surgery and progression

[cjfarm]

Hello. I was diagnosed beginning of October. I still haven't accepted this so I'm going for another emg on Thursday. My symptoms seemed to stabilize about 6mths ago. Well I was advised to have a needed surgery on my left wrist before my right arm was completely useless. I had a injury at the wrist that fluids were leaking out and hardening. It was pushing on my artery there. Well that went ok except my pulse kept dropping in recovery and all these alarms kept sounding. I only remember it being very loud. After they sent me home a few days later I started noticing some new things happening. One of the changes is my affected area now seems to twitch really fast (more then normal). It almost feels like vibrations. Last night I couldn't even sleep. I guess my question is does surgery make things progress? On Thursday is my chance to ask my doctor my list of questions so I haven't got beyond step one it feels like. My head is still fuzzy right now.

 

[Atsugi]

Welcome to the forum. Some people with ALS say that surgery does, in fact, increase progression, but I can't imagine why a left wrist surgery would affect your right hand. You mentioned that your head was fuzzy. Is this from pain medication. Perhaps that is affecting your symptoms.

 

[cjfarm]

Thank you for replying. No pain meds. Its fuzzy from all this new information and being overwhelmed. I wasn't sure if being put under did anything either i guess.

 

[Diane H]

In addition to surgeries to do the tracheostomy and feeding tube, I have since had the old fashioned gallbladder removal because the gallbladder bladder was gangrenous and couldn't be removed endoscopically. I was one sick cookie with that episode! I also had a mastectomy and 6 weeks of radiation treatments 4 years ago which required a second surgery to remove a hematoma along the incision. None of these surgeries increased my progression. I suspect that surgery that directly affects some still working body part such as a shoulder or wrist or knee will cause worsening in that area but not necessarily an increase in overall progression.

 

[WillIHen]

i agree with Mold.

for me, surgery doesn't make me go any far. It just not work for me.