Do I have ALS

[MartyParty12]

Hello, people!!!
I'm so sorry for bothering you all and taking your precious time.. One day(it's became my dream lately..) I want to discover a cure for this awful, terrible disease...

I'm a tall(1.85 m), white, 14 year old boy living in Europe. Recently I've noticed muscle twitches mainly in my arms and legs(especially the calves) and ocassionaly on my back or neck even the face at times, I can sometimes see them on my chest.

Recently(about an hour ago) I noticed my pinky finger went numb for some reason, now I don't exercise enough, I spend about 80-90% of my time sitting or laying in bed working on the computer(I program a lot and I write very, very fast...). I was so scared about my pinky finger so I thought(after ruling out the possibility of ALS at my age(I don't even have a family history of it ..)) that my finger got affected by the disease and it is going to spread in all my body in the near future... The finger felt as if I have stopped the blood flow to it for a while...

It is all ok now (I'm crying out of happiness thinking I do not have ALS, but I'm still very, very scared...).

I've been dealing with anxiety and depression a lot as well lately.. In fact it's been going on for months(4 months since the depression thing began..) I even tried to commit suicide by cutting my wrists(I just scratched the skin, blood didn't even come out..) I told my mom about all of this but she said I just need to exercise more..

we'll schedule an appointment with a neurologist and I'll post the results of the examinations once I get them. I also felt as if my arms are getting weaker(I'm 99.9% sure this is perceived weakness, because once I get my mind off it... it just goes away..)

anyways my speech also seems slurred at times(which is another thing that tells me it is not ALS(Hopefully), because it is not constantly.) I also feel my muscles tense or shall I say tired, fatigued when I wake up.. Oh and I also noticed some skin depression under my right collarbone but not the left one(I'm worried it could be atrophy ... this is the thing that makes me think I'm having ALS..).

I also think I'm becoming clumsy and when I write I noticed I do a lot of grammatical mistakes(for example.. I'd write Like as Liek, perhaps it is because I write too fast..) and I dropped my spoon while eating tonight... Could be just a random drop ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ .

I've never fell to the ground, nor do I feel as if I'm losing balance.. In fact I seem pretty balanced when walking... I think I just fell into the trap of a huge, HUGE placebo... especially after reading the biography of one of my idols - Prof. Stephen Hawking(May he rest in peace!).

I'm so sorry for the long thread, the poor English and bothering you people.. I just wanted to consult with someone who's gone through this or saw it happening... I've read the sticky by the way.

 

[lgelb]

Hi Marty,

I think you are right about falling into a mind trap. You don't have ALS.

But please go back to your parents, a teacher or counselor or head of school, a pastor, and find someone who will help you get better help for your anxiety and depression. You can also talk to the neurologist or any other doctor as they know other people who specialize in this. If it has progressed to your cutting yourself even a bit, it's not something you should have to deal with alone. It can get much better.

Best,
Laurie