screwedagain
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2007
- Messages
- 30
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- Other
- Country
- Uni
- State
- NY
- City
- Syracuse
Greetings,
I've been putting off posting on here, because it seems to make what may be going on with me more "real." But here it goes. Some of this information may be irrelevant, but I thought I would throw it in just in case someone out there is more clever than I am. Don't worry, I get to my ALS questions at the end...
I am 29 years old, male, and was in relatively good health (other than the fact that I smoke like a chimney, especially lately). In June 2007 I had surgery on my lower back (a L5-S1 microdiscectomy) following an injury in March 2007 (shovelling snow). The postoperative pain was horrible, but slowly got better, and I was walking around better than I was before the operation. About 2 weeks after my surgery (the first week of July), I noticed that the fingers on my right hand were swollen. I didn't think too much about it, but then I started getting some serious pain in my neck and right shoulder. Thinking I might have just "pinched a nerve" or whatever, I went to my GP who ordered some X-rays, which were normal. In the meantime, the pain got so bad that I returned to the GP, who ordered a Nerve Conduction Test and c-spine MRI. The NCT, of my arms only, was normal, and once the insurance company decided to pay for the MRI, I had that, and it was normal.
So my GP decided to do some blood work. B12, iron, liver function, kidney function, thyroid function, something for arthritis...all normal. At my request my GP did a lyme titer and, of course, it was negative. He then ordered a CT scan of my head, neck, and chest - normal. By the last week in July, I noticed that my right hand was getting a little weak (in addition to the neck pain and hand swelling). He then decided to refer me to a neurologist - after 3 that couldn't see me until October, and one that refused to see me, saying that I was my orthopedic surgeon's problem - I finally got an appointment. In the meantime, around mid-August, I noticed that I started having almost constant fasciculations in my calf muscles, feet, and thighs. I occasionally get one in my abdomen, arm, and neck, as well. I also started getting the sensation that I have a constant lump in my throat, and gag a little bit usually after I eat (especially while smoking). No trouble swallowing, yet, but the gagging seems to be more frequent after eating.
So I waited and waited, and finally there was a cancellation and I got to see a neurologist last week (September 5). He examined me (looked me over), asked a bunch of questions, and when I told him about the fascics in my legs and weakness in my hands (actually, my fingers) he said that I might have a MND. He said he would do an EMG on all of my limbs (that same day). He also said that he would arrange for an MRI of my brain.
During the EMG, he noticed some fasciculations (a tiny pop maybe every 10-15 seconds) in my legs - calves, thighs. I'm not sure what else he noticed, but he said that my results were "abnormal" and that I had a MND (he would not say which one), and was referring me to the neurology department/MND specialists at the medical center here in Syracuse for further evaluation. I've never seen a doctor so certain about anything. He also said that based on the EMG results that I didn't need to go for the MRI (I did anyway - waiting for the results, which I am sure will be normal). He also took some blood to test for autoimmune things - naturally, I haven't heard back on that yet, either.
So here I am, and all I know is that I "have a MND" and I am waiting for whoever to call me from this medical center to tell me which one. The twitches in my legs are pretty frequent (one somewhere in my legs every 10 seconds or so), my legs are stiff, I'm having trouble with stairs now (my knees feel weak), my fingers are stiff and my grip is weak, and I have this stinking lump in my throat. Like everyone else probably has done at some point I've been scaring the hell out of myself looking up ALS on the internet. I've also bought an enormous life insurance policy, and I'm freaking out.
Nobody seems to think that the surgery could have caused this. The neurologist didn't even consider my neck/shoulder pain and hand swelling, which is what started this whole thing in the first place - could this be MND (or ALS) related? I've noticed that my legs are considerably worse (weaker, twitchier, if that's a word) over the last week. Could an EMG cause this? Or is this just whatever I have getting worse? Does the neurologist know that I have something bad, and he just passed me on to a MND specialist because he didn't want to tell me?
I was fine in June (other than the back pain from the herniated disk). Now I have these symptoms, and I've been told that I have a MND and I'm slowly convincing myself that it's ALS. I've also decided that I really, really, really don't like doctors.
I'm 29, about to finish my graduate degree in 3 months, and was planning on getting a job, starting my life, buying a house - now I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this, and it is weighing heavily on my mind. I'm even considering taking a leave of absence from school, because I can't concentrate, I can't stand to be around people having a normal life, and I'm at wit's end. I can't even enjoy some good old-fashioned denial, because I'm reminded of everything every 10 seconds when one of my muscles twitch.
Sorry for the length of this message - I've never been accused of excessive brevity. Thanks in advance for any insight you may be able to provide.
I've been putting off posting on here, because it seems to make what may be going on with me more "real." But here it goes. Some of this information may be irrelevant, but I thought I would throw it in just in case someone out there is more clever than I am. Don't worry, I get to my ALS questions at the end...
I am 29 years old, male, and was in relatively good health (other than the fact that I smoke like a chimney, especially lately). In June 2007 I had surgery on my lower back (a L5-S1 microdiscectomy) following an injury in March 2007 (shovelling snow). The postoperative pain was horrible, but slowly got better, and I was walking around better than I was before the operation. About 2 weeks after my surgery (the first week of July), I noticed that the fingers on my right hand were swollen. I didn't think too much about it, but then I started getting some serious pain in my neck and right shoulder. Thinking I might have just "pinched a nerve" or whatever, I went to my GP who ordered some X-rays, which were normal. In the meantime, the pain got so bad that I returned to the GP, who ordered a Nerve Conduction Test and c-spine MRI. The NCT, of my arms only, was normal, and once the insurance company decided to pay for the MRI, I had that, and it was normal.
So my GP decided to do some blood work. B12, iron, liver function, kidney function, thyroid function, something for arthritis...all normal. At my request my GP did a lyme titer and, of course, it was negative. He then ordered a CT scan of my head, neck, and chest - normal. By the last week in July, I noticed that my right hand was getting a little weak (in addition to the neck pain and hand swelling). He then decided to refer me to a neurologist - after 3 that couldn't see me until October, and one that refused to see me, saying that I was my orthopedic surgeon's problem - I finally got an appointment. In the meantime, around mid-August, I noticed that I started having almost constant fasciculations in my calf muscles, feet, and thighs. I occasionally get one in my abdomen, arm, and neck, as well. I also started getting the sensation that I have a constant lump in my throat, and gag a little bit usually after I eat (especially while smoking). No trouble swallowing, yet, but the gagging seems to be more frequent after eating.
So I waited and waited, and finally there was a cancellation and I got to see a neurologist last week (September 5). He examined me (looked me over), asked a bunch of questions, and when I told him about the fascics in my legs and weakness in my hands (actually, my fingers) he said that I might have a MND. He said he would do an EMG on all of my limbs (that same day). He also said that he would arrange for an MRI of my brain.
During the EMG, he noticed some fasciculations (a tiny pop maybe every 10-15 seconds) in my legs - calves, thighs. I'm not sure what else he noticed, but he said that my results were "abnormal" and that I had a MND (he would not say which one), and was referring me to the neurology department/MND specialists at the medical center here in Syracuse for further evaluation. I've never seen a doctor so certain about anything. He also said that based on the EMG results that I didn't need to go for the MRI (I did anyway - waiting for the results, which I am sure will be normal). He also took some blood to test for autoimmune things - naturally, I haven't heard back on that yet, either.
So here I am, and all I know is that I "have a MND" and I am waiting for whoever to call me from this medical center to tell me which one. The twitches in my legs are pretty frequent (one somewhere in my legs every 10 seconds or so), my legs are stiff, I'm having trouble with stairs now (my knees feel weak), my fingers are stiff and my grip is weak, and I have this stinking lump in my throat. Like everyone else probably has done at some point I've been scaring the hell out of myself looking up ALS on the internet. I've also bought an enormous life insurance policy, and I'm freaking out.
Nobody seems to think that the surgery could have caused this. The neurologist didn't even consider my neck/shoulder pain and hand swelling, which is what started this whole thing in the first place - could this be MND (or ALS) related? I've noticed that my legs are considerably worse (weaker, twitchier, if that's a word) over the last week. Could an EMG cause this? Or is this just whatever I have getting worse? Does the neurologist know that I have something bad, and he just passed me on to a MND specialist because he didn't want to tell me?
I was fine in June (other than the back pain from the herniated disk). Now I have these symptoms, and I've been told that I have a MND and I'm slowly convincing myself that it's ALS. I've also decided that I really, really, really don't like doctors.
I'm 29, about to finish my graduate degree in 3 months, and was planning on getting a job, starting my life, buying a house - now I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this, and it is weighing heavily on my mind. I'm even considering taking a leave of absence from school, because I can't concentrate, I can't stand to be around people having a normal life, and I'm at wit's end. I can't even enjoy some good old-fashioned denial, because I'm reminded of everything every 10 seconds when one of my muscles twitch.
Sorry for the length of this message - I've never been accused of excessive brevity. Thanks in advance for any insight you may be able to provide.