Bunch of odd symptoms

[nevinbell12]

Hi everyone, first off I want to say I am very sorry for this miserable disease that plagues you guys. I honestly had not heard too much about ALS but I am learning more about it. Horrible disease. Recently, I have had a slew of different symptoms that doctors have not been able to pinpoint. It all started around 3 months ago when I was had some chest pain and cramping in my hands. This eventually led to tingling in my feet and hands so I went to the neurologist. The neurologist scheduled an MRI and and nerve conduction test, both of these came back clean. I eventually just brushed it off and said whatever It was not that bad so I'll just deal with it. Unfortunately, I have now over the past month been dealing with lots of twitching and spasticity. Lots of my twitching is widespread and seemingly random. However, I do maintain a twitch in my left hand and now as of this morning my left elbow has continued to twitch. My legs have also been weaker and my shoulders tire easily. I cannot flex my calf muscles without them cramping. I am not sure if this is my mind creating this perceived weakness or if it is real, but it definitely feels real, and the cramping is real too. I know how rare this disease is and I am a 22 year old male in good shape. My biggest concern is the fact that over the 3 months I am slowly gradually getting worse. More frequent twitches, more perceived weakness. One of my questions is could the nerve conduction test been too early? I had this done when I was only experiencing tingling and have not had one since the twitching started.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Hi there- please have a read here. It goes through many of the common things that bring people here after they search the internet.

You state "spasticity", which is something only a doctor can diagnose- it's a constellation of pathological responses, not just cramps or tightness. You also keep mentioning "perceived weakness", which makes it clear you understand the difference between perceived and clinical. If your doctor detects clinical weakness (ie: failure), they will explore it further, but a feeling of weakness does not immediately indicate a neurological issue.

You state your symptoms feel real, which is true- they are real to you and may mean something is wrong- but that does not mean it's ALS or even anything neurological in nature. Please work with your doctor to track down the problem, but if you read the link provided, you will understand you don't belong on a forum for ALS.

Take care

 

[nevinbell12]

Hi, just to update I saw my neurologist today.

We talked about symptoms and he referred me to a neuro muscular neurologist. I still have lots of twitching throughout the body. My left hand and elbow twitch differently however. The twitches throughout my body don't really make me react at all, they are just visible and annoying. The twitches in my left hand and left elbow however, lock up and force my fingers to contract and my tricep to feel has it is cramping mildly.

I do not really deal with any of the symptoms like tingling anymore, those have subsided. I have also noticed and mentioned to my neuro that my hands and arms shake when pressure is exerted against them or if I do something like push a button down for a water fountain.

He did a brief neurological examination and noticed that I have hyperreflexia in my left foot, he said it was a 3 while all my other reflexes were a 1-2. This scares me because I heard that twitching and hyperreflexia can be a sign of ALS. My neuro also did not dismiss ALS but said it was unlikely due to my age.

Last problems I have been dealing with are high blood pressure that is recent in the past month which I have never had before, 143/88/ And a visible bounding pulse which I can see in my wrists and stomach (different from my twitching).

Does this sound like ALS to you??? I am getting another EMG done, the first one I had was pre-twitching and was normal.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Hi Nevin- it's not clear if you've read the link you were provided. It covers most everything that brings folks to this subforum and is there so we don't have to answer the same questions repeatedly. And, high blood pressure is something your gp can deal with and has absolutely nothing to do with ALS.

The neuro doesn't think you have ALS, and the EMG will provide you some closure there- please let us know how it goes.

 

[nevinbell12]

Yes, sorry I did read the link. It honestly calmed me down quite a bit. And im sorry to keep bugging you.

The reason for my reply post was because of the concern of unilateral hyperreflexia along with the Fasciculations. I honestly was ready to rule out ALS until my appointment this morning. My neuro also didnt say he didnt think I had it, he said it was uncommon for my age.

 

[lgelb]

The odds are still very much in your favor. Had he thought the difference in reflexes notable, he would have done a longer exam. They can be brisk for many reasons, including anxiety. I expect that the new EMG will be reassuring as regards ALS.

 

[nevinbell12]

Hi, sorry to keep bugging. He was concerned with the results as he referred me to a neuro muscular neurologist in my area, he is a neuro oncologist and said he doesn’t specialize in what is going on with my symptoms.

I am posting again because it’s going to be around 3 weeks- month before I can get into the new neurologist. My main concern is the brisk reflexes on one side with fasciculations.

I have a cramping sensation that comes along with twitching on my left arm and hand. For example, if I pinch something my hand will cramp most of the time while twitching simultaneously. Same thing happens with my left tricep when I push my body up from the couch or do some sort of dip like motion. I am fairly fit and this is nothing I’ve ever dealt with in my life. I am also talking about very subtle movements. I am not lifting hundreds of pounds, just my body weight. Does this sound like ALS or something else? My original neurologist believes it is something to do with my muscle nerve connection.

I’m 22 years old and have no family history of ALS so I understand the odds are almost 0 and it’s most likely not ALS. I just don’t understand what it is, and no one else seems to understand either. My anxiety is now eating me up because of the upper and lower symptoms and I just can’t figure out what could be going on.

if anyone had any idea I would really appreciate it.

 

[affected]

Truly we can't say that vague symptoms sound like ALS or not. You are not reporting any failure, so that's a good thing.
3-4 weeks is really not very long to wait (I know it feels long), and you can do lots of mindfulness things during that time. Regardless of any diagnosis or not, you won't get those weeks back, so make the most of them. Get help with dealing with anxiety, as again, no matter what is going on, anxiety is horrible and won't help you, but can be treated.

Please let us know once you have some results, you are being referred to a specialist, so that is a good thing to remember.

 

[nevinbell12]

Hi everyone, just wanted to update yall on my symptoms.

Got my EMG done today by the neurologist and had a physical exam done today as well.

Great news is that the neuro muscular neurologist said that there is only a 5% chance I have ALS.

He said he would have diagnosed me with cramping fasciculation syndrome today if it were not for my hyperactive reflexes on my left leg. Basically said that if I make it to September without clinical weakness then I can write it off completely, but the EMG today should have already shown ALS. He was skeptical to diagnose cramping fasciculation syndrome until he is completely sure nothing else is the cause.

The EMG did not show any signs of ALS (other than the fasciculations and cramps). He wants me to get a contrast MRI scan of my thoracic spine because that was the only thing I did not have done when I had my previous MRI.

Thanks for all who have read