Anton
New member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2020
- Messages
- 6
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
- State
- CA
- City
- Costa Mesa
Hello all,
I'm 33 and have two small kids, I have for the last 5 months been experiencing a myriad of weird symptoms.
My main concern is that since late December i have had a lot of phlegm in my throat after eating, as well as the feeling of some food getting stuck in the back of my throat. It seems to get caught in the phlegm since i can some times cough it up. (Very small pieces)
I do not choke on food or liquids but i do need to clear my throat of phlegm after eating or drinking since i cannot seem to swallow that phlegm.
When drinking liquids i tend to swallow a lot of air.
When during a dry swallow my throat makes a clicking sound.
I though i might be silently aspirating causing phlegm, but a friend of mine who is a doctor said that silent aspiration usually only occurs in people with a impaired cough reflex and when i on a rare occasion where i do get some (the other day beer) wrong in my throat i do automatically start coughing.
I will be honest and say that i am severely stressed and anxious by now.
I also feel that my voice has gotten a bit more hoarse however my girlfriend denies it.
The other day i was watching myself in the mirror while doing a dry swallow and noticed that my muscles only moved in the right hand side, and feeling the neck above the collar bone i could only feel movement in the right hand side as well.
The exact muscle seems to be the left side Omohoiyd muscle but i'm no doctor.
A week ago i experienced a week where i was out of breath for no apparent reason, my doctor did a peak flow thingy which was normal and said he thought it was reflux. I took some ppis and it seems to clear up, but not the phlegm. I've later had a gastroscope and everything looked fine.
The last month I've lost around 8 pounds, out of my previous 190 pounds weight. But i cannot say if its because I've been eating less and is stressed.
My muscles seems to work fine, but i do have a lot of facis around the body. Mostly just before i fall asleep it will be either in the oesophagus, the shoulders or the jaw, lately just one quick twich/jerk of one shoulder just before i fall asleep. Nothing in the tongue to my experience. I have small facis all over including the face, but actual brisk twitches only occur in the jaw or shoulders before falling asleep.
Does these sound like a initial bulbar onset symptoms or is my anxiety going nuts?
I was diagnosed with a mildly herniated disc in my neck during Christmas at a neuro who did a MRI, this was before my swallowing issues. They did not suspect ALS but i am worried that the herinated disc might cover over an underlying issue. I have a follow up end of march (a long wait for me in this state).
It concerns me though where that herniated disc came from, since i had no trauma, so it is due to bad posture, leading me to believe my neck muscles might have been weekend before by ALS?
Extra info:
The herniated disc symptoms was apart from a stiff neck: shoulder and neck pain, tingeing sensations and stiff muscles in the left hand side of; back, shoulder, neck and arm.
Same side that i now see no muscle activity when swallowing.
The herniated disc symptoms are much better now but still there.
I'm concerned about how bulbar onset presents itself? Its very hard to find specific information about this.
Thank you for your time.
I'm 33 and have two small kids, I have for the last 5 months been experiencing a myriad of weird symptoms.
My main concern is that since late December i have had a lot of phlegm in my throat after eating, as well as the feeling of some food getting stuck in the back of my throat. It seems to get caught in the phlegm since i can some times cough it up. (Very small pieces)
I do not choke on food or liquids but i do need to clear my throat of phlegm after eating or drinking since i cannot seem to swallow that phlegm.
When drinking liquids i tend to swallow a lot of air.
When during a dry swallow my throat makes a clicking sound.
I though i might be silently aspirating causing phlegm, but a friend of mine who is a doctor said that silent aspiration usually only occurs in people with a impaired cough reflex and when i on a rare occasion where i do get some (the other day beer) wrong in my throat i do automatically start coughing.
I will be honest and say that i am severely stressed and anxious by now.
I also feel that my voice has gotten a bit more hoarse however my girlfriend denies it.
The other day i was watching myself in the mirror while doing a dry swallow and noticed that my muscles only moved in the right hand side, and feeling the neck above the collar bone i could only feel movement in the right hand side as well.
The exact muscle seems to be the left side Omohoiyd muscle but i'm no doctor.
A week ago i experienced a week where i was out of breath for no apparent reason, my doctor did a peak flow thingy which was normal and said he thought it was reflux. I took some ppis and it seems to clear up, but not the phlegm. I've later had a gastroscope and everything looked fine.
The last month I've lost around 8 pounds, out of my previous 190 pounds weight. But i cannot say if its because I've been eating less and is stressed.
My muscles seems to work fine, but i do have a lot of facis around the body. Mostly just before i fall asleep it will be either in the oesophagus, the shoulders or the jaw, lately just one quick twich/jerk of one shoulder just before i fall asleep. Nothing in the tongue to my experience. I have small facis all over including the face, but actual brisk twitches only occur in the jaw or shoulders before falling asleep.
Does these sound like a initial bulbar onset symptoms or is my anxiety going nuts?
I was diagnosed with a mildly herniated disc in my neck during Christmas at a neuro who did a MRI, this was before my swallowing issues. They did not suspect ALS but i am worried that the herinated disc might cover over an underlying issue. I have a follow up end of march (a long wait for me in this state).
It concerns me though where that herniated disc came from, since i had no trauma, so it is due to bad posture, leading me to believe my neck muscles might have been weekend before by ALS?
Extra info:
The herniated disc symptoms was apart from a stiff neck: shoulder and neck pain, tingeing sensations and stiff muscles in the left hand side of; back, shoulder, neck and arm.
Same side that i now see no muscle activity when swallowing.
The herniated disc symptoms are much better now but still there.
I'm concerned about how bulbar onset presents itself? Its very hard to find specific information about this.
Thank you for your time.