BillNye
New member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2022
- Messages
- 4
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
Hi all, I'm very thankful to everyone here for their valuable time. I'll preface this by saying that I know my odds of ALS are extremely low for my age. I wanted to know if 1) my story seems concerning to you, and 2) what to figure out from a neurologist about this. I know I do have anxiety, and I think it affects some of the other symptoms I've been having, such as my episodes of lightheadedness, heart palpitations, and GI problems which I know ALS does not cause.
Starting 10 weeks ago I started episodes of perceived weakness/tingling on the left side of my body, especially my face and arm which lasted an hour or less. It eventually affected all my limbs and I had the feeling of being very heavy- it felt very tiring to move any of my limbs for much of the day. Urgent care doctors at the time ran blood tests which were all clear and told me that Long Covid is the most likely cause (I tested positive for Covid a week after the initial episode). After 5-6 weeks it seemed to start improving slowly, and I genuinely thought this was behind me.
About 2-3 weeks ago, I woke up with perceived weakness/trembling in my left hand, especially around 2 fingers (Pinky and Ring). The next day, this feeling spread to my other fingers, wrist, elbow, and my shoulder. My hand feels a lot less maneuverable, my left arm feels a lot harder to lift up, and it's more comfortable just to let my arm lie limp than move it. The strength is still there but there's on-off discomfort especially in my shoulder, but also my bicep & forearm (twitching, stiffness, burning). The hand clumsiness makes it feel harder to write/type, which is very scary.
Almost immediately after, I also developed perceived weakness in my legs, especially the left. In my left leg, the weakness is especially noticeable around my knee, ankle, and calf. I can do all the typical tests but feel off-balance. The feeling of weakness/heaviness is persistent throughout the day and night. I also can have twitching all over at rest and a full-body "vibrating" sensation that often wakes me up at night. To top it all off, I recently had difficulty initiating swallowing. I've had swallowing problems in the past due to acid reflux, but never with initiating swallowing and the timing of it with my other symptoms scares me.
I went to 2 doctors and a PT, none of whom have found any clinical weakness, but can't find an explanation for my symptoms either. Muscle inflammation has been suggested but doesn't explain everything. I'm waiting on MRI results, but my X-rays are normal. My PT has said that my reflexes/strength seems fine but that I don't seem to have a pinched nerve and he can't figure out what's wrong with me. Hoffman's and Babinksi were negative. My doctor believes that this is a mixture of Post-Covid & anxiety, but he's at least referring me to see a neurologist next week.
The rapidity of progression and breadth of symptoms is what's concerning me. Please let me know what you all think. Thank you all again!
Starting 10 weeks ago I started episodes of perceived weakness/tingling on the left side of my body, especially my face and arm which lasted an hour or less. It eventually affected all my limbs and I had the feeling of being very heavy- it felt very tiring to move any of my limbs for much of the day. Urgent care doctors at the time ran blood tests which were all clear and told me that Long Covid is the most likely cause (I tested positive for Covid a week after the initial episode). After 5-6 weeks it seemed to start improving slowly, and I genuinely thought this was behind me.
About 2-3 weeks ago, I woke up with perceived weakness/trembling in my left hand, especially around 2 fingers (Pinky and Ring). The next day, this feeling spread to my other fingers, wrist, elbow, and my shoulder. My hand feels a lot less maneuverable, my left arm feels a lot harder to lift up, and it's more comfortable just to let my arm lie limp than move it. The strength is still there but there's on-off discomfort especially in my shoulder, but also my bicep & forearm (twitching, stiffness, burning). The hand clumsiness makes it feel harder to write/type, which is very scary.
Almost immediately after, I also developed perceived weakness in my legs, especially the left. In my left leg, the weakness is especially noticeable around my knee, ankle, and calf. I can do all the typical tests but feel off-balance. The feeling of weakness/heaviness is persistent throughout the day and night. I also can have twitching all over at rest and a full-body "vibrating" sensation that often wakes me up at night. To top it all off, I recently had difficulty initiating swallowing. I've had swallowing problems in the past due to acid reflux, but never with initiating swallowing and the timing of it with my other symptoms scares me.
I went to 2 doctors and a PT, none of whom have found any clinical weakness, but can't find an explanation for my symptoms either. Muscle inflammation has been suggested but doesn't explain everything. I'm waiting on MRI results, but my X-rays are normal. My PT has said that my reflexes/strength seems fine but that I don't seem to have a pinched nerve and he can't figure out what's wrong with me. Hoffman's and Babinksi were negative. My doctor believes that this is a mixture of Post-Covid & anxiety, but he's at least referring me to see a neurologist next week.
The rapidity of progression and breadth of symptoms is what's concerning me. Please let me know what you all think. Thank you all again!