Could this be ALS?

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Abca1239

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Hi Everyone,

I first off want to thank your for taking the time to read this post and want to send my prayers to anyone dealing with ALS and those who are supporting loved ones with this difficult struggle.

I have read the rules for this forum and plan on seeing a neurologist but unfortunately the wait time is quite long and I was wanting anyone’s thoughts on my symptoms as I anxiously await.


I am 30 year old male

About 5-6 months ago I began having intermittent weakness/fatigue in my right thumb. It wasn’t painful but when I was using if for fine motor movements on an Xbox controller or typing on my phone it felt like I was having trouble communicating with my thumb to make certain small movements. It felt like i would be telling my thumb to do X small movement but it wouldn’t respond or would struggle to do so. As it relates to bigger movements I could still do those fine and wouldn’t say that my thumb was weak just struggling with fine movements. I went to a sports medicine doctor who noted that there was minor weakness in my thumb when compared to my left hand but that there was no atrophy. He said it was most likely just overuse and to rest it and monitor and did an x ray just to confirm nothing like arthritis could be the cause.

About 2 months ago I started having a feeling of heaviness and stiffness in my legs and fatigue. I can still walk fine, walk up stairs and haven’t noticed any true weakness so just passed this off as fatigue due to stress.

Over the last month I started having the below additional symptoms in addition to the two above. My legs continue to be stiff but wouldn’t classify them as weak and my thumb issues have continued to worsen such that it is no longer what i would call intermittent but much more constant and am now having stiffness and cramping in my right hand as a whole. I went to my doctor just to make sure who ordered and MRI which came back normal and referred me to a neurologist.

- I have begun to have constant vibrations/buzzing in my feet and hands, which is barely noticeable and I mainly notice it at night when in bed

- I have begun having very small and hardly noticeable fasciculations throughout my body, they will almost feel like a small itch when they happen

- I have begun having muscle twitches that I would characterize as wide spread (they have happened all over my body at one point or another, but most have happened in my legs and biceps and are constantly happening in my feet)

- i have begun having larger muscle spasms which have been primarily in my legs and arms

- in addition to my leg stiffness, I have had prolonged leg contractions in my right calf, it isn’t painful but I feel like I can’t get my muscle to relax/disengage this has been going on for about 3 days and just makes walking a bit uncomfortable.

- I have started having wide spread muscle pains that come for like 5 seconds then go away

- I have noticed some weird sensory changes that come and go, like sometimes I am less sensitive to feeling things in certain parts of my body, I.e i couldn’t feel a needle in part of my hand/arm

- I have been waking up in the middle of the night with some numbness in my arms (could just be sleeping on them wrong)

- i am having pain in my, neck and back

- i am having intermittent tremors in my legs after going for walks or doing small amounts of exercise

I know only a doctor/medical testing is capable of diagnosing me with the true issue but could these be early signs of ALS or is this presentation largely inconsistent with what normally might happen.

Thank you for your time

A couple of other things that i forgot to add. Over the last two months I have had a fairly pronounced loss of appetite that has led to me losing about 20 pounds, i have had fairly extreme fatigue and the muscle fasiculations that are in my feet are constant all day long and dont stop.

Thanks
 
Hi there-

The Read Before Posting mentions sensory issues and how that points away from ALS. What your issues might signify really is an issue for the doctors. I understand how you might wish to seek reassurance while you wait for your doctor's appointment, but an ALS forum is pretty much the wrong place for that.

Hopefully you'll be able to see a doc soon who can provide you a clinical exam and point you in the right direction. It really doesn't sound, based on all the sensory issues, that ALS is a possibility.

Please take care
 
Perhaps it would be reassuring for you if you got an EMG and it comes out clean.

A sports medicine doctor has expertise in certain areas, but not usually much in the neurology field.

Wishing you the best.
 
Thank you both for the responses.
 
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