Hey Katrina -- see my new hot key?
#1 - Read the **** STICKIES **** all is revealed there. 99.9% of your questions will be answered in the stickies. Especially Sticky " Answer you may get"!
#2 if you think you have a motor neuron issue, see your Primary Care Provider and get a referral to a motor neuron qualified neuro, note: most are NOT ALS/MND (Motor Neuron Disease) experienced!
#3 We are not doctors or diagnosticians, but people who are dying from or caring for ALS people who often type w/ 1 finger or their eyes, etc., so replying to anxiety-ridden hypochondriacs is pita (pain in the ass).
#4 an EMG, properly done, is the gold standard test for ALS. But also, an abnormal EMG can indicate HUNDREDS of other, non-fatal, diseases. So listen to your doctor.
#5 ALS does NOT present with pain, cramps, or fatigue. In ALS, you feel perfectly normal but your muscles simply won't work. Typically, the first sign of ALS is a foot or a hand that inexplicably just won't lift up. It doesn't hurt or feel weak, it just is limp. That is paralysis.
#6 Your doctor is wise to look at other diseases. ALS is rare. In order for it to be ALS, it has to be nothing else.
#7 Anxiety is what leads many folks here and it is a self-fueling fire. Try to avoid using google and/or this forum if you can.
#8 ALS is about failing, not feeling, so forget the "feeling" symptoms
#9 Many of us cough/gag/choke and it is difficult to have anxious people constantly chasing this disease, when we can't escape it. It's downright offensive how there seems to be this cult of ALS wannabees/groupies. You don't want to fall into that bucket do you?
#10 If your main issue is twitching go to the bfs forum. If you have weird neuro symptoms try neurotalk. There are also forums for health anxiety.
FWIW & IIWII ... For What It's Worth and It Is What It Is!
Lastly, if you are still interested, search for "ALS from both sides" or "the abc's of als"