Pumpie
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2013
- Messages
- 33
- Reason
- Loved one DX
- Country
- UK
- State
- middx
- City
- London
I dont know why but Im not wholly convinced. A couple of days ago my father got diagnosed at the age of 56 with ALS, apparently his EMG NCS showed this to be the case.
The facts are :
He had a fall about 6 months ago and he couldn’t walk on his left leg properly, this got progressively worse and he had foot drop and was dragging it along. After physio for about a month, this went back to perfect
Then a month after his neck dropped to his chest and when we told him to correct it, it would always fall back. This somehow corrected it self.
3 months after the fall, he arm muscles started to waste, and he still cant reach his arms to above his head.
4 month on both hands fingers started to curl and he couldn’t do his shirt buttons.
The initial MRI showed generalised brain atrophy beyond his age. And they think it is ALS.
What i dont understand is the type of reversals my dad saw. After footdrop I have heard most people end up in a wheelchair or incapable to walk. He walks perfectly . His fingers were curling and becoming weak and for the first time in a couple of months,he is now doing up his own shirt buttons. One hand is normal now and the other is slightly curled. The neck has corrected it self. A couple of weeks ago he was lifting a glass of water into his mouth with two hands, and now lifts a whole pint full with one hand.
The only real issue is his arm muscle wastage. And that his voice has perhaps become a bit heavy. His tongue was considered healthy.
The doctor said there is nothing they can do. And per him
‘I agree with you that these transient and reversing symptoms and signs, with some improvement over time, appear to go against the diagnosis of a progressive neurological disorder such as motor neuron disease (MND). As I was unable to review your father clinically at an earlier stage of the illness it is difficult for me to comment specifically regarding those particular features of the history, though I remember very well that these facts were mentioned during the consultation last week.
One must admit, however, that degenerative conditions of the nervous system can present with a fluctuating course, especially in the earliest stages and this is not infrequently seen with dementia, Parkinson's disease and also MND (ALS).
‘
Could this really be ALS with the noted reversals we have seen? I am willing to accept ALS , it has been a very few hard days of crying. I just dont understand the reversals.
The facts are :
He had a fall about 6 months ago and he couldn’t walk on his left leg properly, this got progressively worse and he had foot drop and was dragging it along. After physio for about a month, this went back to perfect
Then a month after his neck dropped to his chest and when we told him to correct it, it would always fall back. This somehow corrected it self.
3 months after the fall, he arm muscles started to waste, and he still cant reach his arms to above his head.
4 month on both hands fingers started to curl and he couldn’t do his shirt buttons.
The initial MRI showed generalised brain atrophy beyond his age. And they think it is ALS.
What i dont understand is the type of reversals my dad saw. After footdrop I have heard most people end up in a wheelchair or incapable to walk. He walks perfectly . His fingers were curling and becoming weak and for the first time in a couple of months,he is now doing up his own shirt buttons. One hand is normal now and the other is slightly curled. The neck has corrected it self. A couple of weeks ago he was lifting a glass of water into his mouth with two hands, and now lifts a whole pint full with one hand.
The only real issue is his arm muscle wastage. And that his voice has perhaps become a bit heavy. His tongue was considered healthy.
The doctor said there is nothing they can do. And per him
‘I agree with you that these transient and reversing symptoms and signs, with some improvement over time, appear to go against the diagnosis of a progressive neurological disorder such as motor neuron disease (MND). As I was unable to review your father clinically at an earlier stage of the illness it is difficult for me to comment specifically regarding those particular features of the history, though I remember very well that these facts were mentioned during the consultation last week.
One must admit, however, that degenerative conditions of the nervous system can present with a fluctuating course, especially in the earliest stages and this is not infrequently seen with dementia, Parkinson's disease and also MND (ALS).
‘
Could this really be ALS with the noted reversals we have seen? I am willing to accept ALS , it has been a very few hard days of crying. I just dont understand the reversals.