Fearful of ALS due to new shoulder symptoms

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Rush
Hello everyone. Thank you in advance to any PALS that answer, I understand that it takes a great deal of time and effort and thoroughly appreciate that I'm being allotted some of it. Likewise, thank you to any CALS that answer, as I understand that you've got fairly intense jobs with little in the way of downtime.

Before I get to symptoms, I will admit that I have Aspergers, Anxiety/Health Anxiety (which I take medication for), and Thanatophobia.

Additionally, I've had some X-Ray's done recently and while they were normal, it was pointed out that I have some muscle spasms and "wear and tear" and an EMG is planned, but we're still sorting out details.

The current symptoms I'm having are centered around my right shoulder. The most persistent symptom is a persistent tense feeling in the upper portion of the trapezius muscle, between my shoulder and neck. It never feels like it relaxes. In addition to this a portion of the right side of my torso, going up into the triceps, will sometimes hurt a bit when it comes to performing certain activities. One prominent example is that I leaned forward to turn on a shower and I braced my arm against the wall, prompting the area to flare up. Finally, it also feels like there is a knot or some form of pressure on the right side of my spine, just about beneath my shoulder blade.

Having read the 'READ THIS FIRST' threads many times, I can recognize that a lot of what I'm describing is starting out with "I feel" and is thus something that could theoretically point away from ALS, since failure would come before feeling. In addition to that, I will also admit that my primary hobby is PC gaming and I spend many hours sitting at my desk, often with bad posture, and I have my right arm not doing much else besides moving my mouse.

However, something that my anxiety has latched onto and the primary thing that worries me: Is it possible that some muscles have failed, and other muscles have stepped in to "pick up the slack", causing these more physical symptoms? Or has my anxiety done the anxiety thing and I'm thinking myself into a hole over something much more simple like a pinched nerve? I haven't lost any noticeable ability and I can still do basically everything I expect just fine, but even as I tell myself that everything points away I cannot stop pondering about the previously mentioned possibility.

Thank you all in advance for any advice given. I've been trying to avoid obsessing over the details, but things are starting to stack up.
 
Hi there, and very sorry you find yourself here again after all these years-

You had a similar fear 7 years ago. The length of time between your threads is important, as it indicates ALS is not the issue. MND/ALS would have seriously compromised your function by now. I sincerely hope this is enough to reassure you about MND/ALS.

I would absolutely recommend you see a physio for a full posture assessment and to figure out if there is some muscle/structural imbalance that can be resolved with exercise and/or stretching. I also recommend you get yourself a decent gaming chair and make sure it's set up properly. Not sure if you're also talking to someone about anxiety, but if not, please consider it.

Please take care
 
This is very true, and for the time the response that I got there alleviated and the problems I was having at that time were eventually relieved. This, however, is a new set of problems, which ironically involves the same shoulder.
 
Agree with Fiona’s recommendations. Just like 7 years ago this doesn’t sound like ALS either Please talk to your doctors about your fears and how it impacts your life
 
Hello. I'd like to provide a hopefully fairly positive update so that anyone who gets brought here feeling the same things could find their own assurance/guidance from this thread.

I've had my EMG done today, and the needle results are that my right bicep brachii has prominent increased insertional activity vs the expected "snap crackle pop" normal variant. Then, along with that, my right trapezius has 2+ positive sharp waves.

Outside of that, the tests came back normal across the board.

"Conclusion: This is an abnormal and nonspecific study. There is electrographic evidence for a probable active cervical radiculopathy. MRI cervical spine is recommended for further evaluation. Clinical correlation is required."

I mentioned MND by name and was assured that this doesn't look like it.

So, I'm not entirely out of the woods yet since I've got some additional testing ahead of me, but so far things are starting to heavily point away from being ALS/MND.

So, with hope, this will put this current round of anxiety and intrusive thoughts about MND to bed, and with any luck it won't return again.

Thank you all for your time, best wishes.
 
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