Hello, first of all I want to thank everyone for this subforum. Just reading the sticky and some of the threads has calmed some anxiety, especially today when I thought I had foot drop which somehow confirmed I may have ALS.
I have a neurologist appointment on the 18th and will ask for an EMG, but until then, I need some extra reassurance I don't have ALS. I know it's irrational and I have anxiety symptoms, but I also have health anxiety and rationality doesn't work here. I'm a 33 year old female, I spend a lot of time sitting and I don't have a good posture on the computer. Sometimes I lean on my left side and extend my right arm to use the mouse. I also have issues with my cervicals.
Two weeks ago (the week of the 22th of May) I woke up in the middle of the night to pee and I felt a strange sensation on my right calf. Not quite tingling, not quite numbness, not like something had been pulled. I know now that ALS doesn't start with sensory symptoms but back then, for some reason, my mind went "what if I have ALS", and when the next morning I woke up with my arm numb (which happens a lot, as I sleep on my stomach with my arm under the pillow), I started spiraling down. Those two weeks I was sleeping very little as I had a night shift and a course in the morning.
As I got scared, I started developing tingling in random parts of my body, including my face. This only scared me further and I know it was anxiety as they started fading the next weeks when I took benzos to calm down. But the odd sensation on my right calf remained, and on the night of the 30th I was woken in the middle of the night with whole body shakes. It was probably an anxiety attack and reading a blog on ELA that confirmed that sensory symptoms like tingling aren't compatible with ELA calmed the shakes. For a couple nights after that, I would wake up with night sweats, again this ended when I started calming down and taking my dosage of benzodiazepines. I also had fasciculations.
Now, why am I posting? Even if the tingling around the body is gone, for the last few days I developed an ache on my right arm. It starts on my forearm, an ache that reaches my wrist and fingers. There was one day when I woke up and my hand would tingle all over if I stretched my arm.
The weird sensation in my right calf comes and goes, sometimes it feels as if it's a cold patch, and there have been times when it hurts above my knee if I bend it for too long. This is spreading to my left leg now, with the occasional ache over my left knee if it's bent for too long. But what has been worrying me is three things:
- The muscles in my calves ache often. This goes away if I walk for a while, but if I stand up for long, they will start feeling achey. I can touch the tips of my feet with my hands but it hurts behind my knees if my legs are upright.
- I sometimes feel like a jolt on my leg, like suddenly my lower leg or foot has a single spasmic movement
- I think I drag my left foot, and I'm not sure if its something new, or that I'm watching it. I can walk on the balls and the tips of my feet, and have full range of motion. But I do feel I drag it, especially when I wear sandals or house slippers, when I wear the latter it's like the sole of the shoe slaps on the ground. This is something that I remember my father complaining about years ago, though, that my shoes slapped the ground when I walked. However now I'm walking with fear that I will trip.
I am really sorry for the long post. I can't stop my mind from spiraling, and I just want some comfort that these weird things I'm feeling can be caused by something else, or that it's just my anxiety playing a dirty trick on my body. I'll take anything to calm me down until my neurologist appointment.
Thank you for your kindness, and I will update this post after said appointment.
Apologies, I just realized I typed "ELA" instead of "ALS" a couple times. ELA is the name for ALS in my language, as I'm not a native English speaker. I can't see the edit button on the original post.
I have a neurologist appointment on the 18th and will ask for an EMG, but until then, I need some extra reassurance I don't have ALS. I know it's irrational and I have anxiety symptoms, but I also have health anxiety and rationality doesn't work here. I'm a 33 year old female, I spend a lot of time sitting and I don't have a good posture on the computer. Sometimes I lean on my left side and extend my right arm to use the mouse. I also have issues with my cervicals.
Two weeks ago (the week of the 22th of May) I woke up in the middle of the night to pee and I felt a strange sensation on my right calf. Not quite tingling, not quite numbness, not like something had been pulled. I know now that ALS doesn't start with sensory symptoms but back then, for some reason, my mind went "what if I have ALS", and when the next morning I woke up with my arm numb (which happens a lot, as I sleep on my stomach with my arm under the pillow), I started spiraling down. Those two weeks I was sleeping very little as I had a night shift and a course in the morning.
As I got scared, I started developing tingling in random parts of my body, including my face. This only scared me further and I know it was anxiety as they started fading the next weeks when I took benzos to calm down. But the odd sensation on my right calf remained, and on the night of the 30th I was woken in the middle of the night with whole body shakes. It was probably an anxiety attack and reading a blog on ELA that confirmed that sensory symptoms like tingling aren't compatible with ELA calmed the shakes. For a couple nights after that, I would wake up with night sweats, again this ended when I started calming down and taking my dosage of benzodiazepines. I also had fasciculations.
Now, why am I posting? Even if the tingling around the body is gone, for the last few days I developed an ache on my right arm. It starts on my forearm, an ache that reaches my wrist and fingers. There was one day when I woke up and my hand would tingle all over if I stretched my arm.
The weird sensation in my right calf comes and goes, sometimes it feels as if it's a cold patch, and there have been times when it hurts above my knee if I bend it for too long. This is spreading to my left leg now, with the occasional ache over my left knee if it's bent for too long. But what has been worrying me is three things:
- The muscles in my calves ache often. This goes away if I walk for a while, but if I stand up for long, they will start feeling achey. I can touch the tips of my feet with my hands but it hurts behind my knees if my legs are upright.
- I sometimes feel like a jolt on my leg, like suddenly my lower leg or foot has a single spasmic movement
- I think I drag my left foot, and I'm not sure if its something new, or that I'm watching it. I can walk on the balls and the tips of my feet, and have full range of motion. But I do feel I drag it, especially when I wear sandals or house slippers, when I wear the latter it's like the sole of the shoe slaps on the ground. This is something that I remember my father complaining about years ago, though, that my shoes slapped the ground when I walked. However now I'm walking with fear that I will trip.
I am really sorry for the long post. I can't stop my mind from spiraling, and I just want some comfort that these weird things I'm feeling can be caused by something else, or that it's just my anxiety playing a dirty trick on my body. I'll take anything to calm me down until my neurologist appointment.
Thank you for your kindness, and I will update this post after said appointment.
Apologies, I just realized I typed "ELA" instead of "ALS" a couple times. ELA is the name for ALS in my language, as I'm not a native English speaker. I can't see the edit button on the original post.
