Tamra
New member
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2006
- Messages
- 6
- Reason
- Loved one DX
- Country
- US
- State
- CA
- City
- Nevada City
Hi Everybody,
I'm new to this so I hope someone out there can help me. As my title indicates, it's been nine years that my father has slowly deteriorated and we still don't have any answers. My father used to be an extremely athletic man (marathon runner). His first symptoms were muscle twitching and foot drop. He then began falling down (broken ribs once, broken arm another time) and started to lose muscle in first his legs, then his arms. Throughout this time, he was losing strength and becoming weaker. He has trigeminal neuralgia and had two surgeries for it in addition to some back disc problems. His walking is unbalanced and he staggers. He would benefit from the use of a cane, but he refuses to accept that his body is failing. (So he stills falls) He drags one foot and has learned to "throw" his hip forward to move that leg. We have watched my father gradually worsen. The most frustrating part (as you all know) is the not knowing. He has had multiple tests and no conclusive answers. In February, 2006, he went to his neurologist and was told he could not have ALS because his EMG's were normal. Since then, my father has lost the ability to swallow liquids. A gastrologist confirmed it was due to muscle loss. Upon his recent return to his neuro, he was told that he has considerably worsened since February and it could be ALS, but not likely because it's gone on for so long. He was told he will need a feeding tube in the future. He goes in for an MRI and another EMG in the next 10 days.
My question is this: Has anybody had a similar situation? Are EMG's the only way to get a definitive answer?
I'm sorry if my post seems like a repeat of another post. I did write one somewhere else, because I did not know how to start a thread. (Now I do).
Thank you for any help you can offer.
Tamra
I'm new to this so I hope someone out there can help me. As my title indicates, it's been nine years that my father has slowly deteriorated and we still don't have any answers. My father used to be an extremely athletic man (marathon runner). His first symptoms were muscle twitching and foot drop. He then began falling down (broken ribs once, broken arm another time) and started to lose muscle in first his legs, then his arms. Throughout this time, he was losing strength and becoming weaker. He has trigeminal neuralgia and had two surgeries for it in addition to some back disc problems. His walking is unbalanced and he staggers. He would benefit from the use of a cane, but he refuses to accept that his body is failing. (So he stills falls) He drags one foot and has learned to "throw" his hip forward to move that leg. We have watched my father gradually worsen. The most frustrating part (as you all know) is the not knowing. He has had multiple tests and no conclusive answers. In February, 2006, he went to his neurologist and was told he could not have ALS because his EMG's were normal. Since then, my father has lost the ability to swallow liquids. A gastrologist confirmed it was due to muscle loss. Upon his recent return to his neuro, he was told that he has considerably worsened since February and it could be ALS, but not likely because it's gone on for so long. He was told he will need a feeding tube in the future. He goes in for an MRI and another EMG in the next 10 days.
My question is this: Has anybody had a similar situation? Are EMG's the only way to get a definitive answer?
I'm sorry if my post seems like a repeat of another post. I did write one somewhere else, because I did not know how to start a thread. (Now I do).
Thank you for any help you can offer.
Tamra