ALS like symptoms, waiting to see rheumatoid

[annmarieLAT]

Hello all,

I was hoping to see if I could get any help/ Answers & kind of what i should expect at my first rheumatoid appt.

First off, I am 25 years old & id say I've been pretty healthy my whole life.

About two years ago I started having symptoms of restless leg syndrome RLS, that hasnt stopped and its almost EVERY NIGHT.

Last May i was having muscle twitching in my left forearm which then lead to my whole hand and arm going numb. my general practitioner thought i might have some kind of neuropathy going on... so they put me on some NSAID meds.

a few days after i started having CRAZY muscle twitching ALL OVER! my legs, arms, hands, my head, back, butt, stomach... it was constant, but when i moved the twitches went away. My blood work came back that i tested positive for ANA, and also my blood platelets were low.

Ive had a few more blood tests since then and everything is still the same. I only took the NSAIDs for about a week... my muscle twitching subsided for a while (two weeks, maybe?) but its back on again.

So its been since may that this has been going on. I have an appt to see the Rheumatoid, but they dont have any opening for "new patients" until November..,..

If anyone can tell me what i can expect from the Rheumatoid that would be great thanks... opinions welcome as well.

Thank you!
-Ann Marie

 

[fitzroy]

Firstly, I'm pretty sure they prefer being called Rheumatologists. :wink:

To your question, hopefully they will follow fairly standard protocols. A thorough history, a review of your current symptoms, an exam and review of any previous tests you've brought with you. Depending on what she finds, she may order additional tests, mainly blood workups.

I can only guess you're on this site because of the twitching. There's no reason for you to be here. There are better places to read up on and learn about the types of conditions a Rheumatologist manages.

 

[annmarieLAT]

Thank you.

I've just been researching like crazy for the last few months & when I enter my symptoms in sites, ALS is what usually comes up.

 

[Tokahfang]

No joke, I entered the main symptoms of several other diseases at one point, and the all came up ALS. It is like the engines think it stands for Always Look at this Syndrome.

Rheumies are great docs. They deal with people in pain regularly, and are in my experience more empathetic than many other kinds of specialists. Mine worked out with me the exact priority order of testing per dollar when I was uninsured. I would expect answering a lot of questions, a physical exam, more blood work, etc. Your family history will matter a lot, I'd get that written down before you get there.

But having made the appointment, please, stop researching. I know the wait time feels so long, I've been there, but researching without information leads to anxiety and a lot of wasted time. You are 25, go enjoy being 25! If the symptoms you have now are part of some sort of long term problem, you aren't going to look back later and be thrilled about how much time you spent looking them up back when they were so mild, you'll more likely regret the time lost.