18 years old

[rysteph9577]

Hi everyone I’m 18 years old and I’m French (sorry for my bad english).

I know I shouldn't be worried about ALS at my age but a lot of weird things are happening to me lately. It all started almost a month ago when in the middle of the day I felt a kind of weakness in my right arm and more than 2 hours passed before I lost this feeling. I did some research and came across ALS. Being naturally very anxious I started to be afraid of this disease. Now I know that these are not symptoms of ALS but I felt these weaknesses several times in the arms with sometimes pain and obviously my doctor told me that I had nothing.

After that I had twitches in my right foot (I feel them and I can see them). I was very stressed after that and the twitches spread to my left foot and then to my whole body (even my tongue sometimes). Twitches in my feet are often present with numbness and tingling. What scared me the most was the twitches in my right hand and specially in my middle finger.

I tried to convince myself it was anxiety but now i noticed another strange thing. When I bend down and put my hands on my knees I have difficulty keeping my right arm in this position (I don't feel any pain but I can't explain it). I've been feeling this for a few days and I noticed earlier while looking in the mirror that I had some sort of hole in my right shoulder that I don’t have in my left one. I thought maybe it could be the start of muscle atrophy.

Between that, twitches and all the other weird symptoms I'm now lost. I want to clarify that I took magnesium and I didn’t notice any change. Also I never really felt a loss of strength.

Now I would like to have opinions on what is happening to me and does it correspond to ALS? My shoulder problem being the one that worries me the most right now.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Hello-

We ask that everyone read here first: Read Before Posting. It contains a lot of information. There, you will read that twitching and sensory (feeling) issues point away from ALS. You will also read that you can not assume "atrophy" if you see a dent in a muscle- only a doctor can truly assess for atrophy. We do ask people to visit with their doctors if they have health concerns- it usually saves people the worries they come up with if they use the internet to search for things first.

Take care

*edited to add, looks like you've actually seen your doctor and they told you no ALS already!

 

[lgelb]

I see no reason to doubt your doctor, but s/he is in the best position to monitor the shoulder, etc. If you had atrophy due to ALS, there would be some change in function, because you would be lacking functional muscle. Many people do not exercise their shoulder muscles as such or do so incorrectly. Many reputable physios have videos on YouTube these days.

So I see no reason to worry. As you say, anxiety can have a great effect on how you feel and what you think you see. I hope you ask your doctor how you can address this problem, so it does not interfere with your enjoyment of life.

 

[rysteph9577]

Hi! Thank you for your messages.

This is probably a stupid question but i was wondering if the weakness always starts with obvious signs? I did a flexibility test for my shoulders which I succeeded but my left arm was more flexible and I felt more pain with my right arm. This may have nothing to do with the signs of ALS but it worried me considering I also have a small dent on my shoulder and sometimes fasciculations.

I also sometimes have the feeling that my bones are moving and that I have to put them back in place by moving my arm. It can be very annoying so I wanted to know if it can happen when you have ALS.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply to everyone.

 

[wishmobbing]

Every person is asymmetrical so it's no surprise your arms perform differently. Dents and fasciculations are normal, too. Annoying is a long way from ALS. Don't even think about it, read about it, worry about it. You are good, live your life.