Left arm and side trembling, weakness, numbness plus other symptoms - super terrified.

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blarg81

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Joined
Mar 2, 2023
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Reason
Learn about ALS
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00/0000
Country
US
State
WA
City
Bellevue
Hi everyone. First some background. I’ve been studying and reading up on ALS for years because it runs in my wife’s family. I’m a 42/male who isn’t in the best shape at all since covid started. I also lost my brother to suicide a little over a year ago, my father in law’s dementia is getting worse, and many other stresses the last couple years. And last august I was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor that affects my vision. It’s tiny so far and doesn’t have to come out (yet?).

All that said, the last few weeks I’ve been getting spasms in my upper left arm. It’s been getting progressively worse. That arm has also gotten numb and tingly and it feels generally weaker on my left arm, fingers and hands. When I hold my phone it’s like I have to rest my arm on my legs or a cough arm or something. I’ve been making more typos recently too I’ve noticed. And I drove a long time yesterday, and primary use my left hand to drive. But my arm kept getting more and more tired. I wrote my neurologist at first worried it was the tumor but she said extremely unlikely. So now all of this together has made me terrified it’s the first stages of ALS. I know there are other diseases or things like anxiety and stress that can mimic these symptoms but all of these together and just starting on one limb is terrifying me. I also feel like I tilt just a bit when I walk to the left.

I’m trying to hold it together waiting for my appointment Monday but I also know that first appointments don’t lead to much. Usually doing light tests with limb strength and then watch and wait. Has anyone had these symptoms and had it not turn out to be ALS? Is this an extremely common way for this to start?

My love to everyone here. We’ve lost folks in my wife’s family to the disease. Everyone who has it and loves someone with it are warriors. Thanks for your time.
 
Very sorry for your losses and personal/family health burdens, Bellevue. Please encourage your wife to join the forums if it might help in any way.

An ongoing [not acute like in a heart attack or stroke] numb, tingly, weak arm is most often a neon sign for a sensorimotor process or localized injury, not a neuromuscular disorder like ALS. If you use your left arm more in driving, it's likely you use it more often in other things, and an overuse scenario is very plausible. If there are signs/symptoms of MS or tumor progression, of course, your brain would be re-imaged. I am presuming you are being seen at UW, but it is always wise to get a second opinion on any "watch/wait" tumor plan.

Your assumption that a first appointment can't rule anything out is incorrect. Most ALS dx and ruleouts are NOT watch and wait. They are generally pretty definitive. As with anything, it's the outliers that get the column inches, so to speak.

Because of your tumor, the neurologist may want to do an EMG and/or other tests to be sure of what is going on, but nothing you've described sounds like ALS to me.

Best,
Laurie
 
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Thank you so much for your reply Laurie. I genuinely appreciate it and you! That helped a lot - I may mention the EMG to her when I go in. Thank you also for what you said about what we’ve gone through. I felt bad bothering folks on here with what everyone else is going through.

Thank you so much again and I’ll talk to my wife about joining too.
 
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