Atrophy and fasciculations

Status
Not open for further replies.

Chimmy

New member
Joined
Jul 14, 2021
Messages
2
Reason
Learn about ALS
Diagnosis
00/0000
Country
UK
Hi everyone. I am a 27F from the UK. I am currently very confused over some symptoms I have been experiencing recently.

So a little background, I had surgery on my foot 2 years ago where a large vein on the top of my foot was removed. After that surgery I had a large scar visible on the top of my foot which had sunken in a little bit. Fast forward to now and I believe the skin on the foot has sunken in even more than before. I was looking at my feet the other day when I noticed that when I flex my toes upwards even just a little bit fasciculations are visible under the skin on the top of my foot and can be felt when touched. The twitching won’t stop until I have completely relaxed the muscle.

I have kept an eye on it for about a week and the muscle still twitches wildly as soon as I activate the muscle. It hasn’t become less or gone away. I can’t think of any reason why the muscle would be doing this every time I activate it apart from this disease.
I went and saw a neurologist today and explained to her what was going on. Unfortunately I am living in another country at the moment and I was unable to speak the doctors language so had to have my boyfriend translate for me. She checked my body out and couldn’t find any weakness, or strange reflexes. I showed her my foot and got her to feel the muscles. She told me that it was my heartbeat, which it 100% was not.

I asked her again and again to feel it but she said that the muscle there is very far under the skin so I wouldn’t feel it anyway, which was a weird thing to say. She also told my boyfriend and I that ALS always starts in the tops of the arms or legs, which I am pretty sure is untrue as I thought most peoples starts with their hands or feet.

I currently have no muscle weakness in the feet that I can tell of, it’s just the fasciculation and atrophy. I don’t know what to do. I keep telling myself I should just wait and see what happens, but I’m driving myself insane not knowing what is causing the twitching. If it was all over my body I wouldn’t be worried, but it’s one muscle that only does it when it is used.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When you return to the UK, you could ask the surgeon to look at it. Vascular surgery can have long-term consquences. It is hard to believe that ALS or any neurological disorder would by concidence manifest in the one area you've had surgery on. It is true that ALS often starts in a hand or foot, but that really has no bearing on whether you have it.

Not knowing what country you are in, if there is expertise in therapeutic massage accessible to you, that is another option to consider, as irritated nerves are not uncommon and sometimes need a reset, as is seeing a podiatrist, who certainly knows where the nerves in the foot are.

I don't see ALS in your story.

Best,
Laurie
 
Thank you so much for taking the time out to reply to my message. I am currently living in South Korea with my boyfriend. I spoke to my doctor from the UK and he thinks it is a side effect from the surgery that I never noticed before. I just keep staring at my foot and watching it fasciculate and scare me. My boyfriend keeps saying to me “if you suddenly can’t walk or your foot drops then you are allowed to worry, but right now try to put it to the back of your mind”. I think I will try my best to take that advice even though it’s difficult.
The vein that was removed from the top of my foot was large. Probably over 8cm in width and length. Honestly it was like a tennis ball on the top of my foot haha. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s caused some issues, but I just couldn’t drop this one thought. I just worried that somehow even if it wasn’t anything sinister it might cause something more sinister.
Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful day.
 
Closed, banned for multi id. Nikki (niknakx), this has gone on for years. Please get help for anxiety and stop using the ALS Forums for anxiety support.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top