Almost ALS?

[dupzmeister]

Hello guys. I'm been lurking this site for quite some time now and finally decided to post what I really feel and know what my chances are. I'm a 24 year old male from the Philippines and ALS is not that recognized or given importance of. I admire and salute all these PALS's bravery and sorry for stopping by. You don't know how much you've helped PALS and all hypochondriacs like me with your responses. And yes, I've read the stickies a lot of times and I just wanted to know a few a things. Anyway, here it goes.

For the whole month of June, I've been experiencing dizziness, loss of balance and the feeling that you're about to fall down. I've seen countless doctors and almost everyone is giving me medicine for vertigo, which is not the case as I don't feel the room or the ground moving or anything and don't have ear infection. Blood tests came out just fine and vitamins and minerals are not what's causing this. I'm a healthy and semi-athletic person by the way. During these times, my chin and my lip are getting random twitches and it went on for several days. I made a research of my own and tried examining myself of what's causing this feeling and found out that I only get this while I'm walking. I invited my girlfriend for a long walk and later realized that what's giving me the dizzy spell is a weakness in my right leg(no pain). And yes of course, I did google my symptoms which leads me to ALS and unfortunately, to this website. The very exact moment I found out about ALS is when the twitching started all over my body! That was exactly a week ago. Since then my anxiety levels are on the roof which is literally affecting my personal life. No one knows exactly how I'm feeling and doing with the internet except my girlfriend. She's always saying that it's nothing but plain anxiety. I wanted to listen to her but my body's telling me different. Days go by and I'm doing home strength tests(which I passed) on my own which leads to fatigue and more weakness on my extremities. And here's the thing that convinced me I have ALS. Whenever I pump my right foot up and down(gas pedal stroke), I don't feel that burning sensation like what I am feeling with my left leg. After 5 pumps, my left leg get's this "burning" sensation which is not the case for my right leg even after 10 or 20 pumps. Are my muscles on this part of my leg, wasting? So far no muscle atrophy can be noticed.

I went to a Neurologist earlier and told her everything. We did all neurological exams and she mentioned that there were no signs of weakness, atrophy, hyperreflex or even ALS. Again, the symptoms started just a month ago so I was thinking that weakness is not that obvious as of the moment. Our ALS conversation is very straightforward and in fact, she ordered an EMG-NCS test just so we can rule out ALS ASAP. My EMG is scheduled 2 weeks from now and will also do an MRI next week. She also gave me Lexotan for my Anxiety.

I'm under a lot of stress right now and I don't know if I can still make it. I just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and be done with it

All your replies, thoughts, suggestions and insights will be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Paul
facebook.com/dupzmeister

 

[GilWest]

Hello guys. I'm been lurking this site for quite some time now and finally decided to post what I really feel and know what my chances are. I'm a 24 year old male from the Philippines and ALS is not that recognized or given importance of. I admire and salute all these PALS's bravery and sorry for stopping by. You don't know how much you've helped PALS and all hypochondriacs like me with your responses. And yes, I've read the stickies a lot of times and I just wanted to know a few a things. Anyway, here it goes.

For the whole month of June, I've been experiencing dizziness, loss of balance and the feeling that you're about to fall down. I've seen countless doctors and almost everyone is giving me medicine for vertigo, which is not the case as I don't feel the room or the ground moving or anything and don't have ear infection. Blood tests came out just fine and vitamins and minerals are not what's causing this. I'm a healthy and semi-athletic person by the way. During these times, my chin and my lip are getting random twitches and it went on for several days. I made a research of my own and tried examining myself of what's causing this feeling and found out that I only get this while I'm walking. I invited my girlfriend for a long walk and later realized that what's giving me the dizzy spell is a weakness in my right leg(no pain). And yes of course, I did google my symptoms which leads me to ALS and unfortunately, to this website. The very exact moment I found out about ALS is when the twitching started all over my body! That was exactly a week ago. Since then my anxiety levels are on the roof which is literally affecting my personal life. No one knows exactly how I'm feeling and doing with the internet except my girlfriend. She's always saying that it's nothing but plain anxiety. I wanted to listen to her but my body's telling me different. Days go by and I'm doing home strength tests(which I passed) on my own which leads to fatigue and more weakness on my extremities. And here's the thing that convinced me I have ALS. Whenever I pump my right foot up and down(gas pedal stroke), I don't feel that burning sensation like what I am feeling with my left leg. After 5 pumps, my left leg get's this "burning" sensation which is not the case for my right leg even after 10 or 20 pumps. Are my muscles on this part of my leg, wasting? So far no muscle atrophy can be noticed.

I went to a Neurologist earlier and told her everything. We did all neurological exams and she mentioned that there were no signs of weakness, atrophy, hyperreflex or even ALS. Again, the symptoms started just a month ago so I was thinking that weakness is not that obvious as of the moment. Our ALS conversation is very straightforward and in fact, she ordered an EMG-NCS test just so we can rule out ALS ASAP. My EMG is scheduled 2 weeks from now and will also do an MRI next week. She also gave me Lexotan for my Anxiety.

I'm under a lot of stress right now and I don't know if I can still make it. I just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and be done with it

All your replies, thoughts, suggestions and insights will be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Paul
facebook.com/dupzmeister

All of the phrases I bolded are your answer. You will NOT have normal exams with ALS. You neurologist treated your primary problem...anxiety. There are numerous other things that can cause your symptoms.

 

[LifeEnthusiast]

In my humble opinion, you are suffering from anxiety and not ALS. Nothing you described sounds like ALS. You would be best to leave this forum and enjoy your life. Should something be wrong, I would suspect something fixable like a pinched nerve. This forum is not the place for you.

 

[Dusty7]

Agree with Gil and LE... does not sound at all like ALS. Deal with your anxiety, and stay away from Dr Google and sites like this one.

 

[dupzmeister]

Thank you guys for all your responses. I got my MRI and EMG results and they were all normal. It gave me a few days of relief but the symptoms are still present. I'm still getting body-wide twitches and my right leg feels weaker and stiff. And when at rest, I always get the urge to stretch or bend my knees. I can still do normal exercises though, but my right leg tires faster. I'm very much aware of my walking which should be an automatic thing. And yes, there is NO PAIN. All of this started for 2 months now.

I also went to a neuropsychiatrist a couple of days ago and gave me meds for anxiety.

My question, is my EMG done too soon? And the neurologist didn't stick the needle to my knees or thighs which I believe is the problem.
And how long from onset of the disease did you notice "real weakness"?

Sorry for bothering you guys but I'm on a constant worry right now. All you responses will be highly appreciated.

 

[Nikki J]

No not too soon. And they know where to put the needles which is not necessarily where you think it should be
When did I notice real weakness? It was the first symptom. I thought I was fine and I fell over. You had a normal exam and normal EMG you have been cleared of ALS you are being treated by a neuropsychiatrist this is not a good place for you. It will only feed your fear

 

[Atsugi]

Hello Dupzmeister, and welcome from Makati, a very exciting city (with a LOT of traffic).

You didn't describe ALS at all. But you did describe classic anxiety.
All your tests ruled out ALS. And everyone who's seen you says it's anxiety.
The EMG was properly done. They are measuring electrical activity that comes from your brain downward. Frankly, if I were a doctor, I wouldn't have wasted the time and money to give you the EMG. That's just feeding your fears.

My wife had ALS. Her first symptom was falling down due to paralyzed muscle. In ALS, there is no feeling, no burning sensation. The muscle simply doesn't work because the nerve is not getting the brain's signal to contract.

Yes, you're worried. But I assure you that you don't have ALS. In order to treat your illness, you should inquire into anxiety and stay away from ALS websites.

--Mike

 

[dupzmeister]

Thank you guys for all your responses. I have a reason to smile now and move on with this ALS scare. You have no idea how much you have helped me and the others.

@Mike - Philippines is a wonderful country and if you're planning a visit, please stay away from the cities!

@Nikki - thank you Nikki. I'm sorry about your family and diagnosis but you're one of the strongest persons I've ever seen.

Will no longer bug you guys, buh-bye!