I am 35 years old. I have been having problems for the last 5 months. I am going crazy with my symptoms which continue to be getting worse by the day. I have done a lot of reading, most of which is to my detriment. I need your experience and help in determining what exactly is going on with me. I am driving my family mad, and I feel myself becoming more pathetic and labile...I practically cry every day.
It started with a viral type of illness, about 5 months ago...I had joint and muscle pains through out my body. After a couple months and some brief course of steroids, I felt completely better. Blood work at that time was only significant for an elevated liver enzyme which came back down....(ALT). All other blood work which included thyroid, lyme, muscle enzymes, CBC, sed rate, hepatitis, HIV, and rheumatic labs and a slew of others were negative. I had 1 week where I felt completely better. Then one morning, I woke up with a sharp pain in the left shoulder. I noticed some twitching, and again, to my detriment I came to the possibility of ALS/MS. The fasciculations started throughout my body, and the muscle pain and joint pains improved. I really didn't have the same pains as before.
I did start to develop a feeling of weakness, however. First in my arms and perhaps a bit in my legs. I test myself and it doesn't appear to be weak at all, only the sensation of weakness. There are times when I feel I can no longer use an arm, and I feel an achiness in my proximal muscles...A couple of times, I had to put my arm down because it felt that it was so heavy or tired. One day, at work, I developed bilateral leg soreness from standing too long, perhaps. But I haven't woken up any morning and felt ok. In fact, I feel like I get more weak by the day. I play the guitar, and when I play now, my arm gets tired.
I managed to get an MRI of my brain which was essentially normal, practically ruling out MS. I got a Cspine film also, which only showed degenerative changes and some laxity at C5-6 which they say is from an old trauma. The first week of fascicuations, I had an EMG of my upper extremities which was normal, except for conduction delay in my right elbow and across both wrists. It was a cursory EMG, though.
My symptoms include fasciculations throughout my body, perhaps worst in my right leg. My arms feel the most fatigue, perhaps worse in my left arm. I get up and my arms are "tired" but I can still do pushups, etc. I don't think I have any atrophy of my muscles.
I have done quite a bit of research, but I had some questions for anyone with experience gracious enough to take the time to answer.
Is weakness in anyone with ALS initially "felt?" By that I mean do you feel weak before there is apparent weakness?
Did anyone have predominantly proximal symptoms (more in the arms and shoulders instead of forearms and hands) prior to distal ones? I know that ALS usually starts at the end of limbs, especially the leg.
Was there ever aching in the early course of disease?
If you stood on your legs for a while, did you notice you had to sit down more rapidly?
It started with a viral type of illness, about 5 months ago...I had joint and muscle pains through out my body. After a couple months and some brief course of steroids, I felt completely better. Blood work at that time was only significant for an elevated liver enzyme which came back down....(ALT). All other blood work which included thyroid, lyme, muscle enzymes, CBC, sed rate, hepatitis, HIV, and rheumatic labs and a slew of others were negative. I had 1 week where I felt completely better. Then one morning, I woke up with a sharp pain in the left shoulder. I noticed some twitching, and again, to my detriment I came to the possibility of ALS/MS. The fasciculations started throughout my body, and the muscle pain and joint pains improved. I really didn't have the same pains as before.
I did start to develop a feeling of weakness, however. First in my arms and perhaps a bit in my legs. I test myself and it doesn't appear to be weak at all, only the sensation of weakness. There are times when I feel I can no longer use an arm, and I feel an achiness in my proximal muscles...A couple of times, I had to put my arm down because it felt that it was so heavy or tired. One day, at work, I developed bilateral leg soreness from standing too long, perhaps. But I haven't woken up any morning and felt ok. In fact, I feel like I get more weak by the day. I play the guitar, and when I play now, my arm gets tired.
I managed to get an MRI of my brain which was essentially normal, practically ruling out MS. I got a Cspine film also, which only showed degenerative changes and some laxity at C5-6 which they say is from an old trauma. The first week of fascicuations, I had an EMG of my upper extremities which was normal, except for conduction delay in my right elbow and across both wrists. It was a cursory EMG, though.
My symptoms include fasciculations throughout my body, perhaps worst in my right leg. My arms feel the most fatigue, perhaps worse in my left arm. I get up and my arms are "tired" but I can still do pushups, etc. I don't think I have any atrophy of my muscles.
I have done quite a bit of research, but I had some questions for anyone with experience gracious enough to take the time to answer.
Is weakness in anyone with ALS initially "felt?" By that I mean do you feel weak before there is apparent weakness?
Did anyone have predominantly proximal symptoms (more in the arms and shoulders instead of forearms and hands) prior to distal ones? I know that ALS usually starts at the end of limbs, especially the leg.
Was there ever aching in the early course of disease?
If you stood on your legs for a while, did you notice you had to sit down more rapidly?