Any advice would be greatly appreciated

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Baseballbum13

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Jan 29, 2021
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Learn about ALS
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State
NY
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New York
Hi Everyone, I’m a 31 year old male. I’m not usually the type to have health anxiety but I’ve been having some weird symptoms that haven’t been getting better. So I found this forum and I’m hoping for some advice. A few weeks ago I started noticing My left arm and leg felt weak. After a few days it seemed like the weakness moved to my right leg and more specifically my foot. Around this time was when I started to notice some swallowing problems. Nothing major, just felt like it took more effort to get things down. As time went on the weakness and the swallowing went away for the most part. The only holdover symptom being that my right foot constantly feels tight, like it wants to cramp but hasn’t gotten there yet.
A few days ago the swallowing issues returned along with some additional muscle weakness is my arms and my legs have been feeling heavy. I’ve been trying to make an appointment with a doctor but covid is making things difficult and I’m going to be moving in a month so I figured I would just start over in the new location. I’ve also had some other symptoms that I will list below. Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you.

Additional symptoms:
Loss of appetite
Sweaty hands and feet
Heart rate seems to dip lower than usual
Body temperature also seems lower than usual
Trouble sleeping
 
Nothing in your narrative or in your list sounds remotely like ALS. Work with your primary care doctor and try limiting/avoiding caffeine, booze, and stress. Try some meditation or yoga.

Get your thyroid checked (TSH blood test)
 
...and basics like a CBC and chem 7. You can also record your sleep to see if you might have a problem with breathing or excessive movement. In your new city, I would suggest starting with an internist. Meanwhile, you can make sure you are hydrated, change your furnace filter, and consider a sugar-free cough drop before bed.

Best,
Laurie
 
Thank you for the responses. I really do appreciate it. I will be going to get blood work done tomorrow and will hopefully have some answers.
Just to ask one quick question.....

has anyone heard of als starting in multiple places at once? I continue to feel muscle weakness in my left calf and left shoulder along with cramping in my right foot. Both legs feel heavy as well. And as of last morning I woke up with my left index finger cramping so hard it was locking up. Swallowing issues seem to come and go though and so does my appetite.
 
I can recall no cases with the diverse onset sites you describe, no. We basically have limb, bulbar or respiratory onset. Nor is what you mention an ALS picture in terms of your issues, let alone where they are.
 
Hi everyone, just to give an update I had blood work done and everything came back clean. Would you suggest seeing a neuro or wait to see if the symptoms get worse? As of right now I am experiencing fasculations all over by body including small ones on my tongue when at rest. Perceived weakness but I don’t believe there’s actually wasting since I can still do everything normally. I guess I’m more concerned about bulbar als than limb onset since I’ve had swallowing problems that come and go.
 
What does your pcp say?
 
He didn’t think it was anything serious but did refer me to a Gastroenterologist because my bilirubin levels are high. My pcp didn’t look at much to be honest, just said get the blood work and we’ll see.
 
High bilirubin can indicate a variety of conditions that could be contributing to your issues. The gastroenterology appointment should shed more light.
 
Hi everyone, just had a question about foot drop. I’ve had a few different symptoms but one that’s very curious is my right foot. For 2 months it feels like it’s about to cramp but never fully gets there. It also feels weak but there’s no drop foot. My question is does drop foot happen all of a sudden or does it happen gradually? And if it happens gradually, what does it feel like before it’s actually considered drop foot?

thank you so much for your time
 
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