Hi all i need help please

[officermike]

Hi I am 36 year old male in fairly good health but lately have been having alot of muscle twitching in my calves thighs biceps rigfht hand, back, and arms. They are very quick and strong, and happen several times a day in the same areas. i get dizzy spells. I had a normal mri of brain and spine have had emg annd nerve test, and also nerve bipsy by two skin punches thigh was normal calf was low normal. I am very concerned about als. does anybody have any idea if these are als symptoms even though my tests are clear? Any help would be appredciated tahnk you.

 

[ZenArcher]

Not to be rude but a simple search of this forum would have shown you that a clean EMG rules out ALS. EMG evidence is in fact the first requirement in an ALS diagnosis. In addition dizziness has nothing to do with ALS. There are thousands of things that can cause twitching most of which are innocent.

Now I would like to ask something of you. I am an ALS patient and I have taken my time to answer your question. In return I would ask that you go read the National Institute of Health ALS Fact Sheet and then go tell someone you know about ALS.

 

[officermike]

Thank you for answering my post. Sorry if I offended you as this was not my purpose, and I would like to read the items you requested. Where would I find them?

 

[officermike]

And may god bless you and comfort you while you fight this horrible disease.

 

[GlenBrittle]

Hey Mike,

A quick use of the search feature about will allow you to dig up lots of info. I, myself, use it a lot. I have found that if select the post instead of thread , I can tell very quickly if I have the correct words for my query.

Welcome to the site, and be happy that you dont have ALS


Glen

 

[Phil M]

Hey Mike! Love your state!

 

[MickeyMouse]

Hi Officer Mike and welcome to the forum!

You're too early on with your symptomology to know if this is something to worry about or not. In my particular case, we noticed muscle twitching for a good many months before there were any other symptoms. So what you have may be perfectly benign, or the start of some other neuromuscular disease, or ALS...... there is no way to know. Sorry.

I understand that you're worried, so I wish I could tell you sometime other than you'll have to wait and see..... But I will say this: Take every day God gives you, hug your family and forgive your enemies. Most of all~ enjoy walking, talking, eating, and loving, because we are promised nothing in this world.

Good luck Mike,
Laurie

 

[trfogey]

Hi, officermike.

As you have seen from the prior responses, there appears to be some doubt that your symptoms point toward ALS. Perhaps you could fill in some blanks for us.

First, what were the symptoms which caused you to see the doctors that did the biopsies and the EMG on you?

Next, what did your doctors tell you was wrong with you after those tests and what care plan did they set up for you to deal with that condition?

Finally, what problems do you have now that lead you to believe you might have ALS rather than the original condition your doctors thought you had?

 

[officermike]

Well I started having twitches andtingling in my thigh and left foot back in december, and it continued that is why i went to the neuro. I also had vibration feeling in my legs kinda like a cell phone on vibrate feeling. The neuro isnt sure what is going on and wants me to do a sleep study for some reason, and then wants me to go to a mayo clinic but not sure why. He thinks maybe fybromyalgia or something, but als is always in the back of the mind. It seem like my twitches are getting more and more frequents and stronger, but no real weakness yet. The neuro also thinks maybe perepheral neurapathy but doesnt know what would be causing it.

 

[Robert Redmond]

Have similar problems myself, getting checked out as well.
Either it's anxiety causing BFS for me or it could be an early sign of ALS. Just not sure yet.
I also have muscle pain and slight weakness but that could be a side effect of me taking pravastatin (stopped taking that for now)

I hope yours turns out benign as well as mine. Without weakness though your chances seem good it could be something like BFS.

 

[officermike]

Hope it works out for you too.

 

[trfogey]

Another question, officermike. When you say that "ALS is always in the back of the mind", whose mind are we talking about? Did your neurologist tell you that ALS was a possible diagnosis that he/she was considering? Or is this a conclusion you've drawn from your own reading and research?

And to answer your question about the sleep study, your neurologist is probably recommending that to determine whether or not you might have sleep apnea, which can cause some strange problems on its own.

 

[officermike]

My mind i looked it up my mistake huh. I hear alot of different things like twitching is first with als then i hear that twithcing isnt first muscle wasting and weakness come before twitching, some say twitching can go on for months and then turn into als its all just confusing, and i not here to waste peoples time or make light of your situations god bless you all for having to endure this awful disease. i just figure sometimes you guys give better advice than most people. When my neuro wants me to go to a mayo clinic it bothers me because he said he really doesnt know whats wrong with me causing my symptoms, but he is pretty sure it isnt als, so its just confusing and frustrating for me. he did say that if it was als more signs would have showed up by now, and that im too young, but then i read that some people have symptoms for a long time then boom als so kind of second guessing him sometimes which i know isnt very fruitful like i said this is all just frustrating.

 

[trfogey]

officermike,

I can sympathize with your frustration over how long it can take to get a neurological diagnosis. So many neurological disorders seem to be diagnoses of exclusion -- which basically means lots of tests that rules certain conditions out, until you get down to the one thing that ails you. It's very tempting to try to help speed things along by doing your own research, but you've now discovered the downside of that. Too much information can be an indigestible thing, and it is difficult sometimes to forget what you have seen.

Nonetheless, I'd have to agree with my other friends here and say that your symptoms don't sound like ALS to me, even though I am not a doctor. I imagine that your doctor is referring you to a specialty clinic such as Mayo simply to get you seen by more experienced practitioners who may be better suited to give you the diagnosis and the treatment you need, more quickly and efficiently than your local neuro can.

Good luck to you.

 

[Robert Redmond]

From my experience the Mayo Clinic is VERY good at diagnosing ALS.
My brother spent a year seeing a neurologist and went to the hospital at least 4 times before he finally was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and they diagnosed him with ALS in 2 days.
Not saying you will get diagnosed but if you have it I'm sure they will know, if they say you don't have it then you can finally feel at peace.
Only wish I could afford to go there myself.