Good Afternoon, I have spent plenty of time reading on this board and trying to find answers to all the questions that I have. A lot of my questions have been answered, but I still have a few doubts. I am hoping that you guys can help me answer some of those.
I have been experiencing symptoms for quite sometime now, it all started with body wide twitching about a year ago. Sometimes it is concentrated in one area, but for the most part it bounces from one spot to the other. I could be feeling them non-stop for sometime or it can be not as frequent. I have read on this forum that twitching by itself does not mean much, but I do have some other symptoms that concern me along with the twitching.
Ever since those symptoms started, I have tried my best to ignore them until recently. When my leg starting going numb, it started with the toes and then sometimes it goes up to my hand and arm. For the most part i feel tingling or a pin and needles sensation, but there has been a few times where my toes go numb or the fingers in my hand. This all occurs on the same side by the way, Recently when I wake up in the middle of the night, I usually have 1 or 2 fingers in my hands completely numb. Then, I spend a good 30 seconds to 1 minute to get them back to normal. I have also noticed that when I hold my phone for a long time, they go numb as well. This would never happen before. The numbness has gotten progressively worse, to the point that the doctor has me taking Gabapentin every day, which has certainly helped.
Also, when I am sleeping sometimes I feel my leg jerk. It always happens right when I wake up and I notice it right at the end of it. I am usually half asleep when it occurs.
I have read a lot in this forum about weakness in ALS and what it exactly means. I believe I read it's about failure, not failing. My question is do you feel anything leading up to the failure? I have noticed my hand going weak before after doing some manual work , I also feel my upper back having discomfort by the end of the work day. I wasn't sure if this was an early sign of weakness or it does not work like that with ALS. Does it strike you at once? Or do you see signs of your muscles getting weaker ahead of time, like per example at the gym, or doing manual labor, or as I said by the end of a work day feeling discomfort in my back. Excuse my ignorance.
Another concern that I had was for the last few days I hear my joints cracking. This does happen in any part of the body, Usually it happens in either knee , left foot or right ankle. I have found this to be extremely odd. It just started a few days. Does anyone know if this could be a symptom of ALS? As your muscles start getting weaker? It has become extremely noticeable, it usually happens when I get up from a chair or get out of my car, it's the first step out where I notice it. This morning I was laying in bed and I move my foot where I have been having a lot of the issues and I heard a loud "Crack" and it is really starting to concern me because I wonder if this is all related.
I recently went to the Neurologist and he did a neurological exam. He checked for strength , reflexes, etc. He said the exam went well and didn't have any red flags. But , he still ordered an EMG. I am still waiting to have an appointment scheduled.
Any help answering my questions will be greatly appreciated. I don't know if all this is something or nothing. But, it is starting to worry me because I see no improvement at all. I am hoping that this isn't related to ALS and with your knowledge maybe you can help me answer some of the doubts that I have.
Thank You!!!
I have been experiencing symptoms for quite sometime now, it all started with body wide twitching about a year ago. Sometimes it is concentrated in one area, but for the most part it bounces from one spot to the other. I could be feeling them non-stop for sometime or it can be not as frequent. I have read on this forum that twitching by itself does not mean much, but I do have some other symptoms that concern me along with the twitching.
Ever since those symptoms started, I have tried my best to ignore them until recently. When my leg starting going numb, it started with the toes and then sometimes it goes up to my hand and arm. For the most part i feel tingling or a pin and needles sensation, but there has been a few times where my toes go numb or the fingers in my hand. This all occurs on the same side by the way, Recently when I wake up in the middle of the night, I usually have 1 or 2 fingers in my hands completely numb. Then, I spend a good 30 seconds to 1 minute to get them back to normal. I have also noticed that when I hold my phone for a long time, they go numb as well. This would never happen before. The numbness has gotten progressively worse, to the point that the doctor has me taking Gabapentin every day, which has certainly helped.
Also, when I am sleeping sometimes I feel my leg jerk. It always happens right when I wake up and I notice it right at the end of it. I am usually half asleep when it occurs.
I have read a lot in this forum about weakness in ALS and what it exactly means. I believe I read it's about failure, not failing. My question is do you feel anything leading up to the failure? I have noticed my hand going weak before after doing some manual work , I also feel my upper back having discomfort by the end of the work day. I wasn't sure if this was an early sign of weakness or it does not work like that with ALS. Does it strike you at once? Or do you see signs of your muscles getting weaker ahead of time, like per example at the gym, or doing manual labor, or as I said by the end of a work day feeling discomfort in my back. Excuse my ignorance.
Another concern that I had was for the last few days I hear my joints cracking. This does happen in any part of the body, Usually it happens in either knee , left foot or right ankle. I have found this to be extremely odd. It just started a few days. Does anyone know if this could be a symptom of ALS? As your muscles start getting weaker? It has become extremely noticeable, it usually happens when I get up from a chair or get out of my car, it's the first step out where I notice it. This morning I was laying in bed and I move my foot where I have been having a lot of the issues and I heard a loud "Crack" and it is really starting to concern me because I wonder if this is all related.
I recently went to the Neurologist and he did a neurological exam. He checked for strength , reflexes, etc. He said the exam went well and didn't have any red flags. But , he still ordered an EMG. I am still waiting to have an appointment scheduled.
Any help answering my questions will be greatly appreciated. I don't know if all this is something or nothing. But, it is starting to worry me because I see no improvement at all. I am hoping that this isn't related to ALS and with your knowledge maybe you can help me answer some of the doubts that I have.
Thank You!!!
