Hi everybody. I am having some symptoms and I would appreciate some feedback on them. I have a neuro appt. next week but I just can't get this off my mind. I hope that I will not seem foolish or silly but I feel the need to share what I am going through with SOMEBODY, and I don't want to burden my family as they are all already under so much stress...
I am a 25 year old female. About a week ago I started having flu/cold symptoms, but I thought nothing of it. I usually get sick a couple times a year.
On Monday I noticed that my left arm was quite weak. It was quite strange, I would lift it and it would want to fall down again, very numb. I made an appointment to see my GP the next day. That night, I noticed some pain/lump in my throat, which again I attributed to the flu. I also began getting a shooting pain from my left thumb down to my elbow, with accompanying numbness.
When I awoke on Tuesday I initially thought my arm was healed as the numbness was all gone. But in the shower it started to come back. I went in for my primary care appointment and was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (he did the "tap on the median nerve" trick). He also put my on an antibiotic for what we thought was the flu. I got a wrist support thing and continued on my way. The doctor did express surprise that my left arm was hurting me as opposed to my right arm, which is my dominant hand.
This is where I start to seem ridiculous... but oh well... I started to fear that my legs were becoming weak, too. My left one in particular seemed a bit "nervy." To test them, I went to the gym and worked them out on the weights, hard. I haven't done that in a couple months and I woke up the next morning VERY sore. It was hard to walk on them and they were very shaky. Worst of all, my right arm started to feel very carpal-tunnely, too. I got a second wrist support for it.
Meanwhile I suddenly noticed I was having a great deal of neck pain, a headache, sensitivity to noise and difficulty swallowing. First it was a lump in the throat, which went away. Now my food just seems to pause in my esophagus before proceeding on its way. The lower part of my mouth (the jaw) has gone numb and my tongue is pretty numb too, although my speech has not been affected at all and it's actually a bit painful on the tongue tip. I had a period where it hurt to chew but that has gotten better (or so it seems). It has been five days since my ill-advised work out and my legs are stronger but the lowest muscles still feel very sore and weak and I am getting twitches throughout. I have actually had spasms throughout my body for the last three months but I ignored them as I attributed them to the extreme stress I have been under. The soles of my feet are very... numb? Ticklish? I don't know how to describe it, the way I would say it is, it's a similar sensation to when your foot falls asleep, it wakes up and the blood rushes back into it. Not the pins-and-needles of it being asleep but the restoration of circulation. My big toe feels the same way as my thumb does - very numb/tender.
My hands have improved in the braces but they still are painful with numbness. I am most bothered by the swallowing problems. I actually wound up in the ER yesterday because I started to get very upset and felt I was going to faint. Cat scan and bloodwork was all normal... they did tell me I have Eagle Syndrome, which is where part of my neck has calcified and is no longer muscle. The ER doctor told me this could be contributing to my swallowing issues, but I don't understand how since I must have had it since birth and why would it be acting up now? I was spasming and twitching the whole time I was in the hospital.
I am so worried about this. The ER doc and my primary care (I went back today) tested my reflexes and my strength and said they are normal. Obviously those tests do not mean much. The primary care said he did not think I have ALS but he said he can not be certain as that is the nature of medicine. He is 99% sure but... I have an appointment with a neuro on Monday. I am just concerned:
A. That it is something serious like ALS, and/or
B. They can't figure out what it is and I have to live with these very uncomfortable symptoms. It seems to me that even if it is not ALS (which intellectually I know is very unlikely) it is probably a neurological issue, and I have the impression that neurological problems can be difficult to diagnose and treat.
My GP seemed to think I was still recovering from my cold or whatever I had? I am trying to believe him. In the meantime he has me on Xanax. I have been feeling very anxious lately and this has made it worse. I hope this doesn't seem like another neurotic person posting about their ridiculous unimportant symptoms in disregard of the real struggles of PALS. Intellectually I know that statistically this is unlikely to be bulbar ALS or any other kind, but I needed to talk to someone.
What do you think? Does it sound like ALS? Neurological? Does the sudden onset of all these symptoms in the course of one weak mean anything? Although maybe I have been developing difficulty in swallowing and I just never noticed it.
I am a 25 year old female. About a week ago I started having flu/cold symptoms, but I thought nothing of it. I usually get sick a couple times a year.
On Monday I noticed that my left arm was quite weak. It was quite strange, I would lift it and it would want to fall down again, very numb. I made an appointment to see my GP the next day. That night, I noticed some pain/lump in my throat, which again I attributed to the flu. I also began getting a shooting pain from my left thumb down to my elbow, with accompanying numbness.
When I awoke on Tuesday I initially thought my arm was healed as the numbness was all gone. But in the shower it started to come back. I went in for my primary care appointment and was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (he did the "tap on the median nerve" trick). He also put my on an antibiotic for what we thought was the flu. I got a wrist support thing and continued on my way. The doctor did express surprise that my left arm was hurting me as opposed to my right arm, which is my dominant hand.
This is where I start to seem ridiculous... but oh well... I started to fear that my legs were becoming weak, too. My left one in particular seemed a bit "nervy." To test them, I went to the gym and worked them out on the weights, hard. I haven't done that in a couple months and I woke up the next morning VERY sore. It was hard to walk on them and they were very shaky. Worst of all, my right arm started to feel very carpal-tunnely, too. I got a second wrist support for it.
Meanwhile I suddenly noticed I was having a great deal of neck pain, a headache, sensitivity to noise and difficulty swallowing. First it was a lump in the throat, which went away. Now my food just seems to pause in my esophagus before proceeding on its way. The lower part of my mouth (the jaw) has gone numb and my tongue is pretty numb too, although my speech has not been affected at all and it's actually a bit painful on the tongue tip. I had a period where it hurt to chew but that has gotten better (or so it seems). It has been five days since my ill-advised work out and my legs are stronger but the lowest muscles still feel very sore and weak and I am getting twitches throughout. I have actually had spasms throughout my body for the last three months but I ignored them as I attributed them to the extreme stress I have been under. The soles of my feet are very... numb? Ticklish? I don't know how to describe it, the way I would say it is, it's a similar sensation to when your foot falls asleep, it wakes up and the blood rushes back into it. Not the pins-and-needles of it being asleep but the restoration of circulation. My big toe feels the same way as my thumb does - very numb/tender.
My hands have improved in the braces but they still are painful with numbness. I am most bothered by the swallowing problems. I actually wound up in the ER yesterday because I started to get very upset and felt I was going to faint. Cat scan and bloodwork was all normal... they did tell me I have Eagle Syndrome, which is where part of my neck has calcified and is no longer muscle. The ER doctor told me this could be contributing to my swallowing issues, but I don't understand how since I must have had it since birth and why would it be acting up now? I was spasming and twitching the whole time I was in the hospital.
I am so worried about this. The ER doc and my primary care (I went back today) tested my reflexes and my strength and said they are normal. Obviously those tests do not mean much. The primary care said he did not think I have ALS but he said he can not be certain as that is the nature of medicine. He is 99% sure but... I have an appointment with a neuro on Monday. I am just concerned:
A. That it is something serious like ALS, and/or
B. They can't figure out what it is and I have to live with these very uncomfortable symptoms. It seems to me that even if it is not ALS (which intellectually I know is very unlikely) it is probably a neurological issue, and I have the impression that neurological problems can be difficult to diagnose and treat.
My GP seemed to think I was still recovering from my cold or whatever I had? I am trying to believe him. In the meantime he has me on Xanax. I have been feeling very anxious lately and this has made it worse. I hope this doesn't seem like another neurotic person posting about their ridiculous unimportant symptoms in disregard of the real struggles of PALS. Intellectually I know that statistically this is unlikely to be bulbar ALS or any other kind, but I needed to talk to someone.
What do you think? Does it sound like ALS? Neurological? Does the sudden onset of all these symptoms in the course of one weak mean anything? Although maybe I have been developing difficulty in swallowing and I just never noticed it.
