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TM94

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Learn about ALS
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WA
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Seattle
I am a 22 year old female who has been having many unusual, unexplained symptoms over the past few months.

It began with spontaneous unexplained weakness in my arms and legs a few months ago. I ended up going to urgent care because it was very concerning to me, and they ran some blood tests and referred me to a cardiologist, who gave me the all clear. Since I have a history of panic attacks, it was assumed to be anxiety related, though I have had anxiety for many years and only ever experienced tingling of the fingertips during panic attacks. This I am certain was different. A few of my blood tests came back slightly abnormal but they were not worried as I had recently been ill with the flu.

I've also been having constant aching in my thighs for several months as well... though I know pain is not typically associated with ALS, it brought me into urgent care once again because it was becoming very intense and scary. When I was there I mentioned that my limbs were still becoming weaker, and going from an intermittent weakness to a chronic weakness. This seemed to concern them more than the pain and so I was given a referral to both a rheumatologist for the pain and a neurologist. I have yet to see either as there is a long wait for an appointment.

Now, up until recently I'd never suspected ALS. MS was suggested as a possibility (being a 22 year old woman it seemed far more likely) as well as some other things which have been ruled out. But over the past few weeks I've been experiencing increasingly frequent fasciculations; small, fluttery twitches beneath my skin, almost like a pulsing. They have been all over my body but mostly in my legs, abdomen and back. The past couple days they have been CONSTANT, sometimes in multiple places at once... with hardly a minute passing without feeling one. If that isn't scary enough, I looked in the mirror this morning to floss my teeth and noticed my tongue has wavy ridges along the sides. This is extremely abnormal for me. I've also been waking up from sleep with the sensation that I'm vibrating or trembling. I have some noticeable muscle atrophy in my legs as well although up until now I thought it was because I lost a lot of muscle when I had anorexia in the past and I hardly exercise. Even when attempting to tense my calf muscles there is basically no muscle definition and I'm certain it has become worse.

I'm sorry if I sound paranoid or irrational... but I am very sure something is wrong and several of my symptoms are associated with ALS. Does this seem consistent to you guys, who would probably know better than me? I will attach some photos of my legs are tongue if that would be helpful. Please help I am SO scared right now.
 

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I didn't see any indication of ALS in your post, however, I can't read your post very well because it is a wall of text.
Please edit your post to put paragraphs in logical places and I'll come back to read it again.
 
I apologize... I'm just really anxious and scared right now so formatting of my post is the last thing on my mind. I hope it will be easier to read now, though I have a feeling it won't be quite up to your standards.

If muscle weakness, atrophy and constant fasciculations aren't indicative of ALS in its early stages, what is? If you don't mind me asking. It would really ease my mind to know I shouldn't be worried.
 
Do you feel tingling in your fingers?
Is your weak muscle feeling like it is aching or fatigued?

Give me three push ups and tell me how it feels afterward.
 
No tingling, just extreme weakness. Like the sensation of having your limb come "back to life" after falling asleep, minus the pins and needles. And I can't do any push-ups in the first place unfortunately but standing in place for long periods of time causes my lower legs to shake and sometimes that causes muscle soreness the following day.
 
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You might already know this, but just in case, I'll give a few facts and let you compare your symptoms.

ALS is a disease in the brain that destroys only certain nerves in the brain--the motor nerves that send the 'go' signal down to the voluntary muscles. Over a period of months or years, ALS destroys those nerves in the brain in serial order, one after the other.

So the muscle never gets its 'go' signal and just lays there useless and limp. Note that the sensory nerves, which send "feeling" signals UP to the brain are not involved. So your finger won't move, but there are no feelings involved--no weak feeling, no funny feeling, nothing. Most of all, because the muscle isn't doing anything, it doesn't get tired or fatigued or sore.

Weakness seems to me hard to understand. So many people say they have a weak muscle, but the doctor disagrees. Let a doctor decide if you have weakness.

Atrophy has different causes. Some diseases will waste or "eat up" muscles right at the beginning. But when a person with ALS has not used a muscle for some weeks or months, the muscle loses its round, firm tone. It lays down and thins out. So atrophy typically comes after the paralysis.

As for twitches and fasiculations, there are different kinds with different causes. But it really doesn't matter: twitching is so common to so many conditions that it is not diagnostic of anything. The most common cause is stress, worry, anxiety.

And you're right to note that at 22, nobody will take worries about ALS seriously. I've been told that it is statistically possible for people in their mow 20s to get ALS, but in my mind, I think that a 22 year old with ALS would be near record setting--one for the books. Mostly, it's 60+ or perhaps 40+.

While you're waiting for your appointments, worry about something else.
 
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