Looking for Reassurance

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ThanksForHelp

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Jul 21, 2022
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Learn about ALS
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Hello all. Thanks to everyone for helping everyone here. I didn’t think I’d ever create a post like this. I’ve had “symptoms” for six weeks roughly. I’ve read the “read before posting” a couple times.

First of all, I’ve learned all about the powers of the mind, unfounded worry, anxiety, and the dangers of reading this type of stuff to fuel health anxiety.

My story is summarized as this:

6 weeks ago I had MAJOR facilitations of my left bicep for about 7-10 days, but it quit. This was likely caused by electrolyte depletion because I worked out super hard in a hot yoga style class and sweated a lot twice in 3-4 days and didn’t refuel the body. But then it started twitching like crazy for several days. This led me to research and I found out that’s a possible symptom of ALS.

I also saw a guy I know of on the internet has ALS and that video apparently scared me.

This fueled extreme anxiety that caused twitching all over my body for about 2 weeks.

I have one “hot spot”, which I feel like I’ve solidly linked to anxiety. Below my left butt cheek would twitch constantly. This lasted the longest and still does it to this day when I get stressed.

I thought I was healed as I have convinced myself it was all health anxiety.

Yet here I am on this forum again for this one reason:

For the last 2 weeks I feel that my left shoulder/arm/bicep is just “sore” most of the time. I feel like my hand on the left side is stiff. I feel like my left wrist pops when I move. I’m hyper focused on any differences perceived in my left bicep vs my right bicep and obsessively flex them and check them.

Last time I checked they were both the same size.

I know I apparently have a very real issue of health anxiety that needs addressed.

I just want to be told that my symptoms of soreness are not the way ALS presents itself. I’ve read on here that I won’t feel soreness, but it would just stop working. Is there a progression or just a sudden loss of function?

This only scares me because it’s where the twitching originally started 6 weeks ago.

By the way, I’m 34m. Very fit. Very cut muscularity.

I went to a neuro after only 10 days of symptoms. The bicep twitching had already resolved. But other twitching was present in my leg and butt, and all over. So the nuero suggested anxiety is likely the possible cause. She did schedule an EMG for mid August just for my peace of mind as she doesn’t suspect anything worse.

I feel pretty stupid posting this, but I think it’s a good step in healing. Please comment. I think I’ll likely have anxiety until the EMG. Thank you all for what you do.
 
Consider yourself told this is not what ALS looks like. Even before the EMG, wouldn't hurt to seek more/better help for the health anxiety since obviously it is affecting your quality of life.
 
Thank you lgelb. Again, I feel convinced that I’m healed (my health anxiety). I’ve never had an experience like this before. I’ve always been healthy, and happy. I’m blessed to have had a healthy life and wish everyone a healthy life.

I now understand what serious issues anxiety, stress, and other mental issues can have on people and their quality of life.

To be honest, those first 2 weeks were terrible. I had so much anxiety.

I honestly think it started as a magnesium depletion. Symptoms of magnesium depletion are twitching, as well as hyperexcitability. I think that helped to fuel the extreme anxiety,

My arm feels fine for the most part today. To add to the ridiculousness of my baseless worry, I didn’t mention that the shoulder that hurts actually had pectoral tendon repair surgery 16 months ago and soreness from overworking is normal for that shoulder.

But my mind still somehow convinced itself it was something much worse.

What got me focused on my bicep again 2 weeks ago was noticing that one side had more of a lean/cut appearance. But I dug through my phone and found a photo of me flexing that same arm in 2020 and 2021. That same extra cut appearance was there back then.

But my health anxiety brain just focused on the next issue and found tiny “dimples” in the muscle, at the skin level. Meaning it’s not deep at all, just tiny half-pea sized little dimples (like one or two of them).

That caused me to obsessively look at my biceps.

Now even today I feel like I have slight slight slight pins and needles feeling occasionally in my finger tips that will come and go. When I breath deeply I can make them go away.

I know for sure my mind can manufacturer pins and needles and electric shock feelings, because for like 2 weeks I would have those feelings in my right leg in the calf. But when I could finally relax, that would go away.

It seems like when one thing goes away, my brain finds something else to focus on. I feel like I’m finally at the end of the constant manufacturing of symptoms.

For a while I had so much stress my ears felt clogged. Then I felt like I had vision problems.

Basically I had the worst anxiety imaginable.

I plan on cancelling my EMG soon before it actually happens.

I’m sharing my experience to let people who may read this know that your mind can 100% create physical symptoms. Although those feelings and sensations are real, they are documented normal symptoms of extreme anxiety. Trust that your body is just reacting to your mind.

What I think is this: anxiety created these symptoms from an adrenaline response. The adrenaline response is designed to keep us alive in a life or death fight. However if you stay in that state for a prolonged period of time, it wreaks havoc on your body. I feel that my subconscious mind thought it was helping me stay alive by keeping me in this “survival state”. I had to convince myself at the subconscious level that it’s my mind and make it go away.

Although I posted here last night, the response to my message made me feel much better.

People who read this, learn from my experience. I know I’m healed from my anxiety. Don’t do what I did. I’m sure I’ll still have 5% of the issues I had for a little bit, but I know I don’t have ALS.

Thank you to this forum.
 
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