symptoms.

[jojoj]

I know there is some information about symptoms here for those that are questioning the diagnosis?

Perhaps anyone with ALS can give input regarding these specific questions:

1) Regarding Fatigue:
As an early symptom, did people feel fatigue in all limbs or just affected limbs prior to or early in diagnosis?

DId the fatigue simply feel like weakness, or was there a "sort of aching" like you exercised too long?

Was there evidence of weakness when you felt fatigue, or did fatigue pre-date your other symptoms?

2) If you felt limb fatigue, did you feel it in the whole arm, or just forearm, or arm?

3) how long after the clinical weakness was felt, did the muscles start to show atrophy?

I don't think these have been addressed with prior posts specifically. I have looked through quite a bit of them

 

[MtPockets]

My Symptoms with limb onset

My first thing I noticed were small spasms in the lower leg muscles, then they spread over about a 3 month period to my calfs and thighs. The next change was a charlie horse, or severe cramp in the bottom of my feet, this moved to my calf muscles and then my upper legs. After about a year of the spasms I began to become weak in those muscle areas.

I started to experience foot drop on the right first and then the left.
About this time I noticed I was losing muscle mass in my calf muscles, and later in my upper leg muscles. I began to fall quiet frequently, because I could not balance myself due to the muscle loss and loss of motor nerves.

This is when I began to be tested for ALS, after about a year of these symptoms. I have since lost the use of my legs and I use a motorized wheelchair all the time. I was DX after a bunch of tests and finally a biopsy, which showed extensive motor neuron loss or damage. That was May 11, 2006.

I hope this helps in some way.

God Bless
Capt AL

 

[jojoj]

thanks for posting a reply...so you had a year of symptoms before there was objective evidence of ALS...I wonder when the EMG would have been positive. Thanks for your info.

I also wonder when the babinski starts to go up

 

[guwainengle]

I think an EMG finding from and ALS specialist is usually pretty soon after fasciculations begin-- remember alot of times fasciculations are seen during the test and never felt by the individual- ALS has specific characteristics on a EMG test adn sometimes really should be performed by the expert. There is a Benign Fascicualtion Syndrome out there that alot of us have been said to have--- but th ereal question is haw can they truekly differentiate this from ALS on th eEMG test. I can not seem to find an exact answer.

G

 

[bdyle]

Symptoms

Mine started with balance problems in Feb. 05, as my balance got worse my right leg started getting real stiff and did not want to work. Then the weakness started to set in on my right leg and muscle twitches. From there it advanced into my right arm and hand, I was still working and some evenings I could not even crank my truck, I had to reach over with the left hand. Then in Aug. 05 after Katrina hit things started getting worse and I realized I had a problem, never dreamed it would be ALS, I didn't even know what that was. After many dr. visits a neuoro diagnosed me with ALS in Dec. 05. As of now it has moved into the left side, leg, arm, and hand, and also affecting torso area muscles. I have the muscle twitches, muscle cramps and all the stuff that comes with it. I 've been very blessed so for though, I have very little atrophy, I can move around house with the aid of a walker and any long distance I have to use a power chair. Hope this helps you some.

 

[seanmucci]

Symtoms

My Syntoms Evolved As Followed: March 05 Stiffnese In Left Thigh,june 05 Fasciculations In Left Thigh And Calf,september 05 Atrophy Starts In Left Thigh,nov 05 Fasciulations Start In Left Tricept,march 06 Atrophy Starts On Left Tricep,oct 06 Chest Muscles Start To Atrophy,through Allthis I Have Severe Spacisity,dec 06 Right Thigh Starts To Have Fasciculations And Left Hand Starts To Atrophy And Left Foot Begins To Drop, Spacicity Have Relived With 50 Mg Of Baclofen,but Both Hands Are Stiff A Lot,moderate Cramping Throu Out My Legs ,chest And Arms