I had been feeling general fatigue and some muscle weakness since August 2022 but thought nothing of it. I have alopecia and was loosing lots of hair at the time so I just thought I needed more rest and have been under a lot of stress. By October I started feeling like my walk was unbalanced and my right foot kind of hurt to walk on. I noticed it seemed smaller than my left foot, like the padding was gone.
I really didn't think much of that either until it happened to my other foot as well. I made an appointment with my primary care doctor in December as I was having difficulty walking at this point and my ankles felt weak. She noted that it appeared my feet had atrophy and decided to do some blood work.
When I went back to her two weeks later to get blood test results I was having some difficulty with swallowing and my blood work was clear. Got sent to podiatrist and for barium swallow and jaw x-ray. My jaw x ray was clear at my last appointment but I am now having atrophy in my hands and weakness in both arms.
My primary care doctor tested my reflexes and strength in arms and legs. She looked at my hands and said muscle looked to be wasting? My veins are super prominent in my hands and wrists and the muscle between my thumb and forefinger seems gone, my grip and looks and feels different.
I know it's about failure and still being able to do things with difficulty isn't ALS. But I'm not sure what else causes visible atrophy in your hands and feet along with muscle weakness. I can still use my hands and feet, but they are very weak. I haven't been eating as much due to the difficulty when swallowing.
This past month I started dropping things with my hands and having a hard time writing. Walking, my ankles are shaky and sometimes feels like my feet could fall out from under me. Can this happen this fast? Would both hands and feet be affected by atrophy this quick? I felt the weakness in my right foot before noticing the atrophy but in my hands it feels like the atrophy came first and that's when I started to not be able to grip things very well.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.. I'm just really nervous leading up to this appointment. I am amazed by all of you on this forum and the strength you all have.
I really didn't think much of that either until it happened to my other foot as well. I made an appointment with my primary care doctor in December as I was having difficulty walking at this point and my ankles felt weak. She noted that it appeared my feet had atrophy and decided to do some blood work.
When I went back to her two weeks later to get blood test results I was having some difficulty with swallowing and my blood work was clear. Got sent to podiatrist and for barium swallow and jaw x-ray. My jaw x ray was clear at my last appointment but I am now having atrophy in my hands and weakness in both arms.
My primary care doctor tested my reflexes and strength in arms and legs. She looked at my hands and said muscle looked to be wasting? My veins are super prominent in my hands and wrists and the muscle between my thumb and forefinger seems gone, my grip and looks and feels different.
I know it's about failure and still being able to do things with difficulty isn't ALS. But I'm not sure what else causes visible atrophy in your hands and feet along with muscle weakness. I can still use my hands and feet, but they are very weak. I haven't been eating as much due to the difficulty when swallowing.
This past month I started dropping things with my hands and having a hard time writing. Walking, my ankles are shaky and sometimes feels like my feet could fall out from under me. Can this happen this fast? Would both hands and feet be affected by atrophy this quick? I felt the weakness in my right foot before noticing the atrophy but in my hands it feels like the atrophy came first and that's when I started to not be able to grip things very well.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.. I'm just really nervous leading up to this appointment. I am amazed by all of you on this forum and the strength you all have.
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