Scared...Any opinions?

[zavila]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I am a 25 year old (about to be 26 next week) white male. My fingers have been locking up on my right hand. It's been happening for a few years now, at least 3 or more, but it seems to be worse lately. I have trouble holding certain things, like my phone or the tv remote or a pencil when i'm writing because my fingers will lock up and affect my grip. It's not painful, just irritating. Well recently I have noticed some twitching in that hand and sometimes in my left hand as well. So I started googling it of course, and came across ALS which made me more worried and the twitching got worse. So I figured that it was just anxiety, and when I calmed down so did the twitching. But then two days ago I noticed that my right arm is skinnier than my left and it looks like the top of my arm is sunken in compared to my left. Just past the wrist on my forearm and almost all the way back. So that freaked me out and I went to the walk in clinic today (I don't have health insurance) and told the doctor about my fingers. She said that something was definitely wrong with my hand and was going to refer me to a hand specialist, until she saw my arm which she noticed pretty fast and pointed out the atrophy or as she called it 'muscle wasting'. Then she said I should see a neurologist instead and have an EMG done, which is what I was afraid of. She didn't mention ALS, I brought that up, I said I had been reading about it and was really worried. She told me to try not to worry and not to think that it's ALS right away. But I'm really scared now. The only thing thats keeping me hopeful right now is that I don't seem to have lost strength in my hand or arm. I can still do heavy lifting and did a lot of that at my job this past summer, along with standing for 10 hours a day. She also had me squeeze her fingers with my hand which I had no problem with.
From what I've read there is usually always weakness before atrophy, correct? And again, my fingers have been locking up like this for a few years now, but I don't know how long the twitching has been going on for or how long my arm has looked like this, but the atrophy is pretty noticeable. So wouldn't I have shown more symptoms or weakness by now if the finger problems are because of ALS? But the doctor confirmed that I have atrophy in my arm, along with the twitching and finger problems...what else could it be? Sorry for such a long post but if anyone has any opinions that would be great. My EMG is scheduled for the 16th.

 

[LastResort]

From my EXTENSIVE research around these forums (honestly, I spend more time here than I do on my thesis nowadays), I would say that that is a very atypical representation of ALS. Hang in there man, I'm on the same worry boat as you and I'm sure the wonderful members around here will give you some wonderful advices.

 

[Atsugi]

Doesn't sound like ALS to me. I doubt seriously that you have ALS.

First things first: If you think you might have a terminal disease, you need to buy health insurance prior to getting diagnosed. Are you a veteran? (Vets have excellent health care for ALS.) If you cannot afford health insurance, you should enroll for Medicaid and sign up on the ObamaCare website at HeathCare.gov to get subsidized healthcare insurance.

Now, as to your hand. You may something as simple as a pinched nerve. ALS is doubtful. Keep your appointment so you can get this fixed. As for the twitching, that can be anything, or nothing at all. Good luck.

 

[zavila]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm not a veteran and haven't served in the military. I have money in my savings but am currently unemployed so can't really afford health insurance right now. I've only been working seasonally at a factory the past three years. But I will look into Medicaid and Obamacare and see what options I have.