mbernabe3
New member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2015
- Messages
- 8
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- US
- State
- California
- City
- La Puente
Hello, my name is Mario, and I hope to describe my symptoms as briefly as possible because I know how valuable anyone's time is, especially those who are suffering through this disease.
Here goes:
My symptoms first began after a month of anxiety, stress, and a 2-3 week bout of a tension migraine/headache. Immediately after this, I started to get fasciculations; predominantly, they're mostly located at my right leg, specifically in the calf, tibial anterior muscles, and foot and toes, and the next most affected area is my left leg. These fasciculations have spread, within 2 weeks, everywhere else, but these fasciculations have still mostly resided in my right lower leg.(basically: 70% in my right lower leg, especially in my foot toes, and shin muscles; 20% my left leg; and 10% is everywhere else, except the tongue.) After 3 weeks of fasciculations, I started get muscle stiffness and cramp-like sensations in my right calf and shin muscles, making my right leg feel heavier or, at the very least, more fatigued. This has been incessant and constant for 2 weeks, and it has only gradually progressed, with no signs of signs of stopping or relief. I feel like this is leading to an eventual foot drop, though I can still, with some struggle in my right leg, walk on my toes and heels sufficiently and still stand on it; also, i feel like I'm on the verge of limping, as well.
In terms of weakness, I have none, yet: it's all perceived weakness, so far, though I feel slightly imbalanced at times. And in terms of atrophy or wasting, my right leg is slightly but noticeably smaller than my left leg, and the underside of my foot is lined with wrinkles, though that can be due to my athlete's foot, more so than my left foot.
My other symptoms include constricted breathing and difficulty in swallowing, and it's not globus sensations, to be sure. This, though, can also be credited to another cause, besides the possibility of als, to a particular moment when I was bench pressing in declined benc and, maybe, anxiety an d stress.. Specifically, when I was bench pressing, I was tightening tensing up my collar bone and neck muscles, which I tend to do when I bench in general, and felt my neck stiff when I got off. After working out, I went out to eat and had trouble swallowing my food, and this dysphagia fluctuates in severity but has improved, at least at times. And this occurred around five days after the onset of fasciculations.
This may be pertinent information but I have persistently injured both my ankles, multiple times in each, for the past 2 years, at least, and maybe there is potential nerve damage that can be the culprit for the fasciculations. But, I don't have any sensory problems associated with my legs or any pain.
So my questions are as follows:
1) can a foot drop be signaled by fasciculations, cramps, or stiffness in the shin muscles or foot, or is it more insidious and subtle than that, with some kind of weakness preceding the foot drop?
2) what are the other possibilities this can be anything other than benign fasciculation or cramp syndrome or als? I say this because I searched diligently for other potential neuromuscular diseases, but their symptoms seem inconsistent with mine, ranging from neuromyotonia to neuropathy to multiple sclerosis.
Just so you guys know, I'm a 23 Hispanic male, and I just mention my ethnicity because my ethnic group is the least affected group by als, decreasing my already extremely low chances of contracting the disease, and just to show how I'm fully aware, statistically, how improbable it is for me to have als. And I know how debilitating stress and anxiety can be; I researched its effects, too. I certainly have been anxious and under stress for 2-3 months for other reasons and 1-2 months for the possibility of als. Sorry for essentially contradicting my initial intentions of keeping this concise, but only did so I could give you guys the clearest and fullest explanation of my symptoms, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience. All thoughts and suggestions are welcome, but, please, refrain from dismissing me as an overly anxious hypochondriac, or least let it be your last conclusion to infer from this.
Here goes:
My symptoms first began after a month of anxiety, stress, and a 2-3 week bout of a tension migraine/headache. Immediately after this, I started to get fasciculations; predominantly, they're mostly located at my right leg, specifically in the calf, tibial anterior muscles, and foot and toes, and the next most affected area is my left leg. These fasciculations have spread, within 2 weeks, everywhere else, but these fasciculations have still mostly resided in my right lower leg.(basically: 70% in my right lower leg, especially in my foot toes, and shin muscles; 20% my left leg; and 10% is everywhere else, except the tongue.) After 3 weeks of fasciculations, I started get muscle stiffness and cramp-like sensations in my right calf and shin muscles, making my right leg feel heavier or, at the very least, more fatigued. This has been incessant and constant for 2 weeks, and it has only gradually progressed, with no signs of signs of stopping or relief. I feel like this is leading to an eventual foot drop, though I can still, with some struggle in my right leg, walk on my toes and heels sufficiently and still stand on it; also, i feel like I'm on the verge of limping, as well.
In terms of weakness, I have none, yet: it's all perceived weakness, so far, though I feel slightly imbalanced at times. And in terms of atrophy or wasting, my right leg is slightly but noticeably smaller than my left leg, and the underside of my foot is lined with wrinkles, though that can be due to my athlete's foot, more so than my left foot.
My other symptoms include constricted breathing and difficulty in swallowing, and it's not globus sensations, to be sure. This, though, can also be credited to another cause, besides the possibility of als, to a particular moment when I was bench pressing in declined benc and, maybe, anxiety an d stress.. Specifically, when I was bench pressing, I was tightening tensing up my collar bone and neck muscles, which I tend to do when I bench in general, and felt my neck stiff when I got off. After working out, I went out to eat and had trouble swallowing my food, and this dysphagia fluctuates in severity but has improved, at least at times. And this occurred around five days after the onset of fasciculations.
This may be pertinent information but I have persistently injured both my ankles, multiple times in each, for the past 2 years, at least, and maybe there is potential nerve damage that can be the culprit for the fasciculations. But, I don't have any sensory problems associated with my legs or any pain.
So my questions are as follows:
1) can a foot drop be signaled by fasciculations, cramps, or stiffness in the shin muscles or foot, or is it more insidious and subtle than that, with some kind of weakness preceding the foot drop?
2) what are the other possibilities this can be anything other than benign fasciculation or cramp syndrome or als? I say this because I searched diligently for other potential neuromuscular diseases, but their symptoms seem inconsistent with mine, ranging from neuromyotonia to neuropathy to multiple sclerosis.
Just so you guys know, I'm a 23 Hispanic male, and I just mention my ethnicity because my ethnic group is the least affected group by als, decreasing my already extremely low chances of contracting the disease, and just to show how I'm fully aware, statistically, how improbable it is for me to have als. And I know how debilitating stress and anxiety can be; I researched its effects, too. I certainly have been anxious and under stress for 2-3 months for other reasons and 1-2 months for the possibility of als. Sorry for essentially contradicting my initial intentions of keeping this concise, but only did so I could give you guys the clearest and fullest explanation of my symptoms, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience. All thoughts and suggestions are welcome, but, please, refrain from dismissing me as an overly anxious hypochondriac, or least let it be your last conclusion to infer from this.