Please Help - Is This Atrophy

[david3]

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

i am 22 year old female and I have really bad anxiety about ms and als - I have had wide spread twitching - calves, thighs, feet, eye, stomache - they are pretty subtle though and some tingling, vibrating sensations etc. (this is actually how this all started)
to make this brief I am really scared that I may have some atrophy in my left calf - as far as i know i have NO weakness at all...i can still stand on one foot on my toes and do exercises normally - no problem climbing stair or anything, i dont even think about that

I cannot notice it all just by looking at them normally...and when i flex them (by pointing my toes) - there is no visible difference - the left one is a little squishier i guess but its just because its not my dominant leg

what scares me is when i flex them by sitting down and instead of pointing my toes i put my feet flat (and i usually do it pretty hard - cause im freaked out) my calf muscles look like different shapes - it kind of looks like there is an indent on part of my left calf - like you can see the muscle well but then a little under it more toward the back of the calf its a bit indented and almost looks a bit flatter (only when i flex it this way) - it still feels like the actual muscle is strong but there is just a bit of an indent (ONLY when flexed that particular way) - if i look at the right one when its flexed like this it seems like there is also a very little bit of an indent to just not the same as the other one - SO i dont know if im just flexing it a weird way and maybe my muscles are just different shapes from my right one being more dominant? or maybe its always been like this and i just never even noticed

once again i have no weakness? i do cardio (elliptical - high resistance), run, can stand on my tippy toes on either foot and do those raises where you raise onto your toes and then go back to a flat foot (to exercise the calf muscle)

does this sound like atrophy from als or atrophy at all?

or could i just be flexing my muscle really hard a weird way and be way over-examining how they look?

i know that it is normal to have your dominant leg muscle to be a bit stronger - so could this just be the reason the reason they look a bit different?

and once again i have no weakness... - my doctor has tested my reflexes and they are normal - and they tested me for weakness and it was normal (i am the one that thought i found atrophy) - also had a brain mri - completely normal

if you could give me some feedback it would VERY appreciated!

 

[ptich]

If you read other posts, you will see that absolutely no conclusion, positive or negative, can be made based on tons of subtle neuro-muscular symptoms that you, and many others on this forum, have. It is not even clear whether your twitching really exist (you see them), or you just feel them.

 

[BethU]

Hi ... I'm not sure this is what you're asking, but noticing a slight difference in size or configuration between your left leg and your right does not indicate illness. The two sides of the body are not mirror images of each other.

If you have no weakness, and "subtle" twitching over your whole body (which is not how ALS presents), I would say you're WAY over-examining yourself.

Good luck,
BethU

 

[joelc]

From what you have said there is no way you have ALS or even atrophy for that matter. Before I, or my doctor, noticed any atrophy there was considerable weakness. So put your mind at ease and don't try diagnosing yourself, the internet is bad for this!

 

[david3]

thanks for the replies

to clarify the twitching and when i said that i had subtle twitching - i mean that i definitely do have twitching, its just not to bad. It is all over and not that consistant (sometimes i will have a twitch in my leg, sometimes my hand, sometimes my eye, sometimes my stomache) they never last for long. and if happened to look at an area when it twitches i can see it move. but i have no cramps or anything...and then twitching just isnt intense.

I was wondering from JoelC's post how is atrophy detected? would they just be able to tell from looking at my calf muscles not flexed?

Because when i do flex them (with my feet flat as opposed to toes pointed) like i mentioned before I notice that dent kinda to the side of the muscle and the muscle is a bit flatter? once again i dont think there is any weakness at all?

if there was atrophy, is it possible to have no weakness at all?

I also read that muscle atrophy with als - affects the whole muscle so my whole calf would appear to be getting smaller, not just some part when i flexed it a weird way? does that sound right to you?

and then it is normal for calves in my muscles to be different shapes?

sorry for the questions i am just really freaked out.

sorry for so many

 

[Zaphoon]

One of the initial hallmarks of ALS is weakness and you stated you do not have any. Twitching can be caused by a variety of things, including BFS (benign fasciculation syndrome) which is not life threatening. I think you should relax, breath deep and set an appointment with your GP.

Let the doctors figure this out for you. Odds are greatly in your favor that you do not have ALS but let them bring the confirmation you so dearly need.

Zaphoon