symptoms

[hockey11]

Hello,

I had my father pass away for als a year and half ago. Ever since he got diagnosed I have suffered from body wide twitching. I mean my twitching is everywhere and all the time. Now I have hoarseness that won't go away and its been two weeks.
Watching my dad go through this gave me extreme health anxiety. I am a 38 year old male should I be concerned about my symptoms?

 

[Nikki J]

I am very sorry about your dad. It is very traumatic to lose a loved one to this horrible disease as you know. One relative with ALS does not mean you should worry about inheriting it.

Your symptoms : twitching for over a a year and a half? Twitches alone are meaningless and the timing suggests stress as a factor. Hoarseness does not suggest ALS either but if it is persisting I do think you should get it checked out for other treatable causes. Go to your doctor. Please also seek treatment for your understandable health anxiety. You sustained major trauma. Do not let your dad's ALS steal anything more from you

 

[hockey11]

Hi Nikki,

Thank you for your support. When to doctor yesterday gave me some meds for my anxiety and wasn't sure about the hoarseness he said give it a few more weeks then he would send me to a ENT specialists. He also said I have a mild case of walking pneumonia. The hoarse voice part is scarring me.

 

[affected]

hockey ALS does not start with a hoarse voice so don't sweat that one.

I'm sorry about your father, I lost my husband to bulbar onset ALS.

What happens is the nerve to the tongue dies and so the tongue wastes away and you can't talk or swallow without a tongue. That's very different to a hoarse voice.