Hand muscle wasting

[IveyDay]

An MRI showed that I have severe muscle wasting between my second and third fingers (palmar and dorsal interossei in that location and thinning of adductor pollicis near third finger). I have no sensory symptoms. I cannot cross my middle and index fingers and have difficulty moving the index toward the middle and vice versa. No other weakness or signs that anything else is wrong. EMG of hand and forearm was normal in March, but they didn't test that particular area. Just wondering if anyone else has ALS that started as localized wasting between fingers and then spread. I have had this problem for about a year, unchanged. Diagnoses being considered are ALS and multifocal motor neuropathy. Do not get more tests until next month.

 

[lgelb]

It would be very unusual for ALS not to progress and to be stable in one area for a year. MMN is therefore certainly more likely, but there are other possibilities as well. The good news is that anything that stays that localized for a year with atrophy is most likely treatable.

You might even ask about PT evaluation, to test the hypothesis that improvement can be achieved.

Best,
Laurie

 

[IveyDay]

Thanks, Laurie. Very helpful. I do think that the neurologist just mentioned ALS as a possibility and thinks that another diagnosis is more likely. I wasn't sure how fast symptoms spread but I guess a year with no new symptoms would be unusual for ALS. I am now hyper aware of every twitch in my body, but I don't think anything is new there. I'll have to wait and see what my new MRIs and EMGs show next month, I guess.