Muscle Weakness

[tree3030]

Hi all,

I'm a 23 year old male and I started experiencing symptoms about a month ago. It started with abdominal pain which I was then sent for an endoscopy and colonoscopy. During the prep for the colonoscopy I started noticing back pain and other body pain but was told this was normal. After the procedures were done I started noticing a loss in muscle around my whole body. I had first experienced pain in my right leg but now I'm starting to feel weakness in my whole body. Just by feeling my body and my back I feel I've lost a lot of muscle all over my body over the course of about a week and a half.

I've read that being obese can help prolong ALS. Could it be that fasting for the colonoscopy caused ALS to spread to my whole body and caused this fast muscle loss? I've been to the ER many times with CT scans and X-Rays but all are normal. I'm extremely concerned this is ALS mainly due to the muscle loss and overall weakness despite restarting a normal diet. Can ALS be this fast? Any other conditions that may cause this sort of muscle loss? I've also begun to experience trouble breathing when lying down.

Any support or advice is extremely appreciated.

 

[KarenNWendyn]

It would be very unlikely for ALS to come on this rapidly. Also, ALS in the early stages is painless. It causes painless weakness with loss of function. If you are experiencing pain and have not lost function, then you do not have ALS.

It is not uncommon to experience lethargy following a colonoscopy as you are eating little for 1-2 days and your fluid and electrolytes get messed up by the prep. I felt sluggish for several days following my colonoscopy.

My advice to you is to increase your fluid and electrolyte input for a week. Gatorade and similar products will help boost the electrolytes. And gradually increase your physical activity. Good luck.

 

[TomSanti]

Tree, ALS progresses differently and everyone, in your case I think it would be a world record and pain is usually not associated with ALS.. Your symptoms seem to point to something else, you mention obesity, are you in fact obese? Diabetes? If you are concerned that you may have ALS you need to consult with a neurologist that specializes in ALS.

Good luck, God bless and hope we don't see you back here.

Tom

 

[Atsugi]

Tree3030, your post has no indication of ALS. Quite the opposite. Get it out of your mind and work with your doctors in a productive direction. Not ALS.

 

[tree3030]

Thank you all so much for your responses. The main reason why I thought of ALS was due to the rapid muscle loss that I felt in my arms, legs, neck, and back in combination with the trouble breathing when laying down that came about this week. My body just feels very tender and soft. I can still walk fine but have started feeling trouble lifting things like a bunch of water bottles. I'll try talking to my doctor again about this.