My husband believes he has Als

[Bestfriends14]

Bella,

You are doing an incredible disservice to your husband by continuing to post here. Nothing you continuously write leads anyone on the forum to all of a sudden say "Aha! He does have ALS!". By you doing a disservice to your husband, I do not mean to sound blunt or cold, but you're going down the wrong path being here. Every minute you spend here, every post you make, is time taken away from actually helping your husband to find out what is truly wrong.

He's been cleared of ALS, and you've been told it doesn't sound like ALS, yet here you still are. It is really time for you to move on from the forum and truly help your husband by finding out what his symptoms could be.

I'm sorry you have poor medical care. That must be so frustrating. I honestly wish you best in looking to find out what ails your husband. It's not ALS and that's a wonderful thing. My husband, who actually does have ALS, would be envious.

 

[Nikki J]

Whatever level of care you have the question asked of doctors should always be what is wrong with me? If you are fixed on a diagnosis that they don’t think is the answer it is going to stand in the way of a diagnosis

 

[BellaBells]

You are all right in so many ways and I really do appreciate all of your responses. We have had almost every single thing tested that I know including mri's ck's and blood test stays, cbc's and nothing has come of it. we have two young girls and I really dont want to lose him. No one has a reasonable explanation so I'm just scared and worried

 

[BellaBells]

As an update we took your advice got a new doctor went to a spine specialist they did a xray but didnt find anything. They couldn't explain the neck or back weakness due to our poor insurance standards we cant get anothervemg or see a neurologist until December. He is still having shortness of breath just recently looking on the internet we found axial onset of ALS and thinking that seems more like his symptoms than others. As I explained we did have one emg and they tested C5-C8 or T1 and L2-L5 and S1-2 but he is concerned about the areas that they didnt do because he is having twitching all over his body and his neck weakness is making it hard for him to breathe normally and his back weakness makes it hard for him to stand up for long periods of time and says I could easily push him over. He has no babinski signs no hoffman or clonus signs.

 

[affected]

You just are not describing ALS, but you are scaring yourself and your husband silly that's for sure.

 

[KimT]

Has he had a pulmonary function test to assess his breathing? Is he overweight?

 

[lgelb]

We really don't think he has ALS. As Kim says, breathing trumps all, so going back to the internist, who may want to refer to a pulmonologist for lung function testing/a sleep study, is the best thing. Weakness and wobbliness and the weird voice on waking that you described can all relate to a sleep disorder like sleep apnea.

It is not true that the EMG done in several locations would miss ALS. It doesn't work like that.

 

[BellaBells]

No he isn't overweight the thing is when his vitals are checked they appear normal. But his breathing his loud through his nose and when he sleeps he breathes through his mouth.
https://www.alsforums.com/forum/general-discussion-about-als-mnd/9423-consultation-hopkins.html

 

[codyclan]

So the part of that thread where they said diagnosis was largely based on EMG finding you have chosen to ignore, but you’ve cherrypicked some other symptoms? Look, this thread has gone on for 3 pages. You have said that you have inadequate insurance but he has been examined by specialists and they have ruled out ALS. Time to look elsewhere, you are doing your family a disservice by focusing on a disease he doesn’t have.

All the best,
T

 

[KimT]

If I were him, I'd get a sleep study and pulmonary function test.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Bella, I refer you back to post #20 in this thread https://www.alsforums.com/forum/do-...y-husband-believes-he-has-als.html#post447816 to remind you that this forum does not take the place of proper medical care and to also remind you that the people here have continued to answer you with a great deal of patience and kindness, despite it still not looking like ALS.

The people here are not the ones you need to convince of anything, nor can they diagnose your husband with ALS or provide anything meaningful that they haven't already. You have received detailed answers by those experienced with ALS- some of whom are medical professionals. NO ONE has stated it is ALS or sounds like MND. Is there a purpose to your continuing to post here despite being told "No ALS" on multiple occasions?

Your husband needs to continue seeing a doctor. Straight up, you are wasting your time, and the time of others, continuing to post on an ALS forum and researching every single thread here. The normal response to being told by multiple experienced people they don't see ALS in your husband's reported symptoms would be relief and a profound thanks to the people who spent so much time and energy on giving you their answers.

 

[BellaBells]

My husband's breathing has gotten severely bad he is steady gaining weight at 227. We took your advise He had a breathing test oxygen 98 and the pulometer function test was 35 which is really bad. His neck feels a lot softer and he feels weaker but he can still lay on his back no problem

 

[ShiftKicker]

Bella, what do the doctors say? What have they recommended? What treatments are they considering? Have they stated you have reason to be looking at neurological reasons? What is the next step in your husband's treatment? Does it involve a neurology appointment?

 

[BellaBells]

Yes the doctor has said the best thing to do is see a neurologist but the appointment is not until December we have been waiting for a couple of months now.

His breathing is getting worse though and his neck is so soft he says he fears it might drop or fall off. The doctor has prescribed two inhalers one with steroids and one for use as needed. Unfortunately Dr. Abdul is a family doctor and doesn't know much about serious illnesses he wont even check my husband's reflexes.

This has been going on for 7 months and it's just me and him and our two kids we have no help. He says he feels very weak and kind of like a rag doll and he cant do stuff like he could before. He is gaining weight around the midsection but his fingers and other areas seem smaller. He is also getting very sensitive to the cold which is very unlike him seeing as cold has never bother him. I know because he used to go out in 17 degree weather and not even complain but now even 60 degrees bothers him

 

[dldugan]

Bella, There are a lot of neurologists and neurology related clinics in the Dallas area. You may be able to get an earlier appointment if you contact them personally and explain what is going on.