John Doe
New member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2017
- Messages
- 3
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- US
- State
- NJ
- City
- Trenton
I apologize for the length, but would love to hear anyone with knowledge weigh in on my situation. I am a 28 year old male. About 6 weeks ago, out of the blue, I started experiencing pins and needles in my arms, hands, ankles and feet. For a few weeks that was my only symptom. It subsided for the most part since, and comes back on occasion but overall I don't have any numbness or lack of feeling in any of my extremities on a regular basis.
However, about a month ago, my fingers began twitching. First it would be my right index finger, then my left ring finger, then my right thumb, etc. The twitching in my hands has largely subsided to almost none, outside the occasional twitch that I can see under the skin for a second in the back of my hand.
At this point I told myself that it had to be due to my being overweight, so I made sure to get myself into the gym about 2 weeks ago. I wasn't short on energy or strength. I was even lifting weight close to what I had been prior to ceasing all workouts a year ago.
I think I became overconfident, and was in the gym 8 of the first 9 days. I did cardio every single day for at least 30 minutes on the stair climber and treadmill. My calves and hamstrings were so sore on day 10 I could hardly walk. 4 days later, they're still sore, but I can walk somewhat comfortably. My upper body which I exercised one muscle group each day felt no unusual soreness. Prior to working out, I had no muscle soreness or weakness in my legs.
Anyway, my twitching continues, and it's particularly noticeable in my lower extremities, but I'm having minor twitches all over my body. Everywhere from my calves, quads, forearms, and even my face. It's not present in my abdominal area or my upper chest. It's been going on for several weeks now, but it stops on occasion. When I'm laying down it's very noticeable. But it does come and go.
I'm not having weakness in my throat or slurring of speech. The grip in my hands is incredibly strong. My balance and coordination is good. I have no stiffness in my muscles, just the current soreness in my legs from likely overtraining. My feet are both functioning normally. No one limb or side of my body feels particularly weak. My mental acuity is still as sharp as ever. My erectile health is overall pretty good, despite my high stress levels.
My most recent blood tests showed a very high Creatine Kinase level of 475, but I guess I could attribute that to overtraining my leg muscles as well as working out all my other muscles after nearly a year on the couch gaining weight. The blood work was done right after my first week at the gym.
My thyroid was normal, as was my hepatitis panel, B12, blood sugar, calcium, potassium, Magnesium, Bilirubin, but mildly elevated AST Aminotransferase and Alanine Transferase (but levels down from my previous ER visit a week prior). My brother has high liver enzymes as well because we're both obese.
Also, I've become so stressed out about being terminally ill that it's difficult to sleep. I also have trouble making it through the day because I'm so freaked out. I have panic attacks daily which only exacerbate my symptoms. I have nightmares and I wake up shaking. A friend gave me Clonozepam to help me sleep through the night.
My GP and the ER explained to me that ALS almost always occurs in one limb or on one side of the body, whereas my symptoms are all over the place. Nobody in my family, that I know of, has ever had ALS. I have an appointment with a neurologist in two weeks (earliest I could get), and I guess I'll relay all this information to them, but I just wanted to see if anybody could help shed some light on my situation because I'm having trouble coping.
However, about a month ago, my fingers began twitching. First it would be my right index finger, then my left ring finger, then my right thumb, etc. The twitching in my hands has largely subsided to almost none, outside the occasional twitch that I can see under the skin for a second in the back of my hand.
At this point I told myself that it had to be due to my being overweight, so I made sure to get myself into the gym about 2 weeks ago. I wasn't short on energy or strength. I was even lifting weight close to what I had been prior to ceasing all workouts a year ago.
I think I became overconfident, and was in the gym 8 of the first 9 days. I did cardio every single day for at least 30 minutes on the stair climber and treadmill. My calves and hamstrings were so sore on day 10 I could hardly walk. 4 days later, they're still sore, but I can walk somewhat comfortably. My upper body which I exercised one muscle group each day felt no unusual soreness. Prior to working out, I had no muscle soreness or weakness in my legs.
Anyway, my twitching continues, and it's particularly noticeable in my lower extremities, but I'm having minor twitches all over my body. Everywhere from my calves, quads, forearms, and even my face. It's not present in my abdominal area or my upper chest. It's been going on for several weeks now, but it stops on occasion. When I'm laying down it's very noticeable. But it does come and go.
I'm not having weakness in my throat or slurring of speech. The grip in my hands is incredibly strong. My balance and coordination is good. I have no stiffness in my muscles, just the current soreness in my legs from likely overtraining. My feet are both functioning normally. No one limb or side of my body feels particularly weak. My mental acuity is still as sharp as ever. My erectile health is overall pretty good, despite my high stress levels.
My most recent blood tests showed a very high Creatine Kinase level of 475, but I guess I could attribute that to overtraining my leg muscles as well as working out all my other muscles after nearly a year on the couch gaining weight. The blood work was done right after my first week at the gym.
My thyroid was normal, as was my hepatitis panel, B12, blood sugar, calcium, potassium, Magnesium, Bilirubin, but mildly elevated AST Aminotransferase and Alanine Transferase (but levels down from my previous ER visit a week prior). My brother has high liver enzymes as well because we're both obese.
Also, I've become so stressed out about being terminally ill that it's difficult to sleep. I also have trouble making it through the day because I'm so freaked out. I have panic attacks daily which only exacerbate my symptoms. I have nightmares and I wake up shaking. A friend gave me Clonozepam to help me sleep through the night.
My GP and the ER explained to me that ALS almost always occurs in one limb or on one side of the body, whereas my symptoms are all over the place. Nobody in my family, that I know of, has ever had ALS. I have an appointment with a neurologist in two weeks (earliest I could get), and I guess I'll relay all this information to them, but I just wanted to see if anybody could help shed some light on my situation because I'm having trouble coping.
