Effy
New member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2017
- Messages
- 4
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- US
- State
- VA
- City
- Richmond
So, I just wanted to first say thank you to anyone who comes on here and despite what you are going through tries to put the minds of what are probably many hypochondriac at ease. It's very kind of you to do that... and I hope I am just another hypochondriac.
My situation is as follows:
So, this year has been very stressful. My marriage ended, my Mom died, my cat died, my Dad sold my childhood home, and I almost died in a car accident (near 70mph roll over on the interstate). The car accident scrambled my brain and when I got out of the car I had double vision and a headache that lasted over a week. The soreness went away though and I went home feeling very lucky... this has a point, I promise!
So, this was in February and in May I had my first panic attack in my whole life. It started on a long drive on the interstate during which a horrible doom feeling came over me and by the end of the night I was in the ER and could not stop shaking. I was just sure I was dying. So, I have several more panic attacks and my doctor puts me on Ativan. I start doing better, but am having general anxiety. I'm waking up with my heart racing and short of breath... around this time I also find out I have mild sleep apnea so I think maybe it's that.
Time passes, but in June I start having these weird sensations in my calves. It's a creeping, tugging sensation and I notice it most when I get up in the middle of the night to pee. Anyway, one night I have horrible cramps in my calf and it wakes me up twice. These cramps are so bad that my calves hurt for days after. I see my doctor and he suggests it's an electrolyte imbalance. I start taking magnesium and the creeping crawling feeling does get better, but then the muscle twitching begins. At first, it's just in my left bicep and my legs, but before long it's all over. My tongue, then my calf, my hand, my foot, my eye, my abs, the bridge of my nose... cycling around my whole body maybe 40-50 times an hour.
So, I'm eating the hell out of some spinach and taking the magnesium pills, but I'm not noticing much improvement and at this point I develop shortness of breath which is near constant at first, but has gotten a little better. I see my pulmonary doctor and she says it's probably just asthma and allergies (I'm allergic to ragweed) with a touch of anxiety. Go back to my general physician and he thinks that the twitching and shortness of breath point to anxiety. At this point, I am also having headaches which the worst has lasted five days. Prior to this I could count the headaches I've had in my life on both hands. Sometimes, they make me nauseous . He gives me paxil and ativan.
I take the ativan, but not the paxil because I'm not a huge fan of pills. I had a panic attack the day before I saw him but it's been a month and a half now and I am starting to feel better. I haven't had another panic attack and the ativan helps when I do feel anxious, but I don't take it very often at all.
So, last week, I saw my neurologist and he says he doesn't think I have MS (another doctor thought this because I have a mysterious bladder condition that is not interstitial cystitis, but kind of like that minus the pain and this started last year). He says he thinks I'm 'probably' okay. I ask if he thinks I have ALS and he says, "Well, it's hard to test for ALS. If you have it then you will die from it. It's a bad diagnosis. Would you want to know if you did?" That makes me feel worried. I left feeling more worried. He also told me I have over active reflexes... So, I don't know what all this means. Twitching, over active reflexes... that worries me. The rest, I don't know? I'm also noticing my muscles jerking when I am falling asleep which I know is normal, but it's happening a LOT and every night which is different. Even during the day they seem kind of jerky, spring loaded.
I realize the mind is a powerful tool and this could all be anxiety, but I can't stop worrying about it. I don't feel like I've gotten an answer from my doctor that ruled it out... I see my GP again today and I don't know what he will say. I've even been wondering if the car accident did not damage my brain and now a few months later it's showing up...
I do not having muscle weakness that I can tell, just muscle fatigue. I get tired more easily and my muscles feel exhausted more easily than they used to or get sore easier. But, I don't have drop foot or trouble lifting things... so I know that doesn't match up. This has been going on three months now though. If it was ALS do you think I would have started to see other symptoms? Thanks again for taking the time to read this because I know it's long!
My situation is as follows:
So, this year has been very stressful. My marriage ended, my Mom died, my cat died, my Dad sold my childhood home, and I almost died in a car accident (near 70mph roll over on the interstate). The car accident scrambled my brain and when I got out of the car I had double vision and a headache that lasted over a week. The soreness went away though and I went home feeling very lucky... this has a point, I promise!
So, this was in February and in May I had my first panic attack in my whole life. It started on a long drive on the interstate during which a horrible doom feeling came over me and by the end of the night I was in the ER and could not stop shaking. I was just sure I was dying. So, I have several more panic attacks and my doctor puts me on Ativan. I start doing better, but am having general anxiety. I'm waking up with my heart racing and short of breath... around this time I also find out I have mild sleep apnea so I think maybe it's that.
Time passes, but in June I start having these weird sensations in my calves. It's a creeping, tugging sensation and I notice it most when I get up in the middle of the night to pee. Anyway, one night I have horrible cramps in my calf and it wakes me up twice. These cramps are so bad that my calves hurt for days after. I see my doctor and he suggests it's an electrolyte imbalance. I start taking magnesium and the creeping crawling feeling does get better, but then the muscle twitching begins. At first, it's just in my left bicep and my legs, but before long it's all over. My tongue, then my calf, my hand, my foot, my eye, my abs, the bridge of my nose... cycling around my whole body maybe 40-50 times an hour.
So, I'm eating the hell out of some spinach and taking the magnesium pills, but I'm not noticing much improvement and at this point I develop shortness of breath which is near constant at first, but has gotten a little better. I see my pulmonary doctor and she says it's probably just asthma and allergies (I'm allergic to ragweed) with a touch of anxiety. Go back to my general physician and he thinks that the twitching and shortness of breath point to anxiety. At this point, I am also having headaches which the worst has lasted five days. Prior to this I could count the headaches I've had in my life on both hands. Sometimes, they make me nauseous . He gives me paxil and ativan.
I take the ativan, but not the paxil because I'm not a huge fan of pills. I had a panic attack the day before I saw him but it's been a month and a half now and I am starting to feel better. I haven't had another panic attack and the ativan helps when I do feel anxious, but I don't take it very often at all.
So, last week, I saw my neurologist and he says he doesn't think I have MS (another doctor thought this because I have a mysterious bladder condition that is not interstitial cystitis, but kind of like that minus the pain and this started last year). He says he thinks I'm 'probably' okay. I ask if he thinks I have ALS and he says, "Well, it's hard to test for ALS. If you have it then you will die from it. It's a bad diagnosis. Would you want to know if you did?" That makes me feel worried. I left feeling more worried. He also told me I have over active reflexes... So, I don't know what all this means. Twitching, over active reflexes... that worries me. The rest, I don't know? I'm also noticing my muscles jerking when I am falling asleep which I know is normal, but it's happening a LOT and every night which is different. Even during the day they seem kind of jerky, spring loaded.
I realize the mind is a powerful tool and this could all be anxiety, but I can't stop worrying about it. I don't feel like I've gotten an answer from my doctor that ruled it out... I see my GP again today and I don't know what he will say. I've even been wondering if the car accident did not damage my brain and now a few months later it's showing up...
I do not having muscle weakness that I can tell, just muscle fatigue. I get tired more easily and my muscles feel exhausted more easily than they used to or get sore easier. But, I don't have drop foot or trouble lifting things... so I know that doesn't match up. This has been going on three months now though. If it was ALS do you think I would have started to see other symptoms? Thanks again for taking the time to read this because I know it's long!
