graceless king
New member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2016
- Messages
- 5
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- BE
- City
- Zonhoven
Good day/evening, everyone.
Before starting my story, I'd like to point out a couple of things:
- First of all, I'd like to apologize in advance for any possible grammatical/spelling mistakes. English isn't my first language.
- I'd like to thank everyone on this side who has been (be it directly or indirectly) dealing with ALS. My heart goes out to all of you. And I really respect you for trying to help out people on this forum. I do admire your strength.
- I did read the sticky note saying "READ BEFORE POSTING", and therefore I know that chances of me having ALS as a 22 year old girl are very slim. However, there are still some things I've been quite insecure about, and because these worries keep me up at night and hinder me in my everyday activities, I decided to ask about it. Please do bear with me for a while.
- This is a pretty lengthy post.
I guess the symtoms started 2/3 weeks ago. I suddenly woke up to a feeling as if my left hand had considerably weakened. However, this was just a feeling. I could still use it, but my (what I assume) muscles started tingling whenever I tried grabbing things, making it extremely uncomfortable. I did worry about ALS, but also knew that ALS didn't start with a feeling of weakness, but actual weakness, so I ignored it. Instead, I tried focusing on different things. I had been stressing out for a couple of weeks concerning my health back then, so I figured it might have been my anxiety and stress causing this feeling of weakness.
2 days later, the feeling was still there, and it had even spread to my left leg. Again, I wasn't experiencing actual weakness. I could move around without any big problems. I also started having fasciculations in that same leg, but they stopped when I moved, so I tried to ignore those as well. (it was still annoying, but it wasn't hindering me all that much).
After some more days of waiting, I decided to see a doctor. Even if it was just to assure me a little that there really was nothing wrong with me. Now, I am currently residing in a different country, so I quickly noticed that explaining all my symptoms was instantly a lot more difficult in another language. Nevertheless, I managed, and the doctor seemed a bit worried, so he wanted me in later that week for an MRI. That, of course, started feeding my anxiety a little bit.
Eventually, I didn't get the MRI. There's a little thread of iron attached to the back of my teeth, and it would mess with the results of the MRI. I opted for an appointment with a neurologist.
I did tell one of my teachers about my worries. She instantly suggested to meet up with her in the weekend so she could bring me to her local doctor. So far I've only been at hospitals, and she figured talking with a normal doctor about my worries would somehow relief me of my stress. I agreed.
At the doctor's office, I had to describe my symptoms, and he wanted to test the strength in my hands. The pressure in my left hand was 30, and in my right hand 25. Overall a bit weak, but nothing to worry about. Especially since I'm left-handed. Alright.
Later that week, I started experiencing cramps, like when I held a pen in my left hand for a while, or when I stood on my toes for a couple of seconds (strangely, only in my left foot). The same goes for my left calve.
I decided to mention this to the neurologist I was meeting 2 days later.
Yesterday was my appointment with the neurologist. He tried testing my strength, the same way the doctor had tried not even a week earlier. This time, my left hand only gave 22, and my right hand the same. Ok, weird. Even though I had always just blamed it on a week feeling, my strength in my left hand was actually rapidly dropping. He also tested my reflexes, and the strength in the rest of my body. He didn't seem to find any problems there, but I notice that the reflexes in my left side were somehow weaker than in my right side? Moreover, when I mentioned the strength test in my left hand, he just laughed and said "At least you don't have fasciculations". Which, I have. Nowadays, the twitching has spread all over my body, but mostly my left side. I also did mention that, and got only silence in return.
I got my blood checked, and have to go back there in a month, but until then, I'll be forced to just wait.
The cramps has gotten worse. Simply putting my upper arm against my knee can cause pain in both my upper leg and upper arm. When I lie down, my back hurts (like cramps). When I use my hands, they start hurting (mostly left). I noticed it's become more difficult to put strength in my thumb, like, for instance, when I try to open a bottle.
Now, I know cramps aren't usually a sign of ALS, but while scrolling through some posts on here I saw someone say they experienced cramps before they were diagnosed with ALS.
The weakness in my left hand is also worrisome. And lately I've been extremely tired, unable to get up in the morning and falling asleep about anywhere.
For all I know, this is all due to stress accumulating in my body. But even in times of no stress, these muscle cramps and the weakness continues. As I said before, I know chances of me dealing with ALS are small, but that doesn't keep me from worrying about it. And as long as there's even the slightest chance/worry about it, my stress will increase and therefore my situation will (possibly) get worse.
So that's why I decided to ask someone who actually knows a thing or two about ALS about my situation. Should I push for an EMG? Or is there something else I can do?
Thanks in advance.
Before starting my story, I'd like to point out a couple of things:
- First of all, I'd like to apologize in advance for any possible grammatical/spelling mistakes. English isn't my first language.
- I'd like to thank everyone on this side who has been (be it directly or indirectly) dealing with ALS. My heart goes out to all of you. And I really respect you for trying to help out people on this forum. I do admire your strength.
- I did read the sticky note saying "READ BEFORE POSTING", and therefore I know that chances of me having ALS as a 22 year old girl are very slim. However, there are still some things I've been quite insecure about, and because these worries keep me up at night and hinder me in my everyday activities, I decided to ask about it. Please do bear with me for a while.
- This is a pretty lengthy post.
I guess the symtoms started 2/3 weeks ago. I suddenly woke up to a feeling as if my left hand had considerably weakened. However, this was just a feeling. I could still use it, but my (what I assume) muscles started tingling whenever I tried grabbing things, making it extremely uncomfortable. I did worry about ALS, but also knew that ALS didn't start with a feeling of weakness, but actual weakness, so I ignored it. Instead, I tried focusing on different things. I had been stressing out for a couple of weeks concerning my health back then, so I figured it might have been my anxiety and stress causing this feeling of weakness.
2 days later, the feeling was still there, and it had even spread to my left leg. Again, I wasn't experiencing actual weakness. I could move around without any big problems. I also started having fasciculations in that same leg, but they stopped when I moved, so I tried to ignore those as well. (it was still annoying, but it wasn't hindering me all that much).
After some more days of waiting, I decided to see a doctor. Even if it was just to assure me a little that there really was nothing wrong with me. Now, I am currently residing in a different country, so I quickly noticed that explaining all my symptoms was instantly a lot more difficult in another language. Nevertheless, I managed, and the doctor seemed a bit worried, so he wanted me in later that week for an MRI. That, of course, started feeding my anxiety a little bit.
Eventually, I didn't get the MRI. There's a little thread of iron attached to the back of my teeth, and it would mess with the results of the MRI. I opted for an appointment with a neurologist.
I did tell one of my teachers about my worries. She instantly suggested to meet up with her in the weekend so she could bring me to her local doctor. So far I've only been at hospitals, and she figured talking with a normal doctor about my worries would somehow relief me of my stress. I agreed.
At the doctor's office, I had to describe my symptoms, and he wanted to test the strength in my hands. The pressure in my left hand was 30, and in my right hand 25. Overall a bit weak, but nothing to worry about. Especially since I'm left-handed. Alright.
Later that week, I started experiencing cramps, like when I held a pen in my left hand for a while, or when I stood on my toes for a couple of seconds (strangely, only in my left foot). The same goes for my left calve.
I decided to mention this to the neurologist I was meeting 2 days later.
Yesterday was my appointment with the neurologist. He tried testing my strength, the same way the doctor had tried not even a week earlier. This time, my left hand only gave 22, and my right hand the same. Ok, weird. Even though I had always just blamed it on a week feeling, my strength in my left hand was actually rapidly dropping. He also tested my reflexes, and the strength in the rest of my body. He didn't seem to find any problems there, but I notice that the reflexes in my left side were somehow weaker than in my right side? Moreover, when I mentioned the strength test in my left hand, he just laughed and said "At least you don't have fasciculations". Which, I have. Nowadays, the twitching has spread all over my body, but mostly my left side. I also did mention that, and got only silence in return.
I got my blood checked, and have to go back there in a month, but until then, I'll be forced to just wait.
The cramps has gotten worse. Simply putting my upper arm against my knee can cause pain in both my upper leg and upper arm. When I lie down, my back hurts (like cramps). When I use my hands, they start hurting (mostly left). I noticed it's become more difficult to put strength in my thumb, like, for instance, when I try to open a bottle.
Now, I know cramps aren't usually a sign of ALS, but while scrolling through some posts on here I saw someone say they experienced cramps before they were diagnosed with ALS.
The weakness in my left hand is also worrisome. And lately I've been extremely tired, unable to get up in the morning and falling asleep about anywhere.
For all I know, this is all due to stress accumulating in my body. But even in times of no stress, these muscle cramps and the weakness continues. As I said before, I know chances of me dealing with ALS are small, but that doesn't keep me from worrying about it. And as long as there's even the slightest chance/worry about it, my stress will increase and therefore my situation will (possibly) get worse.
So that's why I decided to ask someone who actually knows a thing or two about ALS about my situation. Should I push for an EMG? Or is there something else I can do?
Thanks in advance.
