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Lavender

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Learn about ALS
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Egy
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Doki
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Cairo
A year ago I started feeling numbness and tingling in my leg and burning sensation in my head
I did a brain MRI which showed corticospinal tract hyperintensities which are biomarkers of Als. Neurologists said no Als and related my symptoms to anxiety but symptoms exacerbated a lot.later I began to feel weakness in my right leg,jerks and bodywide fasiculations .now my right arm is weak too.My jaw muscles are sore whenever I chew or yawn it pops ..I feel a strange crawling sensation and fasiculations in my tongue in addition to jaw incoordination , difficulty swallowing and breathing when lying down .I have also severe reflux and eructations ..I feel my speech is different and uttering words is getting difficult but not slurred speech yet .I saw many neurologists who said no clinical weakness and some told me there is no need to do an emg . Actually I am petrified to do the emg for fear that I get a confirmed diagnosis.. I am not brave enough to face it ..crying a lot not knowing what to do
 
You've posted nothing that indicates ALS. You've described burning, tingling, crawling and numbness sensations, all of which are sensory. ALS affects the motor nerves, not the sensory ones. If ALS was as easy to spot from an MRI, that's how everyone would get diagnosed.

ALS is a combination of inability to do something, then, that part of the body that cannot do something atrophies. Then, upon clinical examination and EMG findings, a diagnosis of ALS is made.

Nothing you've posted has anything to do with ALS. Good luck to you on your diagnostic journey.
 
Please read this if you have not already done so: https://www.alsforums.com/forum/do-...-common-concerns-about-possible-symptoms.html

ALS is a clinical diagnosis. The diagnosis is not made based on an MRI. The hallmark of ALS is clinical weakness detected on physical exam by a physician, and muscle function failure. If you don’t have clinical weakness or muscle function failure, then you don’t have ALS. A lot of neurologists won’t suggest EMG if the neuro exam is normal.

As Bestfriends says, the sensory symptoms also point away from ALS.

So keep working with your doctors, but you can take ALS off your list of things to worry about.
 
Thanks for your time I really appreciate your help ... what makes me totally convinced that I have Als is that I can't open my mouth. my jaws pop loudly ..I am not able to yawn or chew well In addition I have read about some people whose neurological exams were normal and their symptoms started with sensory issues like mine and ended up being diagnosed with Als .Do you think I should do the emg ?
 
Lavender, please...

"Actually I am petrified to do the emg for fear that I get a confirmed diagnosis..
I am not brave enough to face it ..crying a lot not knowing what to do."

If you post again think for a minute who you are posting to... people who went
through the tests... living with the results.

But as you also wrote...

"I saw many neurologists who said no clinical weakness and some told me there
is no need to do an emg."

Your health anxiety has you so confused you deny the greatest news you could
have been told...You didn't need an EMG from "many/some" neurologists.
 
A popping jaw can signify a problem with the joint that opens the jaw, that can often be helped with a nightguard appliance for sleeping, that a dentist can fit for you.

Also, I am sure getting the reflux under control would make you feel better as well.

I don't know what you've been reading, but we don't have anyone here I can think of who developed motor symptoms after a year of sensory symptoms.

If "many neurologists" found no weakness nor need for an EMG, I would tend to believe them, so if you are crying because you are scared of something that no one seems to think you have (I don't, either), I would try to figure out why you are so scared, perhaps with the help of a counselor.

Best,
Laurie
 
Lavender,

It's clear your hypochondria has you completely under control. Your next call should not be to a neurologist but to a psychiatrist who can approach this unfounded fear with medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. If this has never been suggested to you, I'd be dumbfounded. Think about it, you're the only one who thinks you have this disease. Time to work on the mind going forward.

I sincerely wish you the best.
 
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Lavender,

I'm sorry you are so anxious and scared. Anxiety can make everything so much worse.

Acid reflux can cause your speech to change and make it difficult to breathe in certain positions. Anxiety can make TMJ disorder so much worse. Unfortunately, once you get anxious, your symptoms get worse, then it triggers more intense anxiety and the cycle spins out of control.

Maybe a counselor can help you tackle the anxiety problems. I'm not dismissing any of your symptoms but nothing you posted sounds like ALS. If going to a neurologist and getting an examination and an explanation of your brain MRI helps, then do it.

You might need an ENT or Gastro to treat you for acid reflux, too.

I really don't think posting on this forum or using Google to self-diagnose will help. I think it will hurt.

I wish you the best.
 
I'm sorry for my words ;I tried to delete them but I couldn't edit the post ...Not all the doctors told me no need for EMG.. some ordered it and thus I am confused .My right knee which is fasiculating a lot seems thinner than the left one and also I have knee hyperflexia ..when walking I just feel I'm dragging my right leg .J My jaw jerks and muscle weakness are also consistent with AlS.....again sorry for my words and thanks a lot for your help .God bless you all I wish you the best ..
 
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You are becoming an insult to us that have ALS, YOU DO NOT. Your problem is not ALS please stop thinking it is.
Al
 
If you have an order for an emg will you believe the result? If so you should have one. Seeing multiple doctors asking about ALS but not having an emg if ordered is just spinning your wheels. If you choose not to, fine but it is pointless to see doctors and keep fretting. More pointless still to hang out here. Have the ordered emg or just go live your life.
 
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