Worried about symptoms

[worriedsick]

Hi, I (like many others) am worried about my symptoms.

Little background - I am 26 yo male who has been overweight most of his life. Last september I felt pretty sick with pains in my chest and went to a cardiologist. He did an entire workup on me and everything came back negative although I did have high blood pressure (something like 130ish/85-90). (also doc did full bloodwork and everything came back OK). I felt better after the evaluation and got to exercising - started running moderately again and really getting at it in the gym. I made huge increases in strength etc and managed to drop some weight. At this point I was maybe 231 lbs @ 5'6" (beginning of jan)

Since then I have been completely swamped at work and in feb I was not really able to eat right and my weight bounced back to 245ish. There was one day in the end of feb where my fam looked at me and was like "you look bloated." So basically I tried to cut down again. The very end of feb, the big case I was working on ended. All i kept thinking was "I need a day off"

So I took a day off. I took the weekend off as well. I didnt feel really hungry, and on that sunday in the beginning of march, I felt like absolute crap. I couldn't eat. Driving back into the city that night, the entire time I thought I was going to pass out or get sick, and I kept having these twitchy feelings in my hands and I was terrified that I was going to have a seizure and crash.

For the next week, I had been cold all day, having episodes of chills, serious anxiety, and the inability to really eat. At first I felt a tingling feeling in my hands in the last two digits (ring and pinky) and attributed that to using the computer too much. I also started to get weird muscle feelings all over my body. For example, my legs felt like they would cramp up after driving for a while. My hands felt like they would cramp up as well especially the hand on the shifter.

I started getting terrible muscle spasms as I was trying to get to bed, and for the past month, my sleep has been disturbed seriously by what feels like "jolts" in my legs, in my arms.

Right around when this started, I found my stomach had a very cramped feeling after sitting at the computer for abour 6ish hours. Very top part of my abdomen just had some muscle pain I thought it was indigestion but after reflecting on it - it was clearly muscle pain in my abs. Then going to bed, I noticed serious spasms of the muscle in the top left of my abdomen.

These symptoms have all basically been about the same for the past month. Sometimes I feel a little better in the morning, but as the day goes on I just feel more and more tired. I havn't been able to really eat - I go get some food and it looks great but then when I go to eat it it just doesnt want to go down. I feel like all the muscles in my face are just tired and dont want to deal with it.

I have been getting tired from doing very basic things like carrying a few things into the apartment, or doing 20 situps or pushups. If i do any exercise and then try to eat whoah my abs just start killing me and I get really tired.

At night when I try to go to sleep I feel like I am just not getting to sleep either (possibly from the stress and worry)

I went to my doctor about 3 weeks ago complaining about the pain in my stomach, a pain in my neck which I assumed was a lymph node, and the overall body fatigue and tiredness. he looked down my throat and said "oo look bumps does that hurt?" i said "no" he looked up my nose and saw some "discharge" he then perscribed zithromax and said i might have strept (no blood tests etc). I took the zith, and after the 10 days I felt exactly the same if not worse. I started getting daily attacks when I felt light-headed or just scared and my muscles all over my arms, chest, etc would just twich and shudder. Still couldn't really eat still couldn't really sleep.

I went back to my Dr about a week ago, and he did a full physical including the "neuro" exam where he made me stand up hold hand out, touch nose, look left/right etc. Nothing. He said everything looks good.

So over the past 6 weeks or so, I have felt terrible. I havn't really been able to eat since every time i go to put food in my mouth it just doesn't look good and can't bring myself to swallow it. (sometimes ive even gagged or felt like throwing up but i fought the urge). (swallowing liquids is fine and i drink a lot of water).

My hand feels tingly all the time and so does my right leg. the muscles in my forearms feel like I have been doing curls at the gym but i havn't done ANY real exercise in 6+ weeks. It is so depressing because 6 weeks ago i was killing it in the gym setting personal records and just feeling like a monster.

I havn't been able to sleep much because I keep having jerking movements all over my body as i try to drift off to sleep. My abs constantly hurt whenever I do minimal exercise.

in terms of STRENGTH - I havn't lost any I don't think - i tried to do some curls and pushups and the actual strength was still there. It was just after doing these - about 5 minutes later - I felt like I ran full-force into a brick wall and broke every bone in my body. Its my stamina that is just shot.

My doc sent me to an allergist - nothign really interesting going on there although I am allergic to a lot - i dont think allergies can do anything like this. He did a full blood workup and found "nothing wrong" He checked my temperature and said I was 97.5 consistently (which i found strange cuz no one ever told me this before). He also took my Blood pressure and get this ---- 117/78. WTF I have had high blood pressure for what I feel like is forever. I went and bought one of those blood pressure machines and I take my blood pressure a lot throughout the day and I keep getting readings of 108/65 - 122/78.

Now I am terrified that there is something wrong with the muscles and nerves in my body. I have been through every fear from CJD, vCJD, brain tumors, now to ALS, and other neurological disorders. I made an appointment with a neuro in a couple of weeks and I will hopefully have more answers then.

I don't think I have had any memory problems, and although my concentration is shot, I think its because I keep going through this in my head and I can't think about anything esle.

Sorry for the LOOOONG post but its been eating at me from the inside for so long.

thanks to anyone who actually reads it!

 

[joelc]

From what you have said you can definitely put ALS out of your mind. I am no doctor but what you describe could be nothing more than anxiety.

 

[worriedsick]

From what you have said you can definitely put ALS out of your mind. I am no doctor but what you describe could be nothing more than anxiety.

thank you for saying that (and for reading my whole post). it is basically what everyone has told me. the only problem is that the muscle pain is so real and so deep and so behavior-changing - i havn't been able to do anything I love and its onset has been so sudden. I didn't really think anxiety could cause this much muscle pain and cramping. If it is really the case that all i have is anxiety and stress - wow the mind is a powerful thing.

 

[joelc]

From personal experience I have found that anxiety can do this and very quickly. It is amazing how fast this can happen and also disappear when you learn to control the anxiety and stress.

Yes, the mind is an incredibly powerful thing.

 

[worriedsick]

From personal experience I have found that anxiety can do this and very quickly. It is amazing how fast this can happen and also disappear when you learn to control the anxiety and stress.

Yes, the mind is an incredibly powerful thing.

thanks for the tips. Good luck to you and you will be in my prayers.

 

[worriedsick]

I know you guys aren't MDs but any clue what could possibly be causing all of my symptoms?

My most prevalent one right now is the constant fatigue i'm feeling. I feel fine while im lying down but as soon as I get up to do anything, I feel like my muscles run out of juice. Especially on my right side (feel like that whole side is just ever so slightly numb compared to the left)- and especially my last two fingers on both hands.

Also, random muscles all over my body seem to twitch almost constantly. And consistent muscle pain in my abdomen and calves as well as what feels like muscle pain in the front of my neck.

I feel like I have been getting worse over the past 6 weeks. I am terrified that I have some neurological degenerative disease and every day I will see a decline in function. All sorts of thoughts keep running through my head especially CJD and ALS. (the two major incurable ones).

I have also lost a ton of weight. (over 20 lbs) in the past month and I havnt been trying to do that. (whereas for the past 10 years i have been actively trying and could not accomplish this task). I feel like it is mostly muscle and I think the muscles in my arms have gotten considerably smaller compared to when I used to work out a few months ago.

any more help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

 

[worriedsick]

sorry to post this up so quickly again but I also just remembered another strange feeling i got last night. (this feeling has happened to me several times throughout most of my adolescent and adult life sometimes multiple times per night).

I have this feeling while im asleep that I am all of a sudden awake. I can not move. I can breathe, i can slightly crack my eyes, and I have a sense of what is around me. But when I try to move or to yell or to shout, nothing. I can slightly move my apendages but its like im just not in my body. Sometimes I just forget about it and drift back off to sleep. Other times, I can "wake" myself and regain all of my faculties and readjust myself in bed.

strange right? - i know this isn't an ALS symptom but it was weird and scary.

 

[BethU]

Worriedsick ... I think I can contribute on those waking "cannot move" experiences. It happened to me a couple times when I was young, and I think it's a sleep issue, not connected to any disease. When we fall asleep, our bodies go into a semi-paralysis, so that we don't "act out" our dreams. (People who walk in their sleep are an obvious exception.) It happens at a certain level of sleep. Sometimes our consciousness "wakes up" before our bodies do. It is a strange and scary feeling. If it happens a lot, you could have a sleep study done, and see if there's anything that can help. I don't think it is connected to any neuromuscular condition.

This could be related to your body jerking as you try to fall asleep, which probably contributes to sleep deprivation. Actually, limb jerking as you fall asleep is fairly common and not connected to ALS ... but it is extremely annoying.

Because of your unintended weight loss ... 20 pounds is a lot in one month, even for a big guy! ... and your loss of appetite, it sounds like something is going on, but as Joel said, it doesn't sound at all like ALS. Also, this feeling really sick and crappy is not a symptom of ALS, but could relate to other issues. Hopefully, your upcoming neuro's appointment will give you some clues and get you back on track, health wise.

Hang in there. As I said, it doesn't sound anything like ALS to me, either, so that's one less thing to worry about.

 

[brooksea]

I believe BethU is correct on the sleeping body issue. It's happened to me several times and I don't have ALS.

It will scare the crap out of you the first time it happens. It happened to me when I was 11, which resulted in me screaming at the top of my lungs to my parents upstairs. My father came running down the stairs and slipped on the rug at the bottom of the stairs. Seeing my dad flying thru the air in his skivvies is a sight I'll never forget! Needless to say, he was not a happy camper. He proved to me that I wasn't "paralyzed" in true military fashion, by jerking my head to attention! :x Ouch! LOL

Anyway, hope you find out what ails you. Doesn't sound like ALS.

 

[Zaphoon]

It seems you are not exactly what I would call a picture of health but it really doesn't look like you have ALS. If you could lose weight through diet and exercise, you would most probably lower your blood pressure and stress levels.

A key thing here is to let the medical professionals handle the diagnostic process and trust them while they figure things out for you. If you feel you need a second opinion, go for it.

Sometimes we experience transitory, physical quirks for which explanation escapes us. Maybe whatever this is will disappear on its own.

I would suggest finding a level of exercise that doesn't over tax you but is helpful in getting you to a more healthy body weight.

Zaphoon

 

[worriedsick]

It seems you are not exactly what I would call a picture of health but it really doesn't look like you have ALS. If you could lose weight through diet and exercise, you would most probably lower your blood pressure and stress levels.

A key thing here is to let the medical professionals handle the diagnostic process and trust them while they figure things out for you. If you feel you need a second opinion, go for it.

Sometimes we experience transitory, physical quirks for which explanation escapes us. Maybe whatever this is will disappear on its own.

I would suggest finding a level of exercise that doesn't over tax you but is helpful in getting you to a more healthy body weight.

Zaphoon

yeah this seems to be what the docs have been saying - basically "you're fat"
but being fat for the last 26 years hasn't had this effect on me. I have been exercising regularly, eating a strict diet and slowly lost 40 lbs in this past 1.5 years. All of a sudden this "illness" has come over me and i just dont feel right. i havnt been exercising, i've been trying to eat but i just cant seem to get it to go down. (yesterday i ate what i thought was a lot for recently and i lost more weight).

basically i went from 280lbs last year to 245lbs and some solid muscle base to now 229 and what feels like a loss of muscle.

 

[Zaphoon]

It would disturb me if I didn't feel better after having lost the amount of weight you have. I understand your concern regarding loss of muscle mass and exercise intolerance.

As cruel as this may seem, often times the medical folk need an illness to progress to a point that the diagnosis becomes obvious. That seems like it is often the case with ALS.

I've found that I've had to be the one to stay on top of the diagnositic ball to keep it rolling. Don't be afraid to ask for referrals to specialists and keeping a daily/weekly journal of your ailments can be a useful tool in the diagnostic process.

I wish you success in your quest for answers!

Zaphoon

 

[worriedsick]

So my symptoms feel like they have changed somewhat.

I am still very tired all the time muscle-wise. I have done some "tests" including checking how much I can currently curl, and how much I can bench-press. These values have stayed the same (currently 40lb dumbells and 250lbs) but I can't do them for the repetitions I was doing months ago. (also makes some sense since I have not been going to the gym 3x / week).

After light exercise, I find that my abs feel cramped a lot now. Also after driving in my car for a half hour (stickshift) my right hand is always sore and my legs feel like they have been strained. It has been significantly warmer here in NYC and my pinky/ring finger aren't as numb. My forearms, however, burn even as I type this (muscle-fatigue burn not tingly burn).

I have had pretty bad back spasms and I have noticed a lot of what I perceive to be fasciculations in my arms and legs. The real scary thing is this feeling I get in my legs that feels like an electric current running through it. its not a muscle spasm, and its not a fascic (i dont think) because I cant see it. Is this evidence of a fibrillation?

I seem to have gotten most of my appetite back and my weight has stabilized (although after I eat I still kinda feel sick if I look at food within an hour of getting full - I used to be able to pack away anything and everything in sight and it was hard for me to fight this urge - now i find myself thinking ok... i need to eat... please let me be able to finish this).

My mind feels like it is permanently in a fog - (could be because im thinking about my symptoms constantly) but it is a little disconcerting.

My quadriceps (which i havnt really subjected to any strenuous activity) feel like im toting around bags of cement while im walking (also this is where that electric feeling has been consistently).

thanks for listening!

 

[Lorie]

Zaphoon,
I agree with you. You have to stay on the DX ball. That is from my own experiences.

Lorie

 

[worriedsick]

I just wanted to update and say that I had gone to a neuro about 2 weeks ago. He heard my symptoms, although I probably stressed the wrong ones. Then he gave me a clinical exam. I did all sorts of things, he whacked me with all sorts of mallets, used all kinds of vibrating thingies, and after about 20 minutes, he told me he thought that my symptoms were not neurological. He said i had an essentially clean clinical exam and that i might have had a virus or something that I was still getting over.

This was 2 weeks ago. i still feel about the same. My hands and arms get tired very easily and cramp up when they are tired. I still have pain in my abdomen and neck, and I still feel like my fatigue is worse on the right side of my body. I have done some physical activity like walking 2-3 miles and i was fine after. I have not been overly tired and ive been able to sleep throughout the night now. Have gotten some weird pins/needles/numbness but it all has gone away for the most part. I am left now with essentially what I started with.

Some muscle spasms all over my body. Fatigue in the right side, "muscle" pain in my left abdomen and right front neck, and a right arm that just can't do what it used to do. I have put back on 5lbs, but its definitely not muscle. My appetite is back though!