need advice on bulbar onset als

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palnikos

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Joined
Mar 19, 2021
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Reason
Learn about ALS
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00/0000
Country
GR
City
athens
hello everyone, im 42yo male from Greece, for about a month now i have trouble initiating swallowing, especially towards the end of the meal, and i have to chew a lot, so the food becomes smaller, before swallowing! I also dont have appetite to eat anymore and i eat less. I dont choke, i chew good, i can drink liquids, and food doesnt stuck in my throat. i also have full body fasciculations for 3 months.
Neurologist said possibility of Als is almost zero, and symptoms are probably due to anxiety(i have history of anxiety and depression) but to come back in September for EMG. Im really scared and alsmost 100% sure i have Als, i take antidepressants 5 years now and i started xanax which helps to relax.
Can someone with bulbar onset Als tell me how dysphagia starts and progresses?
thank you very much for your time
 
Hi there
You are not describing bulbar issues.You neurologist has confirmed this too.
Please go back and discuss with your doctor as we can't start giving you descriptions or you will start imagining it is happening.
You tests and examinations have more importance. I'm so sorry you are so scared of this rare disease.
 
thank you very much "affected" for taking the time to answer me
today i called a doctor to perfom a swallow test, she asked me what are my symptoms and i told her!
She refused to do the test and said its psychological and i dont have any dysphagia symptoms.
Im more relaxed now but still worried because i have lost 3kg in one month and muscle mass in arms and chest.
 
That is a great trigger to go back to your doctor and ask for help dealing with the symptoms you are experiencing.
All the best, I'm sure this can be addressed and fixed.
 
hello again, my appointment with neurologist is next Monday but i got the results of the EMG today and i cannot understand it completely

it says : nerve conduction speeds are normal, without automatic activity and with contribution diagram
of the examined muscles.

but i can see some motor nerve values are out of range

can you please help me?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
First nerve conduction issues are not related to ALS. The nerve conduction ( shocks) looks at other issues. However, as with other tests, mild deviations from the norm are not significant and in your case the examining doctor could tell they were normal. You can ask at your appointment for them to explain but don’t worry.

the emg is the needle portion of the exam Which is important for ALS It looks like you had that because I see tracings you don’t have charts of those and I can’t translate the summary but since you are not asking I guess they did not relay a concern

finally I removed the attachment because it contains your name if you wish to repost please block that
 
thank you Nikki, i had the needle part of the exam and all the results they give me was this
i dont understand anything about the charts thats why i didnt ask
i repost it without my name
 
Try again. It looks like your name is there twice?
 
now its deleted
 

Attachments

  • _EMG_.pdf
    2.3 MB · Views: 244
The conclusion part is in Greek. Are you able to Google translate that and copy and paste into the thread?
 
yes of course

it says : nerve conduction speeds of all muscles examined are normal, without automatic activity and with contribution diagram
of the examined muscles.

it doesnt say anything else. does this mean its "clean" EMG or she forgot something?
 
it's clean, congratulations!
 
thank you very much :)
 
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