Teenager, terrified of bulbar

[Streetfish1]

Hello. Firstly I'd like to thank you all for any time you're willing to give me, as I know writing these answers can be difficult. I sincerely thank you all.

I am a 17 year old male.

I started feeling like a can't say a "th" sound properly, like it lisps a bit. Sometimes when I'm talking I need to restart the sentence because I mess up a word.

My tongue feels really heavy sometimes, although it seems to come and go to some degree.

My neck has been feeling a bit weak, and sometimes I feel like my swallowing is a difficult, like when I swallow liquids sometimes seem to go down the wrong pipe or something.

I've been getting some occasional twitches in my face, and sometimes my face really feels tight or kinda numb. I've also had some twitching in my eye, hands, legs, etc.

I've also been yawning or breathing heavily more frequently, and sometimes it's hard to take a fill deep breath, although again, this comes and goes.

When I asked others about the speech issues, most of them said I wasn't slurring at all, except for two people who said I was a tiny bit, and one of them asked if I was a bit drunk, which naturally scared me a great deal. The other one has since said they can't hear it anymore, so I wonder if it was just power of suggestion and it was never really there?

I went to my GP and a neurologist. The neuro (not an ALS specialist, but has seen 2 ALS patients before) examined me and said I seemed perfectly normal, with no tongue twitching or anything, but he didn't give me an EMG as he said it was painful and not worth it, because he didn't see anything clinically wrong with me at all. Now of course I'm tearing myself up wondering if I should have had it.

I woke up today and this morning my tongue has been feeling super heavily and my speech really hard out of nowhere, and I kinda panicked. Some people at school told me my voice was raspy and a little hard to understand. I'm seriously freaking out. I feel like I have all the symptoms of bulbar onset

Some of my questions are:

Does it sound like bulbar at all?

Would bulbar come on in just a couple weeks like this?

Is a bulbar slur at like a lisp or stutter, or a more distinct thing?

If my speech issue was due to bulbar, would the neuro have found tongue fasciculations?

Can bulbar ALS get so much worse over the course of just 1 or 2 weeks, or does this seem imagined or perceived?

Does it seem even remotely possible that I have ALS?

Thank you so much for your time. I sincerely appreciate any time at all you're willing to give.

 

[starente15]

Does it seem even remotely possible that I have ALS? No, it doesn't. A doctor has told you this as well.

Have you spoken with your parents about the anxiety you're having?

 

[Streetfish1]

Yes, I have spoken with them about it. I'm going to a psychiatrist soon about it. But I can't shake the feeling that my symptoms have been getting worse. I feel like my voice has been catching in my throat and it's been cracking a lot.

 

[Atsugi]

I've got good news for you, Street. I have no clue what your problem is.

The reason that is good is because, although I'm not a doctor, I've got a pretty fair grasp of ALS, and I don't see it anywhere in your post.

The bad news is that you might not have anything at all. That's bad because mental health therapy takes months and years.

So I only have one piece of advice. But first, ask yourself why in the world would a 17-year-old be ballsy enough to think you can second-guess a neurologist? I think you've got a serious disconnect with reality there. Don't worry though, that's just a symptom of being a teenager.

So here's that advice: Your brain is developing a personality, now. So stop looking up death and illness on the Internet. If what you're doing now is not making you happy, change something.

 

[Streetfish1]

Mike, I absolutely cannot thank you enough. I didn't mean to second guess him, I think it's just my anxiety, it makes me obsess and wonder about worst case scenarios. I'm going to see my old psychiatrist soon (tomorrow, actually), and I'm hoping that will help.

If you're certain it doesn't seem at all like ALS, bulbar or otherwise, combined with the word of the neuro, then I think I'm satisfied, given your in-depth knowledge of the topic.

I just had one more question, specifically about the speech issue. With bulbar ALS, could I mess up a word and than go back and correct it? Or would I have totally lost the ability to say it? I've been finding that happening a lot more these last couple days, where I'll be trying to say something and I mess up a certain word (usually one with the "th" sound as I mentioned) and need to go back and say it again. Would I be able to do this at all with bulbar onset?

Many thanks.

James

 

[Streetfish1]

Also, are voice cracking or raspy-ness symptoms?

Thanks

 

[ShiftKicker]

Hey there-

I have a kid your age. A while back he would wake up with a raspy voice. It turned out he had something called GERD or Gastroesophageal reflux disease. He was drinking pop and eating rich foods too close to bedtime and it was causing acid reflux, which was irritating his throat.

I would request that you stop posting here, as you do not have ALS. You really don't belong here. It's a good thing. While you must be frightened, the members here have provided their input. The most important thing is to get yourself to a doctor and let them know your symptoms and help them figure out what's going on. This is not the place for you.

Best wishes

 

[Streetfish1]

Thank you very much, I've been really tearing myself up over this for two weeks. My OCD and anxiety are becoming real problems again I think, that's why I'm going back to my psychiatrist tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[ShiftKicker]

That's excellent news. I know these things are hard to control, so speaking to a doc about it will be good for you.