Please, help. Really worried.

[Olijo]

Hi everyone, I am a woman, 27 years old. It pains me to have to write here, but I hope someone can help me. I have an appointment with a neurologist on Thursday, but still want to hear what you think. Warning for long post!

This summer my thumb twitched a few times a week. It disappeared and then came back in November. When I reacted to it more, my whole body started to have muscle twitches. By the whole body, I really mean the whole! The face, neck, torso, arms, legs, butt, feet - tongue! It's still there and hasn't gotten any better. The longest twitch has been sitting for 3 weeks constantly now, under the foot.

Every time I stick my tongue out I see little twitches in it. Every time I "angle" my calf inward (like putting one leg over the other), the left calf always jerks. If I lift my right bicep at head height, it starts to twitch. By twitch I don't mean the whole muscle, but smaller twitches in the muscle.

Since last fall (before I started noticing that my thumb was twitching) I've had a strange feeling in my left forearm. When I use it, it has felt like something is "tight" around it, like a watch or something. It has felt like that whole muscle is weird and "tired".

When I scrubbed the shower floor 2 weeks ago, I noticed afterwards when washing my hair that my entire left forearm and hand were shaking. It felt extremely stiff and the hand did not want to follow my movements during the hair wash, so I had to "lead" the hand. It shook for a while afterwards for an hour or so. Left arm and hand have had a strange weak/stiff feeling. Cramping. Has slightly tougher movements in it too. I think I get extremely muscle fatigue from putting on make-up, sometimes have to hold my right hand under my left for support.

I have difficulty swallowing which I think is getting worse. If I eat food, I ALWAYS have to swallow two or three times to get the food down. If I swallow once, the food gets stuck in the throat and I feel that it remains there. Sometimes has a weaker voice, like you've been sick but haven't been. (+ muscle twitches in the tongue as I typed).

Yesterday I lay on my side on the sofa and put a bit of my weight on both sides for a while to see if I could handle it (maybe 30 seconds each). After this I had tremors in my arms for the rest of the day and evening. When I was shopping and about to post items, I really noticed how I was shaking.

Gets very easily tired in the muscles, has spasms in the neck muscles and feels that there is something wrong in the body... has no tingling or numbness.

 

[lgelb]

This doesn't sound like ALS to me. If the neuro doesn't have concerns, I'd return to your PCP to explore possible systemic conditions.

 

[Olijo]

Thank you for your answer.
Mat I respectfully ask why you don’t think it sounds like ALS?

 

[ShiftKicker]

This post outlines why it doesn't sound like ALS; Read Before Posting. Twitching absent clinical weakness points elsewhere. Feeling tired is not the same as clinical weakness.

 

[Olijo]

Hi again. Went to the neuro yesterday, He examined me and didn’t see something that ”points strongly to a motorneuron disease”, but I still want me to do a EMG and a MRI of my spine. He said that he has a low suspicous to ALS, but my symptoms are a bit concerning.

I do have one more question if someone maybe have heard of it.
Since end of october, I’ve had a strange and constant feeling in my left shoulder (most of my symptoms are on the left side). I know that a ”strange feeling” doesn’t points to ALS but this is a feeling of that my shoulder is hanging/droopy. It’s feeling like ”subluxated” but isnt. I can use my arm/shoulder, but this feeling is so strange. Can this be a sign of muscle loss around the bones in my shoulder? And maybe that weakness Will proceed soon.
Sorry for my english, I’m writing on a swedish phone.