Scared I might have ALS at 20 year old male

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Kornhauser123

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Hi! I hope all of you don’t take any of my questions the wrong way, any answers would be more than appreciated. I am 20 year old healthy male, about 2 years ago I had a very big concern and hypochondriac episode thinking I had ALS (it was all stupid and me being a hypochondriac) well now I have a feeling karma may have caught up with me.

About 14 days ago I was lifting a couch and my left hand cramped up, I couldn’t use it AT ALL. I was scared of a stroke so I went to the hospital. Nothing. My left arm weakness went away slightly (still tired but I was very able to use it, the worst was my grip) then fast forward 8 days ago, I went bowling . I played 5 full games so that’s a lot I know, but same thing happened now with my right arm, had no grip strength and it cramped up severely.

Fast forward like 6 days (2 days ago) it hadn’t gone away at all and my grip strength was bad again on the right hand, and slightly weak on the left hand still but much better. I’ve also started noticing twitches all over 24/7, and I’ve noticed some tongue weakness but no tongue twitching. I got an EMG and he said all was good everywhere, other than my ulnar nerve on my right arm was responding slow to the shocks, indicating some sort of damage. That combined with the recent tongue weakness I’m feeling and the still minimal grip strength on my right hand has me SO SCARED.

Can anyone please help me as to wether this is just me being a hypochondriac? Or does this sound like the beginning of ALS, the one thing making me feel a little better is I know als usually starts in 1 hand and transfers to the other (or leg) in several weeks or so, while my weakness started about 3 days after the original couch incident in the other arm, so is all of this moving too fast and I’m being way too scared about it because ALS wouldn’t progress from hand to other hand and then tongue all in a 14 day span? So sorry for the long message but I have not been sleeping at all and have been finding it hard to get into a neurologist, just had the EMG done at a neuro testing site. Thanks so much in advance for any help u may be able to give.
 
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No, no way, not at all.
Your doctor will give your EMG results and help you through your anxiety.
Please take my reply as enough, it is not appropriate to continue this with terminally ill folk. All the very best.
 
Once a hypochondriac, often these episodes repeat unless you deal with them through counseling.

Biologically, you have your answer -- you have a common nerve problem in your arm, that millions have. Cramps often follow dietary imbalances and not getting the right balance of nutrients. An honest record of what you eat/drink can be helpful in getting yourself back on track.

In your mind, though, you are still scared, but you don't have ALS. There is no karma at work here, just an overactive mind. Do get some help and you will be stronger for the healthy life you deserve.

Best,
Laurie
 
Laurie I appreciate your response so very much. The slight slowness on the EMG made it very tough on my hypochondriac mind, and it leads me to hours and hours of google research which leads me to more weakness. I also didn’t experience any of my swallowing/tongue symptoms till I started getting scared of ALS. I have an appointment with my neurologist coming up this next week.
Thanks x1,000,000 again for the response,and I wish u nothing but the best❤️
 
Slowness responding to shocks is actually not an emg issue. It would be a problem on the nerve conduction portion of the test and abnormalities there point away from ALS
 
Hi everyone! My doctor thinks there’s a good chance I have myasthenia gravis, due to my horrible worsening of symptoms with activity, but slightly better with rest. I’m going to a muscle pathologist next week and will update u all of u care for me to. Thank u everyone for all the help❤️
 
Hi guys so the myasthenia came back negative. MRI soon to rule out MS. My question is can an EMG be too soon to detect ALS if the symptoms have only been going on for a week prior to that test? My symptoms keep progressing worse over the last 3 weeks (when it started) Sorry for the question my neuro never has phone availability and I don’t have another appointment for 2 weeks so I wanted to ask reliable people.thank you so much if anyone has the time to answer this❤️
 
Please read this, it answers all your questions. You have an appointment very soon.

Let us know how things go after the appointment.
 
Hey guys. Very confused by what my nurse practitioner neurologist just told me. She assures me my weakness isn’t getting worse so my symptoms aren’t aligned with ALS yet, but she said “a clean EMG doesn’t mean anything in early onset als cuz it might not even pick it up or anything” and that’s the opposite of what I’ve read on here and the opposite of what I’ve read on Mayo Clinic, is she incorrect?
 
For lower motor neuron disease this is incorrect. If someone has upper motor neuron disease ( abnormal reflexes, spasticity which are clearly evident when a doctor examines you) the emg may not show at first. Weakness is a lower motor neuron sign though so if it was due to ALS the emg should have showed.
 
Thanks a lot Nikki that’s what I thought, she’s very young and not a full doc yet. She said my reflexes are normal, the weakness is the worst part and that came up clean on the EMG. Thanks for the reassurance, your knowledge and understanding have rly helped me through this time, because a lot of the doctors don’t seem to really be educated on MND.
 
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