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My first symptoms started in the fall of 06, so it's been over 3 years since things began. My first symptom was twitching, but about six months after that I played a game of baseball and literally couldn't lift my pinky finger afterward. The atrophy showed up in the fall of 07 in the form of a huge ridge going through my thenar thumb muscle. I think there are other parts of my body that show atrophy, particularly my left foot and right wrist, but it's still in the "is that...?" phase, not the "oh that's definitely..." stage that my thumb is in.

An example of my exertional weakness would be finding out that after I sprint, I am unable to walk on my heels. I can walk on my heels just fine most of the time, but if I run, 15 minutes later I can't at all. A few hours later to a day later, I'm pretty much back to normal.

Things have gotten worse, but not dramatically. I can still generally function fine, but if I exert myself I pay for it later. A couple of doctors have told me that they don't think that it's ALS, which is good to hear. However, I am trying to find out what else causes atrophy, exertional weakness and tons of fasciculations (they're still going on 3 years later...especially after I work out, I twitch like woah)

I'm sorry to hear about your first EMG. I would say it's worth figuring out what was abnormal about it, but maybe you can get some more details from your February appointment. Best of luck man.
 
Hey AndyDJX

The whole issue of when the symptoms started is interesting. I've had all the doctors ask of course, but the answer is a bit of a mystery. As I noted in earlier posts, I now see in retrospect that my handwriting was subtly messed up last Spring and that is also when I went to a clinic for intense ear pain. The ent told me in November that the ear pain is a result a whatever neurological is going on causing the other symptoms. He suggested then I had symptoms since at least March 2009.

It's frustrating for me because I've had some symptoms off and on for 30 years, but have never been able to get an explanation of what was going on all the other times, and whether or not what's going on now is related. The muscle atrophy at the base of my thumb has been a source of pain for years on an intermittant basis. My 2001 problems that led me to a neuro included tongue appearance change, hyperactive gag reflex, my tongue pulling hard to one side when I stuck it out and calf fasiculations. All this just stopped after a few months and all test results were normal. In 2005, I had 4 months of nightly limb numbness, fatigue, etc. My present neuro does not know whether or not this is related to past issues, he said he's just trying to get a diagnosis for what he sees now. Nonetheless, as a result of advice from people on these boards, I've asked for a referral to a particular neuromuscular specialist a few hours from here at a teaching hospital. No matter what, I want a second opinion and a chance to see someone who perhaps does have some explanation for my history.

I guess the 'when did symptoms start' thing is important to me because if I believe they started years ago, and have come and gone, I hold out hope that this will stop again soon. If this is the same thing I've had before, this is by far the 'farthest' it's progressed and it's added new issues like voice and swallowing problems. Wonderful.
 
Keep fighting for those answers man, your case sounds truly unique and not typical of als at all from what I understand.
 
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