Bluestar
New member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2014
- Messages
- 2
- Reason
- Other
- Country
- US
- State
- Missouri
- City
- Memphis
My husband is 46 years old and an Army Veteran. He has been having multiple problems for several years such as falling over when standing still, sensitivity to bright and flashing lights, panic attacks, always forgetful, trouble swallowing, hand and arm tremors, and
random body jolts. After running tests for heavy metals, toxins, parasites, MS, fibromyalgia, tumors, pinched nerves, etc. and everything coming back clear, they basically said it was all in his head and being caused by PTSD from his time in the Army. They put him on Adderall to "stimulate his nervous system" and Xanax for panic attacks. He was taking the Adderall daily and the Xanax 2 to 3 times a month.
Over the last year and a half or so he started he started stumbling. Very seldom at first, then more frequently. He would say "If I would just pick up my d@mn foot, this wouldn't happen." He started choking when swallowing more frequently, dropping glasses, feeling completely exhausted very easily and needing to nap more frequently, and becoming agitated because he is not as strong as he used to be. He was/is having twitches in his calf, upper arm, and eye. The one in his eye bothers him, but he hardly notices the one in his leg or arm. He usually sees it more than feels it if that makes sense. Over the last 6 to 8 months he has also started having problems biting his tongue and inside of his mouth pretty frequently. He has always had a bit of post-nasal drip due to allergies, but now it gags him often until he vomits. He has problems raising his arm. He feels the problem is in his shoulder because it gets sore when he has used his arm multiple times. He is unable to grasp and pull chip bags open so cuts them open and has problems opening bottles.
He often feels stiff and has a hard time trying to "wake his muscles up". He says basically it's hard to get them moving when he first wakes up. If he just gives in and lays in bed he becomes more stiff, but once he gets up and starts moving he feels better once he can get everything moving. He has always been thin with well defined muscles. Recently we've noticed he is starting to have less definition in certain areas.
About 6 months ago his regular doctor moved and we started seeing a different doctor. The new doctor reviewed his tests and asked quite a few questions about family history. There is no history that would cause any of this. The doctor then asked about his military service and found out that he had been put on Mefloquine as an anti-malarial and it was soon after that he started having problems.
After some research and a few more tests he said he has Mefloquine toxicity which is causing some of his problems but not all of them. He is scheduling him with a neurologist for testing. Since most other things have been ruled out, he needs to have an EMG and another nerve test done because it is pointing to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. (The doctor put it more eloquently than that.) This was a couple weeks ago and I have been reading ever since. It seems the more I read, the more confused I get. I had never heard of ALS except the ice bucket challenge and feel horribly guilty that I did not know much of anything about it. I didn't even put 2 and 2 together until I typed in "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" and ALS showed in the results.
I have read and searched in the forums here and elsewhere to see if anyone else has experience with Mefloquine because I am hoping beyond all hope that this is not ALS and it is something else. I also may not have been looking in the right spot, but have not seen anything where having another problem of the neurological system along with ALS is common.
The other signs that make me hopeful are looking back on the doctor testing his reflexes and such. When he did the foot test (Babinski I think it is) although his 2nd toe jerked up ever so slightly, the big toe did not. When they ran the depressor over his stomach, he had a muscle twitch near his ribs, and I remember them tapping on his hands, but don't recall seeing what happened after they did. His other reflexes seemed good (I'm no expert, but he had quick responses after they would tap. I wish I would have paid more attention.)
I know you all are not here to diagnose, but I have seen so many times where people list their symptoms and you all quickly weed through and point out why it is not ALS. I would rather be told the truth of course, but right now I am hoping there is a more simple answer that is being overlooked.
I know this is long, but I did try to keep it short so I know I left out details. If anyone needs more information, please let me know. Thank you so very much.
random body jolts. After running tests for heavy metals, toxins, parasites, MS, fibromyalgia, tumors, pinched nerves, etc. and everything coming back clear, they basically said it was all in his head and being caused by PTSD from his time in the Army. They put him on Adderall to "stimulate his nervous system" and Xanax for panic attacks. He was taking the Adderall daily and the Xanax 2 to 3 times a month.
Over the last year and a half or so he started he started stumbling. Very seldom at first, then more frequently. He would say "If I would just pick up my d@mn foot, this wouldn't happen." He started choking when swallowing more frequently, dropping glasses, feeling completely exhausted very easily and needing to nap more frequently, and becoming agitated because he is not as strong as he used to be. He was/is having twitches in his calf, upper arm, and eye. The one in his eye bothers him, but he hardly notices the one in his leg or arm. He usually sees it more than feels it if that makes sense. Over the last 6 to 8 months he has also started having problems biting his tongue and inside of his mouth pretty frequently. He has always had a bit of post-nasal drip due to allergies, but now it gags him often until he vomits. He has problems raising his arm. He feels the problem is in his shoulder because it gets sore when he has used his arm multiple times. He is unable to grasp and pull chip bags open so cuts them open and has problems opening bottles.
He often feels stiff and has a hard time trying to "wake his muscles up". He says basically it's hard to get them moving when he first wakes up. If he just gives in and lays in bed he becomes more stiff, but once he gets up and starts moving he feels better once he can get everything moving. He has always been thin with well defined muscles. Recently we've noticed he is starting to have less definition in certain areas.
About 6 months ago his regular doctor moved and we started seeing a different doctor. The new doctor reviewed his tests and asked quite a few questions about family history. There is no history that would cause any of this. The doctor then asked about his military service and found out that he had been put on Mefloquine as an anti-malarial and it was soon after that he started having problems.
After some research and a few more tests he said he has Mefloquine toxicity which is causing some of his problems but not all of them. He is scheduling him with a neurologist for testing. Since most other things have been ruled out, he needs to have an EMG and another nerve test done because it is pointing to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. (The doctor put it more eloquently than that.) This was a couple weeks ago and I have been reading ever since. It seems the more I read, the more confused I get. I had never heard of ALS except the ice bucket challenge and feel horribly guilty that I did not know much of anything about it. I didn't even put 2 and 2 together until I typed in "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" and ALS showed in the results.
I have read and searched in the forums here and elsewhere to see if anyone else has experience with Mefloquine because I am hoping beyond all hope that this is not ALS and it is something else. I also may not have been looking in the right spot, but have not seen anything where having another problem of the neurological system along with ALS is common.
The other signs that make me hopeful are looking back on the doctor testing his reflexes and such. When he did the foot test (Babinski I think it is) although his 2nd toe jerked up ever so slightly, the big toe did not. When they ran the depressor over his stomach, he had a muscle twitch near his ribs, and I remember them tapping on his hands, but don't recall seeing what happened after they did. His other reflexes seemed good (I'm no expert, but he had quick responses after they would tap. I wish I would have paid more attention.)
I know you all are not here to diagnose, but I have seen so many times where people list their symptoms and you all quickly weed through and point out why it is not ALS. I would rather be told the truth of course, but right now I am hoping there is a more simple answer that is being overlooked.
I know this is long, but I did try to keep it short so I know I left out details. If anyone needs more information, please let me know. Thank you so very much.