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Corvo

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Dec 4, 2018
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Reason
Learn about ALS
Country
US
State
Arizona
City
Tucson
I know tons of people post on here scared to death, and the people who read this are probably thinking "Ugh, here's another one" but I'm truly very scared and don't know what to do. Here's my situation:

30 year old female

About 5 months ago I noticed a slight indentation on my right forarm, I was perfectly healthy and exercising every day. I didn't think anything of it.

Fast forward to last month. I started having buzzing/vibrating feelings in both feet. Went to various doctors, no one had a clue.

Last week, my right armpit started visibly twitching. This occurred off and on for 3 days, then stopped. However, since then, the fasciculations have been absolutely everywhere. My feet, my calves, my thighs, my arms, back, buttocks, stomach, inside my ear, my lip, and most scary of all, my tongue. They bounce all over my body day and night. Sometimes a few minutes go by without a twitch, but then they are back. Sometimes simultaneously in two different locations, but usually it feels like a cascade: I'll get a twitch and then another in a different location, etc until the next barrage.

My doctor said my reflexes are brisk and I have a jaw jerk reflex and this of course sent me over the edge with fear after I looked this up on Google. I am scheduled for an EMG, but my doctor didn't seem too concerned, although she admitted that this was not her specialty.

Finally, I feel like my limbs are all tiring more easily than before. For example: when I lift my arms over my head, my muscles start to burn and I'm pretty sure this burning is occurring sooner than it would have just weeks ago. Sometimes I feel like my calves are working harder to support my weight, and holding bottles or anything slightly heavy for longer than a few seconds makes me feel like my muscles are starting to feel the burn long before they would have weeks ago.

Also recently, I feel like the muscles in my neck when I chew are "working harder". I wish there was a better way to describe this. I guess it feels like I've been straining my neck all day and when I eat it just exacerbates the feeling of tension.

I hope this has not been too lengthy, I just wanted to get the full description out there. Please help, I am very scared. Thank you.
 
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Brisk reflexes and even jaw jerks are nonspecific and can be normal variants. Twitching is common, nonspecific, and meaningless. Weakness is something only a doctor can diagnose. Weakness on clinical exam is different than feeling weak. You have not described actual muscle function failure which would be the hallmark of ALS.

So nothing you’ve mentioned would make me concerned about ALS. Your doctor is trying to reassure you.

Now you’ve worked yourself up into an anxious mess.

Hopefully the EMG will reassure you. Please believe the results when it comes back clean. Please let us know how it turns out.
 
Thank you very much for your reply Karen. I will definitely let everyone know how my EMG turns out, although there is a month long wait in my city right now, so it will be a while. I am truly grateful for the feedback.

I think the only thing that still has me a little worried is the reflex thing. I had my basic reflexes tested (elbows and knees) when the first symptoms started and my doctor never said they were brisk. However, just this week I distinctly remember my knee reflex being much more dramatic and the doctor said they were brisk. The fact that they changed during this time and combined with the jaw jerk, has me uneasy still.

Again, I very much appreciate your feedback, and after this post I will leave the forum until my results come back, hopefully next month.
 
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