NCGIRL
Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2011
- Messages
- 18
- Reason
- PALS
- Diagnosis
- 10/2011
- Country
- US
- State
- North Carolina
- City
- Sylva
Hello to all... I'm new to ALS and just registered on here a few days ago. I've been reading thru some of the threads and just want to say that I admire you guys for being so strong with this disease. I was just diagnosed this past October and I think I'm handling it okay. I'm 34 years old and a wife and mother of 2 boys. I'm still working and will try to work as long as my legs don't give completely out on me. Mine started in the lower half of my body. First in the left leg and now it's taking over the right. It started with what I thought was restless leg syndrome and then I started noticing the weakness in my muscles. The cramping and twitches started soon after and now I have paralysis in my lower left leg and foot. I have foot drop in the left foot and now it's starting in the right. My left knee is pretty messed up to. I don't know if it's from the falls I've had or the disease. I don't have control of how far my knee goes back and it sort of pops back with each step. I have some twitching in my upper arms and my hands but nothing like the lower half of my body. I've noticed some twitches in my back sometimes too. I first noticed the symptoms back in Aug. 2010 and didn't go to my GP unitl March. She done blood work and it came back that I was anemic and vitamin D deficient. She put me on some supplements and I went back a month later and there was no change in my condition. She sent me to a neurologist in April and he done some MRI's and the first EMG test. The MRI's came back normal but the EMG came back abnormal. He then sent me to Wake Forest Baptist hospital. The doctors there done alot more testing. More MRI's, EMG, Nerve conduction test, more bloodwork and some other tests I can't remember right now. It all pointed to ALS. I started seeing them the first of August this year and they gave me the diagnosis on 10/12/11. I was thinking the whole time it was going to be MS. I had read about ALS and was praying that it wasn't. I'm not sure why I got this but I'm sure God has a reason why. I just pray that I can live long enough to see my children grown. I so want to be there for them until they can take care of themselves. I'm a very over protective Mother and I'll worry myself to death...literally;-) Thanks for listening... or reading... if you have any suggestions on what I should be doing to prepare for the future with ALS please feel free to give advice. Thanks!