anxiousidealist
New member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2023
- Messages
- 2
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
Hi everyone,
This is going to be quite the post.
So I'm incredibly scared of the possibility of ALS right now. Here's a brief history/timeline of my symptoms.
17 - Had a major panic attack at school, went home and went to bed, woke up the next day with weakness in my arm, not generalized, literally some of the muscles weren't moving right or moving as much. This caused my arm to feel heavy as well.
One week later it spread to another arm.
A week later it spread to my leg.
A week later it spread to my other leg.
A week after that I started experiencing voice changes that progressed over the year. I still cannot use my voice correctly to this day.
I was told by my GP that it could be psychosomatic, but I never got any other examinations done.
Fast forward a couple years.
I start having muscle dysfunction in both my hands, as in, the muscles will not contract correctly, I brush it off and keep living.
Fast forward a couple more years.
I develop an intense shakiness in my right arm every time I pick up an object. This lasted for close to a year, has since subsided, but the weakness described earlier that onset at 17 has never gone away.
Fast forward to last year.
I get COVID, and shortly after I notice that when my left arm is in certain positions it shakes, almost like a tremor, but it sometimes stops at rest and only happens in certain positions. It never really goes away though. It's accompanied by stiffness and there is widespread twitching throughout my body.
Fast forward a year.
I move across the country and start thinking of seeing a neurologist, when weakness progresses in my left arm. I can still use it, and I can still type this, but there's weakness, stiffness, etc, in both my arms. I have a loss of dexterity in my left hand and it's harder to move my fingers certain ways.
A couple weeks later I develop more stiffness in my right arm. I am also having slight problems swallowing (feels like snot is always caught in my throat) and a light cough. I was sick two months ago, but otherwise have been healthy. Occasionally my diaphragm feels tight and it's hard to breathe when I lay down. There also is significant stiffness and fatigue in my legs and lower back.
Long story short, I'm not fully convinced this is ALS, but I'm absolutely freaked out. It's been twelve years and logically, I would expect to be much more disabled by now if it were ALS, but I've heard of a significant handful of slow progressing Juvenile ALS cases.
I plan to move home very soon to see a neurologist to get to the bottom of this, but it's going to take me two months. Does anyone have any input as to what could be going on? Thank you.
Edit: Symptoms first started when I was 17. I'm 29 now.
Edit: I should also mention that the stiffness and slight weakness also exists in my face. More so on the left side than the right.
This is going to be quite the post.
So I'm incredibly scared of the possibility of ALS right now. Here's a brief history/timeline of my symptoms.
17 - Had a major panic attack at school, went home and went to bed, woke up the next day with weakness in my arm, not generalized, literally some of the muscles weren't moving right or moving as much. This caused my arm to feel heavy as well.
One week later it spread to another arm.
A week later it spread to my leg.
A week later it spread to my other leg.
A week after that I started experiencing voice changes that progressed over the year. I still cannot use my voice correctly to this day.
I was told by my GP that it could be psychosomatic, but I never got any other examinations done.
Fast forward a couple years.
I start having muscle dysfunction in both my hands, as in, the muscles will not contract correctly, I brush it off and keep living.
Fast forward a couple more years.
I develop an intense shakiness in my right arm every time I pick up an object. This lasted for close to a year, has since subsided, but the weakness described earlier that onset at 17 has never gone away.
Fast forward to last year.
I get COVID, and shortly after I notice that when my left arm is in certain positions it shakes, almost like a tremor, but it sometimes stops at rest and only happens in certain positions. It never really goes away though. It's accompanied by stiffness and there is widespread twitching throughout my body.
Fast forward a year.
I move across the country and start thinking of seeing a neurologist, when weakness progresses in my left arm. I can still use it, and I can still type this, but there's weakness, stiffness, etc, in both my arms. I have a loss of dexterity in my left hand and it's harder to move my fingers certain ways.
A couple weeks later I develop more stiffness in my right arm. I am also having slight problems swallowing (feels like snot is always caught in my throat) and a light cough. I was sick two months ago, but otherwise have been healthy. Occasionally my diaphragm feels tight and it's hard to breathe when I lay down. There also is significant stiffness and fatigue in my legs and lower back.
Long story short, I'm not fully convinced this is ALS, but I'm absolutely freaked out. It's been twelve years and logically, I would expect to be much more disabled by now if it were ALS, but I've heard of a significant handful of slow progressing Juvenile ALS cases.
I plan to move home very soon to see a neurologist to get to the bottom of this, but it's going to take me two months. Does anyone have any input as to what could be going on? Thank you.
Edit: Symptoms first started when I was 17. I'm 29 now.
Edit: I should also mention that the stiffness and slight weakness also exists in my face. More so on the left side than the right.
