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My mom and cousins have only had their legs affected. My grandpa had a little in his arms in the very end. What other things did it affect in your family?
 
And yes, my mom has a Baclofen pump. My neuro hasn't suggested it with me, yet. I will discuss it with the specialist next month.
 
I saw the ENT. He noted that the back of my tongue and throat were dry but that he wouldn't consider it dry mouth. The bottom of my throat is also a little swollen and pink.

My legs are still concerning me. I have had a bit more success with walking around. For a couple weeks, I could barely make it around a store without my hips getting incredibly sore and my lower back tight. I have been able to walk a good bit more on most days, but find it almost impossible to stand in place for more than a few minutes at a time. I'm not sure what this could be attributed to. I don't lose my balance or shake. The best I can describe is that I get a building pressure in my lower back and through my hips. Pain in both the longer I do it. I don't feel pain in one side more than the other. It just seems to kind of depend on the day. Today, it is my right hip. I see a neuromuscular specialist on the 16th of December. Both of my parents have degenerative disk disease. Just wondering if anything like that could be causing these problems?

I know that the doctor will have a lot more insight into this. I'm just getting pretty stir crazy waiting and wondering if anyone has any insight.
 
I'm just getting pretty stir crazy waiting and wondering if anyone has any insight.

Find yourself a hobby that does not involve reading about people who have rare diseases and get on with living your life instead of worrying about dying. Your medical research skills are very poor and you aren't able to distinguish the relevant material from the irrelevant material that you find online. You will never get past this fear until you stop feeding it. Therefore, you have no one to blame for those fears but yourself.

If you truly want to put this behind you, you can, but I personally doubt that you will. It's a shame that you have to be that way, but you must enjoy it.

Good luck.
 
Absolutely. Sounds like you have a mild back problem! Now that's common!
So let's see
A little bit of a sore throat and a bit of back and hip aching when standing and walking about........sounds like 90% of the population.
You need to get some perspective. These are very mild symptoms. Sometimes life is uncomfortable and our bodies just don't work at 100%. if I listed my bodies aches pains twitches etc. I would fill a book everyday, but few of them mean anything at all. It's called being alive.
You will be fine. Go for a run
 
I went to see my "neuromuscular specialist". He was listed as the only one in my insurance company's info. When I scheduled my appointment, I explained my concerns. Fasciculations, swallowing problems, hand tremors, perceived weakness, etc. noting that the swallowing problems were my most concerning. They marked it down.

So, after a two month wait for that appointment and a 5 1/2 hour drive through the Appalachians in the snow, I began discussing my concerns with him, and he kindly notified me that he didn't understand why my insurance company had him filed as such, since his specialty is, in fact, osteopathy. He explained that he would do a neurological exam on me, as he has studied neurology, just not his specialty. Once again, brisk reflexes in my knees were noted. Happily, during THIS exam, he found no clonus. The only abnormality that he found in the clinical exam were the brisk knees. He stated that he believes the pain in my hips is bursitis.

So, the swallowing issue remains a mystery and a concern to me. It was fairly disheartening, after a 2 month wait, to walk out with not much new insight. I realize that 7 1/2 months of swallowing difficulty with the absence of voice or speech problems is in my favor as far as my ALS anxiety is concerned, but the issue is still there and the cause remains a mystery to me. As I have read, ALS is about how things fail, not how they feel. This issue is just a very difficult one for me to shake. For several months, my throat has felt constantly tight or strained. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it. My ENT suggest globus, but it did not show up on either barium swallow, and Ativan, while suppressing my anxiety, is not suppressing the feeling.

The doctor is referring me on to WVU and said that he will try to get me in as soon as possible. With it being the holidays right now, I'm not sure when I can expect to hear back about my appointment, but for now, it is just more of the waiting game. Not much new to add. Just fairly disheartened after this visit.
 
I apologize, but I just need to clear my head a bit. I am going fairly stir crazy after 9 months of swallowing problems and no relief or answers. I am still not choking. Still not having problems with my speech or my voice. I just feel a significant amount of tension or tightness in my throat that nothing seems to ease. My ENT suggested globus, but the anti-anxiety medicines, like Klonopin, are not helping the symptoms. It is better sometimes than others than others but never goes away. It used to basically be absent in the morning but is now there as soon as I wake up but gets worse as the day goes on. The ENT also noted dry throat but not dry mouth. I don't know if dry mouth could be causing these symptoms or why I would have the dry mouth, as I am not on any medications. The ever present throat sensations just put me on edge and are ever present, now, so any input is greatly appreciated. I have a lot of health anxiety over this, as I'm sure is obvious. My last modified barium swallow was normal but was 3 months ago. I'm not sure where, if anywhere, I should go from here or if this could all still just be from anxiety. Nine months seems like a long time for it, especially as it has gotten more persistent and consistent, but I do not know. I am very hypervigilant about it, but, as I stated, it is now there from the moment I wake up. Again, thank you for any input or insight, even harsh. I can admit that I probably need it. I'm just not sure what to think about it anymore.
 
The disc in your back can cause alot of other problems. Each disc has nreves that go to a cetains part in the body. For example like if disc L-3 in the problem you might have problems with headaches and eyes ect.... My chiropractor has a web site that has a 3-D spine and show what disc is tied to what nerves. Check it out. I It is under ELKRIDGE CHIROPRACTOR/ ELkridge maryland. Or Dr. Plotkin he is really good he works on our Terps. Good Luck ! Don't worry until it is time to worry. You may also be low on potassium. ALso the heart Dr. tells my mom to drink tonic, it takes away leg cramps.
 
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