Als?

[Jdoyle]

Hello, im new here and ive had some rather odd symptoms for the past 3 months. it started with a shaky hand, tremors and had gone down hill from there, now its august and the problems ive been having have been noticably worse. My shaky hand has remained the same but i noticed that when i move my fingers a certain way, there is a very noticable indention in my right hand, its a very long indention that goes from between my middle finger and my ring finger and makes it down id say maybe 80% down the back of my hand, and my ring finger seems to like to stick with my middle finger, i can move the ring finger but when i use my mouse pad my fingers spread out but the ring finger doesnt. ive had some weakness in my hand aswell as it is very difficult to lift up my laptop with that one hand. i have no lose of grip per se, however the tremors usually happen when i have it held up in the air. i also notice that the veins in my right hand are noticably popped out then on my left aswell. there has been no weakness or shaking in my left hand, it is getting me worried, however i will say this, im 18 and i am always on my computer as i have no job. i usually use my right hand to prop my head up and am always leaning on that arm, could that have something to do with it?

 

[Atsugi]

Not ALS.

Lots of possible reasons for your hand problem, and I'm sure you've already identified the problem: computer overuse.

Your symptoms are common, so look for a common condition. ALS is rare.

I can't diagnose you over the Internet, but you should see a GP doctor to see what the problem is.

Thanks for telling your age, that's important. ALS strikes people who are, on average, 65 years old.

I just looked at a database of 1800 ALS patients, and only 3 of the 1800 were below thirty. They were 27, 28 and 29. If an 18-year-old got ALS, it would be a world record.

 

[Jdoyle]

you have no idea how much better that makes me feel...ive been so scared of it for a long time...ive been trying to get a physical with my GP, i have to bring it through my mother first and she doesnt seem its neccesary...i read another post from you, saying that you dont really FEEL the weakness?

 

[scaredwifetx]

Hi, I work on a computer all day and have problems with my hands going numb, elbows hurting and tremors from time to time. My fingers also hurt. One thing I did notice is that when having my elbows on the desk all day it makes things worse. When I am off work for a couple of days my fingers, elbows and hands feel better. i was told I had tendonitis. \Get it checked out and don't worry about ALS. My husband has ALS and his symptoms are totally different than mine.

 

[Jdoyle]

Hi, I work on a computer all day and have problems with my hands going numb, elbows hurting and tremors from time to time. My fingers also hurt. One thing I did notice is that when having my elbows on the desk all day it makes things worse. When I am off work for a couple of days my fingers, elbows and hands feel better. i was told I had tendonitis. \Get it checked out and don't worry about ALS. My husband has ALS and his symptoms are totally different than mine.

well, my tremor has been going on for about....id say 3 to 4 months now, the only time it stopped was when i had a horrible sunburn back in july. ive just been very concerned since the trmors started when i was using my phone literally 24/7 and switched to computer

 

[Atsugi]

i read another post from you, saying that you dont really FEEL the weakness?

That's right. ALS isn't really a muscle disease, it's in the brain. ALS destroys the motor nerves in the voluntary nervous system and doesn't affect the sensory nerves. Since the motor nerve is destroyed, it cannot tell its corresponding muscle to contract, and so the muscle simply doesn't work. It lays limp and useless, paralyzed. There's no feeling of weakness, no exhaustion, no burning or "weird" feeling or tingling sensation, nothing.

 

[Jdoyle]

That's right. ALS isn't really a muscle disease, it's in the brain. ALS destroys the motor nerves in the voluntary nervous system and doesn't affect the sensory nerves. Since the motor nerve is destroyed, it cannot tell its corresponding muscle to contract, and so the muscle simply doesn't work. It lays limp and useless, paralyzed. There's no feeling of weakness, no exhaustion, no burning or "weird" feeling or tingling sensation, nothing.

so then would could it be? any guesses or ideas?

 

[Atsugi]

I learned from my wife (a doctor for 20 years) that the body is amazingly complex.
So I believe it is irresponsible to guess at a medical condition over the Internet.

Bottom line: I only know ALS. You don't have ALS.

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but we must limit this website to serve only people who are dealing with ALS. Half our members are dying and have various stages of paralysis, and the other half are waaay over-tired from tending to every need of a paralyzed loved one. So we cannot allow the website to drift away from our mission.

If you have further concerns, I recommend seeing a doctor.

 

[Jdoyle]

your right. thankyou for your input and have a good day and hope all goes well