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LilRunnerKid

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Apr 15, 2013
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Learn about ALS
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US
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WA
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Puyallup
I was wondering if anyone could help me figure some things out. I was in Afghanistan and over two months started noticing a lot of changes in my body. My left bicep is smaller than my right bicep (well actually my entire left side of my body is for the most part), my left arm is weak and I have atrophy of my left shoulder muscles.
ADM: 1/5
FDI: 1/5 (all my fingers except thumb are curving in towards my palm now)
I've been feeling like I have a rapid heart rate and a trembling feeling where my stomach looks like it is shivering. My left knee locks up and makes me limp and my right foot does the same. I've been a runner for 12 years now and I ran a 9:26 2 mile in December yet today I ran and at 7:30 per mile pace for only 10 minutes and my left leg was very sluggish. Afterwards both legs were really sore and that is very abnormal for me.

I also feel like using my left hand is getting more difficult and I'm performing badly on all the strength tests especially on my pinky and index finger. I was just wondering if there is any way you can give me any feedback on what is going on? My neurologist thought it may have been a spine problem so I got a spine MRI and nothing resulted then the neurologist thought it could have been a nerve injury/nerve pinched so I had MRIs on my wrist/hand/ulnar nerve area and they found no injury. One neurologist suggested to be possible PMA while I was in Germany on my way back from deployment but since then the neurologist in America doesn't like to bring up motor neuron disease and doesn't think it is likely because I'm 23 years old and in good shape other than the left side weakness/atrophy(I may appear to be in good shape for most people but for myself I am not in good shape).
The neurologist said both my EMG/EEG tests (I took them both twice) were abnormal but he wasn't able to provide me with any diagnosis or anything and now I have to do checkups every month to see if I maintain the loss of muscle and function. My left hand has significant atrophy and that is where I first noticed the problem.
Any feedback from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
CJP
 
Oh yeah, I'm currently at Walter Reed hospital in MD and I'm 23 years old.
 
Have they done any other tests? like blood or muscle bx? Or spinal tap? It sure sounds like something going on but als doesn't have such a rapid onset. Have they looked at multiple sclerosis? So many of the neuro diseases mimic each other it takes a while and lots of testing and waiting and watching to determine the problem. I hope they find out soon. My oldest son is in the air force, my dad and husband are retired army. Thank you for your sevice.
 
Unless it was occurring before I noticed it. I put it off for a little bit because others in my unit were saying it was probably because I'm right handed but when I started being unable to do a lot of things left handed and noticed all the atrophy I decided to go to sick call. I did a blood test (25 vials) and almost everything was in the right range. Ferritin was 19.2 when it says it should 23.9-336.2 and Platelets were 131 when it should be 151-356. I don't think those are bad though. I haven't had a muscle bx or spinal tap and they haven't mentioned doing either of those at all. Thanks for the response Vicki and thank your family for their service as well; just like your father and husband I'm in the Army.
 
You know there was a young wife of a soldier on here a couple months ago whose husband was diagnosed als after a deployment. I heard somewhere also (maybe news) that there was an investigation going on because there has been a rash of als diagnoses in military who had been deployed. They were trying to connect it to the immunizations you all get before going.

You might be able to g o o g l e it. good luck. HOOYAH :smile:
 
Hmm, I never even thought of that. My left arm is where I got all my immunizations too. I guess that is a possibility. I'll try and search around for her post/the investigation. Thank you!
 
Anytime for a fellow soldier. Can't do enough for you!
 
I found her 1st post her member name is sharly




Hello everyone,

My husband and I are both Senior Airmen in the United States Air Force. We have been together for a little over two years and recently celebrated our first year of marriage. We are currently stationed on the lovely island of Oahu, we have no children and own a six month old doberman pinscher named Toorc who is currently training to be a service dog. My husband Joe is 22 and was officially diagnosed with ALS a few days before our anniversary.

I remember when we first started dating in Montana, he had shown me these random muscle twitches; at the time they were only in his left arm, slight and when he had it looked at due to shoulder pain, the doctors chocked it up to tendonitis. After 7 months of dating my husband eventually recieved orders and relocated to Hawaii, we spent another 6 months in a long distance relationship until he proposed to me while on a visit to see him. We found out that same day he was deploying and said heck with it and got married At that time, I had noticed the twitches were now body-wide and he was complaining that he couldn't do very much weightlifting with his left arm because it felt strained and would grind. But again, he was simply sent to physical therapy for tendonitis.

While my husband was away in the sandbox for 6 months, I was finally relocated to set up our new home in Hawaii. All in all, our 24 months of commitment was spent over 18 months apart. Easy enough thanks to him of course When Joe returned from deployment I realized he was incredibly thin. He was always a gym addict, always fit, healthy and in incredible shape. So this new sight was very alarming to me. He still complained about his shoulder only this time, he also showed me how he couldn't extend the fingers on his left hand out all the way. I pushed for him to be seen again.

The push was enough for his PCM to send him to the Tripler Army Medical Center where they performed various tests, poking and shocking and who knows what else. During these tests, I was not aware of the fact ALS was even a consideration the neruologists had because Joe had joked about it being lyme disease. When my husband was diagnosed I didn't find out until a couple weeks later and only by accident. He didn't want to tell me until it was official because he didn't want to scare me... regardless, from that point on I went with him to every appointment thereafter.

After 2 years of the twitching and muscle loss, my husband now has lost some mobility of his left hand and arm. He has the muscle spasms everywhere which has now started spreading to his abdomen. His shoulders are very bony now and his face is even slimming. He is unable to run and sometimes even walk without stumbling or tripping on the smallest of cracks. if holding things in his left hand, he will drop it within a few seconds due to the trembling. He is going through the process of being medically retired now and can no longer arm up as a Security Forces member.

But despite this cruel twist of fate, we both remain very positive. we still live life the way we always have, happy, alive and madly in love. He is my best friend and my absolute soul mate. I am scared to lose him... but for now, he is here with me. Walking. Talking. Hoping. Alive. And I will love Love LOVE him relentlessly until the day I die.
 
Iron was 107 (supposed to be 45-182) and Iron binding capacity 297 (supposed to be 261-478). Alanine aminotransferase is 15 and should be 17-63.
 
Looks like you might be on your way to being iron deficient.

"If your body is not taking in enough iron, your body first uses the iron that is stored in tissues (i.e., ferritin) and blood levels of ferritin will begin to decrease. So, in the early stages of iron-deficiency, blood levels of iron can be normal while stored iron, and therefore ferritin levels, will begin to decrease."

"Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) - TIBC measures the amount of transferrin you have. Transferrin is a blood protein that transports iron from the gut, where the iron is absorbed from food, to the cells that use it. When iron stores are low, the body will make more transferrin so that it can collect more iron absorbed from food and make more efficient use of it."


"While most low alanine aminotransferase(ALT) level results indicate a normal healthy liver, that may not always be the case. A low-functioning or non-functioning liver, lacking normal levels of ALT activity to begin with, would not release a lot of ALT into the blood."

Is possible liver issues causing iron deficiency and is it connected to your other symptoms?
 
Didn't happen to eat locally caught fish from the Helmand river or the Zabol Chahnimeh reservoirs while in Afghanistan?
 
Would iron damage cause an abnormal EMG test and all the atrophy and nerve damage in my left arm? I definitely didn't eat any fish in Afghanistan cause I've actually never eaten any fish. Thanks for the feedback!
 
Hi, I'm sorry you're having these issues, especially at a so young age. I'm sure that lack of iron can cause a lot of symptoms like fatigue, poor stamina, shortness of breathe but it cannot cause nerve damage and abnormal emg. Anyway nerve damage can be caused by a lot of things more treatable than als so try not to think to the worst scenario. keep in touch with your neuro I'm sure time will bring you answers. Good luck
 
Iron deficiency wouldn’t, but Mercury could. Quick web search say’s there is elevated environmental levels in Afghanistanand fish from the Helmand river have very levels of Mercury. I’m not saying this is the answer, just looking for something to explain your systems.

“Depending on how the mercury entered your body, the length of exposure, and how much mercury has built up in the tissues and organs, symptoms can vary widely. Some of the most common effects of overexposure to this toxic metal are impaired peripheral vision, mood swings, skin rashes, gastrointestinal problems, memory loss, mental disturbances, muscle weakness, and a "pins and needles" feeling in the hands, feet, and around the mouth. Since it's not flushed from the body, it binds to the tissues, especially in the kidneys and liver, and builds up over time. It can compromise the immune system, lead to liver impairment, and permanent neurological damage. Mercury is the most poisonous, non-radioactive, substance on our planet that is naturally occurring. Any level of mercury in the body is unsafe.”

Unlikely it is Mercury unless you can tick off some of the symptom mentioned above but I believe Porphyrin Analysis done through a urine test can show whether or not there is a high level of mercury present in the liver and kidneys.

If not Mercury, possibly other heavy metals(?)
 
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