Chel84
New member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2022
- Messages
- 2
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
- State
- PA
First of all, I want to say that I greatly appreciate anyone’s input and time taken to respond.
My main concern is this - about 4-5 weeks ago I began noticing very fine twitches in my left jaw, which are becoming more frequent. I’m now noticing them multiple times a day. I can feel the twitching and it’s visible if you’re looking closely. I also recently noticed that my left face has a sunken in appearance compared to the right, which is new. Could this be a presenting symptom of als?
For some additional background- I have been seeing a Neurologist for about 18 months for left neck/shoulder pain with numbness/tingling in my arm. I’ve also had left sided face tingling/numbness/discomfort for the same amount of time. About a year ago I had clean emg. Although, I can’t remember all of the areas that were tested.
Fast forward to 8-10 weeks ago, I began having extreme tightness and pain in my right neck. Oddly, my left side seemed to have lost it’s typical tightness and the muscles much smaller/softer than usual. Occasional weakness is my left and right arms, but it comes and goes so nothing I was attributing to possible als symptoms. I then began having strange sensations in my left leg feeling as though it had fallen asleep and was waking up without pins and needles feeling, Also, feeling as though my feet are about to get charley horses but they never progress. These sensations also come and go, so again, nothing I was thinking could be a sign of als.
As for head a neck, I’ve been having tightness in my throat area that comes and goes. My voice sounds huskier than usual but seems to be relieved with throat clearing and also a strange sensation near my larynx that comes and goes. ENT saw nothing there and vocal cords move as they should.
Lastly, my tongue feels and looks puffier than usual with scalloping and small particles of food are getting stuck just behind the right side of my tongue, but I wouldn’t say I’m having major issues swallowing. I can move it around and get it down without difficulty. Tongue puffiness makes speaking feel strange but I don’t notice a lisp or slurring. My whole body feels uncomfortable and I’m noticing random muscle aches. At my last Neuro appt about 3 weeks ago my lower reflexes were slightly hyper bilaterally, but I’ve been in a state of anxiety.
I will add that I do have some minor cervical spine issues and the neurologist is sending me for an mri of the head in 3 weeks due to strange sensations in my left face and potentially enlarged pituitary fossa seen on chiropractic X-rays.
If anyone has any input regarding the jaw twitching and sunken in appearance, I would much appreciate it. I added the additional symptoms in case someone has experienced similar and received a different diagnosis I should be looking into.
My main concern is this - about 4-5 weeks ago I began noticing very fine twitches in my left jaw, which are becoming more frequent. I’m now noticing them multiple times a day. I can feel the twitching and it’s visible if you’re looking closely. I also recently noticed that my left face has a sunken in appearance compared to the right, which is new. Could this be a presenting symptom of als?
For some additional background- I have been seeing a Neurologist for about 18 months for left neck/shoulder pain with numbness/tingling in my arm. I’ve also had left sided face tingling/numbness/discomfort for the same amount of time. About a year ago I had clean emg. Although, I can’t remember all of the areas that were tested.
Fast forward to 8-10 weeks ago, I began having extreme tightness and pain in my right neck. Oddly, my left side seemed to have lost it’s typical tightness and the muscles much smaller/softer than usual. Occasional weakness is my left and right arms, but it comes and goes so nothing I was attributing to possible als symptoms. I then began having strange sensations in my left leg feeling as though it had fallen asleep and was waking up without pins and needles feeling, Also, feeling as though my feet are about to get charley horses but they never progress. These sensations also come and go, so again, nothing I was thinking could be a sign of als.
As for head a neck, I’ve been having tightness in my throat area that comes and goes. My voice sounds huskier than usual but seems to be relieved with throat clearing and also a strange sensation near my larynx that comes and goes. ENT saw nothing there and vocal cords move as they should.
Lastly, my tongue feels and looks puffier than usual with scalloping and small particles of food are getting stuck just behind the right side of my tongue, but I wouldn’t say I’m having major issues swallowing. I can move it around and get it down without difficulty. Tongue puffiness makes speaking feel strange but I don’t notice a lisp or slurring. My whole body feels uncomfortable and I’m noticing random muscle aches. At my last Neuro appt about 3 weeks ago my lower reflexes were slightly hyper bilaterally, but I’ve been in a state of anxiety.
I will add that I do have some minor cervical spine issues and the neurologist is sending me for an mri of the head in 3 weeks due to strange sensations in my left face and potentially enlarged pituitary fossa seen on chiropractic X-rays.
If anyone has any input regarding the jaw twitching and sunken in appearance, I would much appreciate it. I added the additional symptoms in case someone has experienced similar and received a different diagnosis I should be looking into.
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