cdekter
New member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2009
- Messages
- 2
- Reason
- Loved one DX
- Country
- AU
- State
- QLD
- City
- Brisbane
Hi,
I just joined up so I could get some feedback from people here and also that someone Googling symptoms might find my post and realise they are being silly
Let me start from the beginning: About 7 years ago, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with ALS. She was well advanced in years (in her 70s I believe) and so the disease tragically took her life within just a few years.
Fast forward to last year, when a very traumatic event in my life caused a period of depression and severe anxiety. I started suffering from regular anxiety attacks, especially at night while trying to go to sleep.
Things seemed to improve for a while, until last weekend. I suffered a major anxiety attack where I was convinced I was about to die. Eventually I was able to calm down and go to sleep. The next day I thought things were back to normal until... the instep of my left foot started to twitch, non-stop.
Being a keen internet researcher, I started Googling my symptoms, and sure enough I turned up ALS. Alarm bells started ringing - after all someone in my immediate family had died from the same illness! I started getting increasingly anxious, and would monitor myself extremely closely for any change. And change I did see - the twitch then spread to my right foot as well, and into both calves. The more I watched, the more I was convinced I was in the early stages of ALS, and the more anxious I got. I was absolutely convinced it was ALS - I started thinking about what the future held and envisioning scenarios of what my life would be like with ALS (!)
On Tuesday I went to see my GP who did some basic neurological tests on reflexes, hand-eye coordination and strength. Everything checked out normal, but I was still far from convinced. I continued to fret about it and started noticing other symptoms, like a leaden feeling in my arms and legs, and sporadic twitches around other parts of my body.
Now comes the kicker... in my searches I had come across the term BFS, but had ignored it to read all about ALS. Somehow, today I decided to have a look into BFS. Sure enough, it matched my situation exactly. And would you believe it, as soon as I started to calm down and stopped thinking ALS, the twitch started to reduce in severity as well!
So I guess the lesson I learnt is that the wonderful source of information that is the internet can be a double edged sword. I know very well that self-diagnosing is a bad idea, yet I still couldn't help myself.
I guess in conclusion I might put down a few things that lead me to believe it is not ALS:
I'm seeing the GP again on Tuesday just to be sure, but I'm kinda breathing a sigh of relief as you might well imagine!
Sincerely,
Chris
I just joined up so I could get some feedback from people here and also that someone Googling symptoms might find my post and realise they are being silly
Let me start from the beginning: About 7 years ago, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with ALS. She was well advanced in years (in her 70s I believe) and so the disease tragically took her life within just a few years.
Fast forward to last year, when a very traumatic event in my life caused a period of depression and severe anxiety. I started suffering from regular anxiety attacks, especially at night while trying to go to sleep.
Things seemed to improve for a while, until last weekend. I suffered a major anxiety attack where I was convinced I was about to die. Eventually I was able to calm down and go to sleep. The next day I thought things were back to normal until... the instep of my left foot started to twitch, non-stop.
Being a keen internet researcher, I started Googling my symptoms, and sure enough I turned up ALS. Alarm bells started ringing - after all someone in my immediate family had died from the same illness! I started getting increasingly anxious, and would monitor myself extremely closely for any change. And change I did see - the twitch then spread to my right foot as well, and into both calves. The more I watched, the more I was convinced I was in the early stages of ALS, and the more anxious I got. I was absolutely convinced it was ALS - I started thinking about what the future held and envisioning scenarios of what my life would be like with ALS (!)
On Tuesday I went to see my GP who did some basic neurological tests on reflexes, hand-eye coordination and strength. Everything checked out normal, but I was still far from convinced. I continued to fret about it and started noticing other symptoms, like a leaden feeling in my arms and legs, and sporadic twitches around other parts of my body.
Now comes the kicker... in my searches I had come across the term BFS, but had ignored it to read all about ALS. Somehow, today I decided to have a look into BFS. Sure enough, it matched my situation exactly. And would you believe it, as soon as I started to calm down and stopped thinking ALS, the twitch started to reduce in severity as well!
So I guess the lesson I learnt is that the wonderful source of information that is the internet can be a double edged sword. I know very well that self-diagnosing is a bad idea, yet I still couldn't help myself.
I guess in conclusion I might put down a few things that lead me to believe it is not ALS:
- Twitch started a few days after major anxiety attack
- Twitch was exacerbated by increased anxiety, and reduced when anxiety reduced
- Twitch stops when the muscle is tensed, and only reappears when it has been relaxed for a short time
- No associated weakness in the area - I can stand on tip toes without any problems
- Normal reflexes
I'm seeing the GP again on Tuesday just to be sure, but I'm kinda breathing a sigh of relief as you might well imagine!
Sincerely,
Chris
