Very scared - fingers quiver and possible thenar atrophy

[haveu]

For the last 3-4 months, my fingers have been quivering side to side when I hold out my hands and extend them. It started with just one finger occasionally and now it's all of them. The quivering gets worse when I exert my hands, e.g. write or type, make fist, etc. There's also some small worm-like fasciculations of the hand muscles. I also now have small marks on my thenar eminences, which I haven't seen before and worry are signs of atrophy. This accompanied with some difficulty lifting things that used to be fairly easy, like gallons of water. Possibly just perceived weakness though; saw a neurologist who did a standard battery of tests and said everything looked fine (don't think he took a good look at my hands at all though).

I'm very anxious about this, which is sure to be a confounding factor, but I don't think the fingers quivering are from anxiety: it happens all the time. Anything anyone could say would be appreciated.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Tremor is not known as a diagnostic symptom of ALS. I would direct you to the "READ BEFORE POSTING" thread at the top of the DIHALS subforum.

People have asymmetric bodies. Finger lengths vary from side to side. As do muscles. Twitches are also common for so many reasons, including them just being a natural tendency in some people. Tremors can also be caused by so many things- too many to go into here.

If you continue to be concerned about your symptoms, go back to the doctor and let them know you wish to find out why you are exhibiting such symptoms. If you go in and say "I am worried about ALS." they will focus on ruling that out and reassuring you instead of possibly trying to track down WHY you have the symptoms you do. Keep at it, but do not worry about ALS.