Stinky_Man
New member
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2024
- Messages
- 2
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
Hi everyone, sorry to be adding another thread amongst the masses. My name is Austin and I’m 27 which obviously makes me even posting somewhat ridiculous. As you may have guessed just from this yes I do have health anxiety (thanks mom). I was previously doing pretty good at managing it the past three years but have had some trouble lately due to some strange new symptoms.
I’ll preface this by saying that the rational at ease part of me would be insanely surprised if any of this lined up with the big bad simply from the wealth of symptoms I’ve seemingly developed psychosomatic or otherwise. For some background info back in the end of May I noticed a pretty decent drop off in my vision especially at night and while not being out of air by any means my best friend did note that my laugh had started sounding like a whistling of air almost like a defunct squeaky toy. I’m not sure if these two things matter at all in connection with future things but decided to include them on the off chance the info was useful.
Where the real big stuff begins is the beginning of June where I had a respiratory infection of sorts. Not sure what its exact nature was but other than a sore throat that moved into a sore chest and cough with a very light fever nothing much came from it. That being said two weeks later I was surprised when I had a spontaneous pneumothorax that partially collapsed my right lung (this one’s on me for smoking in the past but here we are 1 year smoke free). So I got the chest tube and all that good stuff and other than not using my voice very much during recovery I seemed to make a fully recovery.
The only real thing of note after this was that I couldn’t seem to reach high pitches that I could before the pneumo and even when I took full breaths they didn’t seem as full as before so this is still weird one to slot in as the start of problems. About two weeks later I got sick again with what my roommate at the time and I thought at first might be strep as it was going around in our area we later realized the symptoms were more in line with Covid. I also made the terrible mistake of taking 3x the amount of NyQuil Severe that you should take in a day in the span of about 2 and 1/2 hours with an ibuprofen. I didn’t realize at the time that there was such a small limit on how much you could take (I’m a very smart individual).
Other than the worlds worst headache, being dizzy, and a couple weird bouts of hearing things that aren’t there I recovered just fine. Business as usual until about another two weeks towards the very end of July where after some drinking with a friend I woke up to what I thought were heart palpitations. Long story short I get told I have high blood pressure and it usually sits around 152/90 though sometimes I’ve caught it as high as 168/100. Nothing much happens until August 15th where I start having trouble with mental imagery, starting to forget words that make awkward pauses in my sentences, and in general the start of a weird feeling of disassociation and an inability to really multitask that well mentally followed by pretty persistent fatigue that doesn’t really go away no matter how much I rest.
Somewhere along the line before September about a week I got a CT that was clean (
) and realized that it wasn’t palpitations but a little twitch that kind of felt like it was around my chest area or maybe my back? It was hard to tell but I realized it went away seemingly when I stood up and returned to where I could notice it when sitting or especially when laying down. In the span of time before figuring this out I had thought it was maybe a problem with my heart between that and the random burning feeling I’d get right below the base of my neck along with a sick feeling (thankfully these two things have ceased which is a good sign I believe).
By the beginning of September I had definitely had some persistent noticeable twitching in my back/chest area and my abdomen that made it very difficult to sleep or relax. It was somewhat amusing to place my phone on my stomach and watch it jump a bit up and down (this one you can notice even while I’m standing it looks like my gut is vibrating). I also got some pretty bad gut issues around this time that persist to today (cramps, bloating, nausea, and diarrhea) however my mother also has IBS and I imagine it wouldn’t be a stretch that my maybe Covid sickness just let me have access to that problem early. I also forgot to mention that from August 15 onward until around the end of September I kept getting a weird tightening feeling in my throat and separate from that a very uncomfortable “fiberglass tickle” feeling over the top and front of my head that would almost make me seize up or spasm (sensory is good yeah?) as well as some on and off ear ache and tinnitus that still accosts me now (just the earache and tinnitus). The twitches also feel like migrated to the back of my neck.
About halfway through September I realized I was losing the ability to flex the top part of my forearm nearly as well and that seemed to include not being able to feel a hard contraction at my elbow or on the side of my bicep. That part of my forearm barely responds at all at my attempts flex it now though I can still fully open my hand just fine (not really sure if this counts as any weakness). I also started feeling a perceived weakness in actions raising that arm and forearm (can still do curls and lift heavyish stuff just fine). The twitches also migrated to my left arm but mostly my shoulder and a little bit bicep area.
Twitching migrated to my legs and glutes as well but outside of being a bit heavy when walking around with shoes one I haven’t noticed any failure (unfortunately I do not know the exact time they started but they are hard to feel unless something with a bit of weight is covering them). I’m starting to become very aware how long this post is while waiting out the airport so I’ll try and wrap up. Around this time I had also noticed that it sounds like I’m having to put more effort to project my voice at normal and getting noticeable twitches in the front part of my neck. You could place your finger on my Adam’s apple and feel it jump.
Fast forward to beginning of November and I have acquired a similar problem with my right arm. One thing to note is my middle finger to pinky on both hands goes numb when using them even pretty mildly (like propping myself or my phone up or using a computer as well as cramping right under the ring finger when I hold all my finger together like a stop motion though it is worse on my left hand where I have some small dents. My twitches have spread to the point where I get them in both arms and hands. I can feel them especially in the backs of my arms. I’ve also had a perceived weakened swallow on my right side of my throat as well as my throat aching (not sure if cramping or just a persistent pain) when I talk too much in a day and it doesn’t take much this came along with the feeling that I’ve been messing up words more though thankfully no one else seems to notice the errors so perhaps I have just become more aware of previous mishaps that could be worsened from anxiety.
Last thing I can remember is that these past two weeks the twitching has spread to my lower jaw where if I sleep on my side I feel the kind of pulsing movement in that side of my jaw. It’ll happen in my lips too if my mouth is pressed against the pillow. I also developed a twitch under my left eye that likes to harass me very frequently now as well as losing more of my lower pitch range. The only thing else is I did forget to mention that around the blood pressure discovery in the beginning I’ve also had a persistent cough that seems to just happen whenever it pleases when I breathe in.
I guess with all that laid out and given the progression of whatever is going on from roughly the end of July 2024 to November 26th, 2024 does any of this word vomit of a post sound even remotely close to the big bad? Should I just put my stock in this being post viral/Long Covid? Oh and for the record I have been seeing my NP and we’ve done a couple work ups. The clean CT, MRI of my head, and mostly fine bloodwork as of yet (though my triglycerides are pretty high). She has me on testosterone shots for around two months now as that was low and taking fish oil for cholesterol but I’ve yet to notice any positive changes. I did bring up the idea of seeing if I have anything regarding Lyme as I used to live in an area that had a decent amount of ticks roving around but haven’t heard anything back yet. I also have a sleep study scheduled and a referral to a Neurologist though it did get pushed back as my main area had no available practitioners to my understanding.
With all that said I apologize again for the absolute mess train of thought post above but I appreciate any input even if you just want to call me silly (it actually helps) or if y’all think I’m on the right path to figuring out whatever is going on. I’ll limit my replies and just say thanks to whoever stops by and sorry again for the mess above.
I’ll preface this by saying that the rational at ease part of me would be insanely surprised if any of this lined up with the big bad simply from the wealth of symptoms I’ve seemingly developed psychosomatic or otherwise. For some background info back in the end of May I noticed a pretty decent drop off in my vision especially at night and while not being out of air by any means my best friend did note that my laugh had started sounding like a whistling of air almost like a defunct squeaky toy. I’m not sure if these two things matter at all in connection with future things but decided to include them on the off chance the info was useful.
Where the real big stuff begins is the beginning of June where I had a respiratory infection of sorts. Not sure what its exact nature was but other than a sore throat that moved into a sore chest and cough with a very light fever nothing much came from it. That being said two weeks later I was surprised when I had a spontaneous pneumothorax that partially collapsed my right lung (this one’s on me for smoking in the past but here we are 1 year smoke free). So I got the chest tube and all that good stuff and other than not using my voice very much during recovery I seemed to make a fully recovery.
The only real thing of note after this was that I couldn’t seem to reach high pitches that I could before the pneumo and even when I took full breaths they didn’t seem as full as before so this is still weird one to slot in as the start of problems. About two weeks later I got sick again with what my roommate at the time and I thought at first might be strep as it was going around in our area we later realized the symptoms were more in line with Covid. I also made the terrible mistake of taking 3x the amount of NyQuil Severe that you should take in a day in the span of about 2 and 1/2 hours with an ibuprofen. I didn’t realize at the time that there was such a small limit on how much you could take (I’m a very smart individual).
Other than the worlds worst headache, being dizzy, and a couple weird bouts of hearing things that aren’t there I recovered just fine. Business as usual until about another two weeks towards the very end of July where after some drinking with a friend I woke up to what I thought were heart palpitations. Long story short I get told I have high blood pressure and it usually sits around 152/90 though sometimes I’ve caught it as high as 168/100. Nothing much happens until August 15th where I start having trouble with mental imagery, starting to forget words that make awkward pauses in my sentences, and in general the start of a weird feeling of disassociation and an inability to really multitask that well mentally followed by pretty persistent fatigue that doesn’t really go away no matter how much I rest.
Somewhere along the line before September about a week I got a CT that was clean (
) and realized that it wasn’t palpitations but a little twitch that kind of felt like it was around my chest area or maybe my back? It was hard to tell but I realized it went away seemingly when I stood up and returned to where I could notice it when sitting or especially when laying down. In the span of time before figuring this out I had thought it was maybe a problem with my heart between that and the random burning feeling I’d get right below the base of my neck along with a sick feeling (thankfully these two things have ceased which is a good sign I believe).By the beginning of September I had definitely had some persistent noticeable twitching in my back/chest area and my abdomen that made it very difficult to sleep or relax. It was somewhat amusing to place my phone on my stomach and watch it jump a bit up and down (this one you can notice even while I’m standing it looks like my gut is vibrating). I also got some pretty bad gut issues around this time that persist to today (cramps, bloating, nausea, and diarrhea) however my mother also has IBS and I imagine it wouldn’t be a stretch that my maybe Covid sickness just let me have access to that problem early. I also forgot to mention that from August 15 onward until around the end of September I kept getting a weird tightening feeling in my throat and separate from that a very uncomfortable “fiberglass tickle” feeling over the top and front of my head that would almost make me seize up or spasm (sensory is good yeah?) as well as some on and off ear ache and tinnitus that still accosts me now (just the earache and tinnitus). The twitches also feel like migrated to the back of my neck.
About halfway through September I realized I was losing the ability to flex the top part of my forearm nearly as well and that seemed to include not being able to feel a hard contraction at my elbow or on the side of my bicep. That part of my forearm barely responds at all at my attempts flex it now though I can still fully open my hand just fine (not really sure if this counts as any weakness). I also started feeling a perceived weakness in actions raising that arm and forearm (can still do curls and lift heavyish stuff just fine). The twitches also migrated to my left arm but mostly my shoulder and a little bit bicep area.
Twitching migrated to my legs and glutes as well but outside of being a bit heavy when walking around with shoes one I haven’t noticed any failure (unfortunately I do not know the exact time they started but they are hard to feel unless something with a bit of weight is covering them). I’m starting to become very aware how long this post is while waiting out the airport so I’ll try and wrap up. Around this time I had also noticed that it sounds like I’m having to put more effort to project my voice at normal and getting noticeable twitches in the front part of my neck. You could place your finger on my Adam’s apple and feel it jump.
Fast forward to beginning of November and I have acquired a similar problem with my right arm. One thing to note is my middle finger to pinky on both hands goes numb when using them even pretty mildly (like propping myself or my phone up or using a computer as well as cramping right under the ring finger when I hold all my finger together like a stop motion though it is worse on my left hand where I have some small dents. My twitches have spread to the point where I get them in both arms and hands. I can feel them especially in the backs of my arms. I’ve also had a perceived weakened swallow on my right side of my throat as well as my throat aching (not sure if cramping or just a persistent pain) when I talk too much in a day and it doesn’t take much this came along with the feeling that I’ve been messing up words more though thankfully no one else seems to notice the errors so perhaps I have just become more aware of previous mishaps that could be worsened from anxiety.
Last thing I can remember is that these past two weeks the twitching has spread to my lower jaw where if I sleep on my side I feel the kind of pulsing movement in that side of my jaw. It’ll happen in my lips too if my mouth is pressed against the pillow. I also developed a twitch under my left eye that likes to harass me very frequently now as well as losing more of my lower pitch range. The only thing else is I did forget to mention that around the blood pressure discovery in the beginning I’ve also had a persistent cough that seems to just happen whenever it pleases when I breathe in.
I guess with all that laid out and given the progression of whatever is going on from roughly the end of July 2024 to November 26th, 2024 does any of this word vomit of a post sound even remotely close to the big bad? Should I just put my stock in this being post viral/Long Covid? Oh and for the record I have been seeing my NP and we’ve done a couple work ups. The clean CT, MRI of my head, and mostly fine bloodwork as of yet (though my triglycerides are pretty high). She has me on testosterone shots for around two months now as that was low and taking fish oil for cholesterol but I’ve yet to notice any positive changes. I did bring up the idea of seeing if I have anything regarding Lyme as I used to live in an area that had a decent amount of ticks roving around but haven’t heard anything back yet. I also have a sleep study scheduled and a referral to a Neurologist though it did get pushed back as my main area had no available practitioners to my understanding.
With all that said I apologize again for the absolute mess train of thought post above but I appreciate any input even if you just want to call me silly (it actually helps) or if y’all think I’m on the right path to figuring out whatever is going on. I’ll limit my replies and just say thanks to whoever stops by and sorry again for the mess above.
