Dear all,
Thanks to a wonderfully useful website to those who are affected by this horrendous disease. I do wonder if anyone who has been diagnosed with ALS has had the following course of events which I'm currently going through.
My current situation is as follows:
I am a 29 year old male who is fit and active, and recently moved abroad to seek a quieter life - and so I wouldn't consider myself as an anxious person.
I've been experiencing difficulty swallowing both to solids and liquids (at level of throat/upper chest) for the past 3 weeks which hasn't improved one iota. There is a definite constant "lump in the throat" feeling along with difficulty coughing up/getting rid of saliva at back of my throat which in itself can sometimes trigger a cough fit (aspirating?). I have struggled to stay asleep without saliva trickling to the back of my throat. I have no fevers nor feel infectious. It almost feels like one half of my pharynx is paralysed. For example, when I breathe out from my nostrils there is an audible "grunt" on the left side of my throat. This, to me, in itself sets alarm bells ringing to an underlying neurological disorder and am dreading the time I will develop a chest infection at this rate.
That being said, at the moment, I am still just about managing to go to the gym and lift weights but keeping foods down has been a real struggle (I'm taking over an hour to eat a half-decent meal, and am sticking to mashed/semi-solid foods mainly) with a near-constant mild upper chest discomfort. Looking back I've may have struggled to fully articulate words at times to my colleagues for about a month (i.e. having to repeat myself) which I did not take notice at the time. I have checked my tongue (for what it's worth) and it is moving in all directions with no obvious weakness - same with my uvula, but there is always saliva visible at the back of my throat which I just can't cough up. My breathing rate and depth feels fine.
I've seen my GP who is trialling me on a course of antibiotics and lansoprazole which I am dubious will resolve this (says there was some "inflammation" at the back of my throat ) and if no improvement will refer me to ENT.
I've had the odd fasciculation here and there which I don't think were relevant (I've had them since I was a child).
My plan is if ENT don't reveal anything significant then I will push for a neurology referral +/- speech and language therapist.
I know Christmas is around the corner, and it might be early days yet, but at the moment I can't help but think that this may be my last one as a healthy human being, and that I will end up moving back home to spend my last days!
Thanks.
Thanks to a wonderfully useful website to those who are affected by this horrendous disease. I do wonder if anyone who has been diagnosed with ALS has had the following course of events which I'm currently going through.
My current situation is as follows:
I am a 29 year old male who is fit and active, and recently moved abroad to seek a quieter life - and so I wouldn't consider myself as an anxious person.
I've been experiencing difficulty swallowing both to solids and liquids (at level of throat/upper chest) for the past 3 weeks which hasn't improved one iota. There is a definite constant "lump in the throat" feeling along with difficulty coughing up/getting rid of saliva at back of my throat which in itself can sometimes trigger a cough fit (aspirating?). I have struggled to stay asleep without saliva trickling to the back of my throat. I have no fevers nor feel infectious. It almost feels like one half of my pharynx is paralysed. For example, when I breathe out from my nostrils there is an audible "grunt" on the left side of my throat. This, to me, in itself sets alarm bells ringing to an underlying neurological disorder and am dreading the time I will develop a chest infection at this rate.
That being said, at the moment, I am still just about managing to go to the gym and lift weights but keeping foods down has been a real struggle (I'm taking over an hour to eat a half-decent meal, and am sticking to mashed/semi-solid foods mainly) with a near-constant mild upper chest discomfort. Looking back I've may have struggled to fully articulate words at times to my colleagues for about a month (i.e. having to repeat myself) which I did not take notice at the time. I have checked my tongue (for what it's worth) and it is moving in all directions with no obvious weakness - same with my uvula, but there is always saliva visible at the back of my throat which I just can't cough up. My breathing rate and depth feels fine.
I've seen my GP who is trialling me on a course of antibiotics and lansoprazole which I am dubious will resolve this (says there was some "inflammation" at the back of my throat ) and if no improvement will refer me to ENT.
I've had the odd fasciculation here and there which I don't think were relevant (I've had them since I was a child).
My plan is if ENT don't reveal anything significant then I will push for a neurology referral +/- speech and language therapist.
I know Christmas is around the corner, and it might be early days yet, but at the moment I can't help but think that this may be my last one as a healthy human being, and that I will end up moving back home to spend my last days!
Thanks.