Hi everyone,
First of all I want to say that I am really grateful for the people answering on this forum. I really hope that there will be a cure for this disease soon.
I am a 26 years old male. English is not my native language, so excuse me for my spelling mistakes, I will try my best.
It started on my vacation in Thailand. A dog licked me and I received a post vaccination of two rabies boosters. Two months later (four months ago) when I was in Laos my arm started to have a burning tingeling sensation and I started to have a headache. At first I thought it would be the DEET we sprayed (to prevent mosquito). But when I stopped spraying the sensations stayed. I also had the feeling that my arm was less strong than before. A couple of days later I went to bed and did go to sleep, but my girlfriend waked me up, because I had to brush my teeth. When I tried to sleep again, I could not sleep anymore. My head was hyperactive as soon as I closed my eyes. Then I checked my symptoms against rabies and I was really afraid that it could be rabies. (The sensations on my arm were at the same arm as the dog licked). We stayed there 2 more nights but I couldn’t sleep anymore, and the last night I panicked. We flew back to Bangkok to see a doctor as I wanted to be sure I didn’t have rabies. (Not that you can do much about it when you have it, but at least I could go back to my family) The doctor told me I didn’t have it, but my symptoms stayed. I could barely sleep (I still don’t know why) and my arm kept burning/tingeling.
(Februari) After more than 6 days with almost no sleep I decided to fly home. I thought at home I would calm down and sleep normal again. I thought the sensations and the headache were just a reaction to my anxious mind. Unfortunately it did not go away, the burning/tingeling spread to my left leg and than my left arm and right leg. I also got a burning/tingeling sensation in my chin, sometimes it was even itching. It mostly happend when I was laying down. I also got a small spasm sometimes when my body was laying still. Sleeping didn’t go wel either. Then I started to get very small fasciculations (I think they are fasciculations because I experience them as small electric shocks on my skin, sometimes I see a hair move) on my calves, my arms and my shoulders.
(March) I started to realize that the burning sensation in my chin was more cramping than tingeling. It went temporary away when I yawn. I also experiences other muscle movements in my face, a bit like a muscle slowly walking from one point to another point of your face ( A bit of an electric feeling too) . Then I got a lot of cramp in my calves and my shins, and muscle pain in my shoulders. After the cramp my some muscles in my calves are painful when I use them to walk a longer period. I have to walk shorter distance now because of the pain.
Because of my symptoms I went to a neurologist to see if it could be a neurologic disease. He tested my reflexes and I had to do some physical tests. After that he said he couldn’t find any neurologic diseases but he would test my B12 and folic acid. B12 was “low-normal”, so I was okay he said, and should not focus on my body so much.
(May) Unfortunately the symptoms I have did not disappear and only got worse. When I lay down my calve muscles start to vibrate, and sometimes I have a tremor in my calve or my buttock or my arm. I got cramp in my belly when laying down, and it was like multiple muscle groups cramped after every breath. It became really hard to do abdominal breathing. At some point I could only sleep at night when I was sitting. I got Magnesium from the doktor for the cramps, but that did not really help much. After two weeks I do not have the cramps anymore (But did not try to lay down totaly flat anymore). But my abdomen still hurts when laying down, especially my diaphragm. I also have now a lot of muscle tension in my fingers, that stops when I start to move them. I also have problems with swallowing my salvia and my throat burns. I also have the idea that I have atrophy in my left thumb, but until now I don’t have found a good photo to compare with. I also have the feeling that the muscles in my chin and around my lips are weaker. But that is not clinical tested yet.
The biggest problem I am experiencing is my mind. My memory at this moment not what it is used to be (long and short term), and I have a lot of trouble finding words and sometimes I say the wrong word.
Summarize of symptoms that I have:
- Cramp in muscles
- Pain in some calve muscles after walking a bit
- Fasculations in calves, belly, arms and face
- Muscle twitching in the whole body
- Tremors in legs, shoulders and buttock
- Sometimes spasms in muscles when I relax
- Cramp in chin and spontaneous muscle tensions in face, with strange electric feeling (mostly on the right side)
- Muscle tension in fingertips when I do not move them
- Muscle tension in my legs and a muscle in my left arm
- Problems with my memory (finding words, and remembering)
My physical symptoms mostly appear when I am not moving.
Should I ask for a second opinion from another neurologist and ask for an EMG?
Thanks in advance and apologies for taking up your time.
First of all I want to say that I am really grateful for the people answering on this forum. I really hope that there will be a cure for this disease soon.
I am a 26 years old male. English is not my native language, so excuse me for my spelling mistakes, I will try my best.
It started on my vacation in Thailand. A dog licked me and I received a post vaccination of two rabies boosters. Two months later (four months ago) when I was in Laos my arm started to have a burning tingeling sensation and I started to have a headache. At first I thought it would be the DEET we sprayed (to prevent mosquito). But when I stopped spraying the sensations stayed. I also had the feeling that my arm was less strong than before. A couple of days later I went to bed and did go to sleep, but my girlfriend waked me up, because I had to brush my teeth. When I tried to sleep again, I could not sleep anymore. My head was hyperactive as soon as I closed my eyes. Then I checked my symptoms against rabies and I was really afraid that it could be rabies. (The sensations on my arm were at the same arm as the dog licked). We stayed there 2 more nights but I couldn’t sleep anymore, and the last night I panicked. We flew back to Bangkok to see a doctor as I wanted to be sure I didn’t have rabies. (Not that you can do much about it when you have it, but at least I could go back to my family) The doctor told me I didn’t have it, but my symptoms stayed. I could barely sleep (I still don’t know why) and my arm kept burning/tingeling.
(Februari) After more than 6 days with almost no sleep I decided to fly home. I thought at home I would calm down and sleep normal again. I thought the sensations and the headache were just a reaction to my anxious mind. Unfortunately it did not go away, the burning/tingeling spread to my left leg and than my left arm and right leg. I also got a burning/tingeling sensation in my chin, sometimes it was even itching. It mostly happend when I was laying down. I also got a small spasm sometimes when my body was laying still. Sleeping didn’t go wel either. Then I started to get very small fasciculations (I think they are fasciculations because I experience them as small electric shocks on my skin, sometimes I see a hair move) on my calves, my arms and my shoulders.
(March) I started to realize that the burning sensation in my chin was more cramping than tingeling. It went temporary away when I yawn. I also experiences other muscle movements in my face, a bit like a muscle slowly walking from one point to another point of your face ( A bit of an electric feeling too) . Then I got a lot of cramp in my calves and my shins, and muscle pain in my shoulders. After the cramp my some muscles in my calves are painful when I use them to walk a longer period. I have to walk shorter distance now because of the pain.
Because of my symptoms I went to a neurologist to see if it could be a neurologic disease. He tested my reflexes and I had to do some physical tests. After that he said he couldn’t find any neurologic diseases but he would test my B12 and folic acid. B12 was “low-normal”, so I was okay he said, and should not focus on my body so much.
(May) Unfortunately the symptoms I have did not disappear and only got worse. When I lay down my calve muscles start to vibrate, and sometimes I have a tremor in my calve or my buttock or my arm. I got cramp in my belly when laying down, and it was like multiple muscle groups cramped after every breath. It became really hard to do abdominal breathing. At some point I could only sleep at night when I was sitting. I got Magnesium from the doktor for the cramps, but that did not really help much. After two weeks I do not have the cramps anymore (But did not try to lay down totaly flat anymore). But my abdomen still hurts when laying down, especially my diaphragm. I also have now a lot of muscle tension in my fingers, that stops when I start to move them. I also have problems with swallowing my salvia and my throat burns. I also have the idea that I have atrophy in my left thumb, but until now I don’t have found a good photo to compare with. I also have the feeling that the muscles in my chin and around my lips are weaker. But that is not clinical tested yet.
The biggest problem I am experiencing is my mind. My memory at this moment not what it is used to be (long and short term), and I have a lot of trouble finding words and sometimes I say the wrong word.
Summarize of symptoms that I have:
- Cramp in muscles
- Pain in some calve muscles after walking a bit
- Fasculations in calves, belly, arms and face
- Muscle twitching in the whole body
- Tremors in legs, shoulders and buttock
- Sometimes spasms in muscles when I relax
- Cramp in chin and spontaneous muscle tensions in face, with strange electric feeling (mostly on the right side)
- Muscle tension in fingertips when I do not move them
- Muscle tension in my legs and a muscle in my left arm
- Problems with my memory (finding words, and remembering)
My physical symptoms mostly appear when I am not moving.
Should I ask for a second opinion from another neurologist and ask for an EMG?
Thanks in advance and apologies for taking up your time.
