Some questions

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Aderkal

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Hello, I am a 39 year old male with three kids and I am very anxious about ALS.

Here is my history:
March 11-12th, 2019, I started feeling very dizzy and vertigo...almost like I have a loss of balance.

I then started having having fluttering/twitches in my ear for a few weeks.

Went to PCP and ENT. Also had my eyes checked out. Blood tests done were all normal. ENT said all was normal. Eyes were normal.

Got an MRI W and W/O contrast...normal.

Couple days later, started twitching UNDER my left eye. That went on for about 6-7 days and went away. A few days later, I started getting 24/7 twitches in my left shoulder blade. That also lasted about 6-7 days and went away.

I then did the unthinkable and googled Twitching, mostly out of curiosity. I saw the word fasciculations, and googled that, and followed it down the rabbit hole to ALS. This led me to be hypersensitive to every twitch in my body.

Went back to PCP, who did some minor strength tests (pull this, push that) in legs and arms and said no ALS.

Fast forward to today:
Having 24/7 twitching in left calf and to a lesser degree in the right calf. I also have sporadic twitching everywhere else in my body...thighs, lips, forearms, biceps, triceps, several times a day. This has been going on since May 20th, 2019

Probably perceived slurring speech (nobody has told me anything).

Probably perceived weakness in legs, thighs, and arms.

No noticeable atrophy (after taking millions of selfies of my calves, legs, thighs, arms, etc.)

I have a Nero appt. on Monday and I am freaking out.

I need some reassurance, and I also have some questions:

1. Does this sound like ALS symptoms?

2. With the slurred speech and the leg twitching, it got me thinking if it’s possible to have bulbar AND limb onset at the SAME TIME. Is this possible?

3. What is a “dirty” EMG? I obviously know I have fascics, but is that what the EMG looks for? In other words, if the EMG picks up fascics, is that considered a “dirty” EMG?

4. I can get my twitches going crazy depending on my posture. If I set my foot on the floor there an little to no twitches. If I sit back in my recliner and cross my leg I get twitching like crazy...any ideas what this could mean?

Thanks in advance, and I probably have a million questions that I can’t think of right now. Glad I found this forum.

Thanks.
 
Hi there- it's not clear if you've read here: Important - READ BEFORE POSTING! Answers to common concerns about possible symptoms! as it covers much of what you have posted about and provides information and answers about the questions you are asking.

Dizziness and vertigo are not part of the constellation of symptoms that indicate ALS. Obsessively trying to elicit twitches and focusing on a rare neurological disease before even seeing a neurologist indicates a pretty heavy health anxiety that you may need to address as well- that anxiety has led you to a forum that exists to serve those diagnosed with ALS and their caregivers even though what you report (per the linked post) sounds nothing like ALS.

Best to wait til your neurology appointment as ask your questions in person while your neuro is examining you- they can answer anything as it relates to their observations and can provide information about what they think might be the issue.
 
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