially originated in my right foot, spread up my right leg, and from there on. After 2 months, I saw a Neuro who did a basic exam and stated everything appeared normal, come back in two months. The last 4 weeks, I have noticed tongue twitching (while not resting) in primarily the tip and side of my tongue. My jaw also tremors when positioned certain ways. I have also noticed the past year or so that I frequently finding myself needing to yawn or sigh in order to feel like I've gotten an adequate breath. I get hiccups frequently all the time, having eaten or not. All times of the day, but not constant. I feel also as if I've had some trouble speaking, not slurring per se, but more like tongue feels kind of stiff and I can't pronunciate certain things efficiently. Next, the muscle that looks like a ball in the foot, just adjacent to the ankle down from the pinky toe, in my right foot, has vanished. I saw the Neuro yesterday who stated he was slightly concerned about my tongue (but only examined it while stuck out all the way) and wants to watch it over time. He won't consider an EMG at this point, but did schedule an MRI. My CK was normal. I'm not really terribly stressed about anything, just want to find out what's going on with my body so I can pick up from there.
Do my symptoms sound typical of early stages of ALS (Bulbar or Classic)? Why or why not?
Again, thank you. The Neuro has somewhat brushed me off more than likely because of my age, so during the waiting period, I wanted to see if I could get some answers from some people who have been through the whole process. I have so much respect for you all. Thank you.