I need your opinion please

[mexicanguy204]

Hello, I would like to share my story and ask for your opinion. Over three months ago, I started experiencing pain in my legs and fasciculations in both of my calves, which, within a month, spread to my entire body. During the first two months, I visited two different doctors (neither neurologists) and also went to physical therapy. All three performed physical exams, and at that time, they told me I did not have any muscle weakness. I also underwent blood tests and a CT scan of my head, all of which came back normal, except for a vitamin D deficiency and the fact that I am prediabetic.

By mid-December, I began taking vitamin D, which helped alleviate the leg pain and calmed the fasciculations. At that point, I thought I was finally getting out of this dark hole I had been in. However, by the end of December, I started to feel a strange sensation in my left arm, as if at any moment it would lose strength. About a week ago, I was assembling an exercise machine for my girlfriend and noticed that this same arm fatigued faster than the other. Since then, I've experienced a type of pain in my shoulder and biceps that seems to worsen the more I use the arm. The pain is not severe—it's more like the soreness you would feel after receiving a vaccination in the shoulder.

A few days ago, I also noticed, almost by accident, what seems to be some form of atrophy in the same arm, although I am not sure if that is the case. My question is: how does muscle weakness present itself in this disease? Should I be concerned about this condition and continue spending money on doctors? I live in the United States, and I do not qualify for any financial assistance, so I must pay for everything out of pocket, and I already spent a significant amount last year.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Hello, please read here, as it answers your questions: Read Before Posting.

Twitching absent clinical weakness, sensory issues, issues that come and go or improve point away from ALS. The above link explains the difference between clinical weakness (seen in ALS) and feeling weak are two different things. You do not report clinical weakness.

Take care

 

[mexicanguy204]

Hello thank you for your response ! how does clinical weakness start? Does it suddenly make you unable to move a finger or an arm, or does it gradually weaken you over time?

 

[ShiftKicker]

Hi,

It's pretty clear you have not read the link provided. Please do so as it is informative and answers most of the questions that bring people here.

From the link:

Clinical Weakness—ALS is about failing, not feeling.
ALS is about failure—falling down, being unable to stand on your toes or heels, being unable to button your shirt, being unable to lift your hand, being unable to open a ziplock bag, etc. It is not about these things becoming more difficult. It is about these things being impossible… no matter how hard you try. If you can do normal things, but it is more difficult, you do not have ALS. If you used to be able to do 100 curls and now one arm can only do 50; that is not ALS. If you used to run 2 miles and now you can only run 1; that is not ALS. If you used to run 2 miles and now you can’t lift up one of your feet, you may have clinical weakness.

It really does happen that something stops working all of a sudden. It is generally one muscle so it will not be a whole limb, but the movement done by that muscle is suddenly gone. An example is a calf raise. It won't happen. Think of it like your wifi signal. You are surfing the net, then signal is lost and you can't do anything online no matter how hard you try or how long you wait for a page to load. This is what happens to a muscle in beginning ALS it has lost the signal from the nervous system that tells it to work. First it is one muscle, then another ,then another so the things you can’t do increase. This is why you see progressive weakness mentioned

See also EMG, weakness and atrophy