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johnb123

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Jun 10, 2015
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Learn about ALS
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US
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nj
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Matawan
My name is John I am 19 years old. I have tried for months (believe me) to get the thought of having ALS out of my head, but things seem to be getting worse for me. Again i pray deeply for those suffering and those just diagnosed or have been in the past. I wish the best for all of you.

SPASMS
i had to go to the hospital about a month ago because I was limping because of horrible spasms in my right thigh. I wasn't able to walk. This went on for about a month. My uncle died of ALS my moms brother, and thats when I had that thought. since then The spasms went away but still my right thigh seems to be permanently weaker then my left.

CRAMPS.
since the the brutal spasms stopped everyday almost all day i feel cramping in my palms of my hands and in the calves. Front and back of my calf's. Sometimes in my arms I will feel a dead feeling, not a pulled muscle but just a dead cramp feeling if that makes sense. This happens in my forearms as well alot.

WEAKNESS.
I realized that I was always able to do any physical activity but anything that involves any high physical activity my calf's get super tired and weak and I just simply can't do that activity anymore.

TWITCHING.
when the twitching started I started to ball my eyes out every night. I twitch in my stomach, my back, my chest, and again calf's. Sometimes other places like upper legs, all over my body pretty much. I read that Als patients experience twitching 'all over their body' as one of the first symptoms. That is why I am so scared.

I have an appointment with a neurologist in 3 weeks but I am crying every day loosing my mind over this impending fear.

I would be more then grateful for any feedback by anyone on here.
much appreciated
-john

***all they found in blood was low vitamin D
and at the doctors my reflexes were very strong almost kicked him the face
another reason I'm in fear.
*** I suffer from depression as well and have a tendency to think the worst (OCD)
but these symptoms are real because my family has seen the twitching.
 
JOHN, I've read your post and considered your symptoms. There's NO reason at all to believe you have ALS or are starting to get ALS.

First of all, you have symptoms that are common to many healthy people, but ALS is rare. It's also an old person's disease, so a 19-year-old with ALS would be a rare phenomenon indeed.

EDITED: Spasms and cramps might be a concern for your doctor to evaluate, but the really big deal is the type of weakness you have:

WEAKNESS: You're describing "perceived" weakness, where your muscle feels tired or exhausted. You feel weak. ALS doesn't do that. In ALS, your motor neurons (in your brain) is destroyed so the corresponding muscle don't get the signal to contract. This kind of "weakness" has no feeling. There's no exhaustion, no feeling of weakness in ALS; you simply cannot contract the muscle--it is paralyzed, limp and useless.

TWITCHES: You described widespread twitching all around your body. ALS doesn't do that. In normal life, people have twitches. It's so common that it is not diagnostic at all. In ALS, when there is a twitching episode, it's typically in one muscle--the one that is becoming paralyzed. In ALS, twitches are not randomly happening all over.

As to reflexes, some people just have strong reflexes.

So there it is. I'm happy to tell you that you don't have ALS.
 
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