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Andrea1653

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Just wanted to check in. I had my follow up appointment with my neuromuscular specialist at OSU on Wednesday of last week. It was a completely different experience than I had the last time. I didn’t see the medical student, only my doctor, which I think made a huge difference.

He actually listened to me and did a thorough exam. Unfortunately, he confirmed atrophy in my left foot/ankle, said my calf and shin “didn’t look too bad” and noticed some atrophy around my knee. He also confirmed clinical weakness in my toes on the left foot. He was not able to push down the toes on my right foot but easily could on my left foot. I also have brisk reflexes now.

He is performing an EMG on Thursday. He said he will do the EMG, then have a quick chat with me right after, and we will go from there.

I find it extremely worrying that getting in to see him usually takes 5-6 months, and now I am getting in to have an EMG within a week of my appointment. I am officially horrified at this point, as I now have confirmed atrophy, clinical weakness and hyperreflexia.

Side note to my last thread: I did have a sleep study done, but I won’t get the results from that until November 11th.

I will report back after my EMG on Thursday.
 
You’ve been reporting symptoms for well over a year and were cleared of ALS in the past.

Now I get the sense you are still absolutely convinced you have ALS and are trying to make a case for it.

That’s really not how medical diagnosis works.

It’s more productive to report all your symptoms to the physician, then let them do their exam and tests that they feel are indicated. Trained physicians will take all the information to come up with a number of plausible explanations (the “differential diagnoses”) and narrow it down from there. It would be inappropriate and dangerous for a physician to presume one diagnosis and make a case for it without looking at the bigger picture.

I’m glad you are seeing an academic neuromuscular specialist. He should be able to direct the appropriate workup. Please feel free to report back to us after he concludes his evaluation.
 
Andrea, I'd like to reiterate what several of your doctors have said. See a psychiatrist.


Now don't ignore me or think I've insulted you. A good, experienced psychiatrist--one who is willing to do talk therapy (most just follow meds)--would be an excellent choice for you. A psychiatrist, you probably know, is an MD trained in the body just like every other MD doctor, but then they also go into psychiatry to learn the brain/mind stuff.



(This is different than a psychologist, which, in my opinion, is just a non-doctor who was a troubled youth and took a lot of psych classes to figure himself out.)


Take the time to visit several psychiatrists until you find the best. That money is well worth straightening out your troubles.
 
Andrea, you have an anxiety disorder that screams for professional help.

In your previous Thread and replies you wrote… (you wrote).

"I do have generalized anxiety disorder that started around the time I gave birth to my first child and has gotten progressively worse since then…

"It's just very hard for me because I also have social anxiety and talking to people makes me very nervous and fuels my anxiety…”

This Forum has been dealing with anxiety posters going back to 2012…
6 years!

Down at the bottom of the first page in the Fibromyalgia sub-Forum is a
Thread titled “Common Anxiety Symptoms” posted by Mommyrissa...
11/12/2012

Mommyrissa posted more symptoms I’ve seen related to Anxiety Disorder.
Maybe she was a little creative but… it shows this Forum is very familiar
with anxiety.

Igelb (Laurie) who has been a member since 2009 and lost a loved
one to ALS is very intelligent, very learned concerning ALS, extremely
knowledgeable when it comes to ALS even posted on that Thread.
Laurie has seen her more than fair share of Anxiety posters.
So has Atsugi, Karen and Shiftkicker.

If Laurie chimes in and suggests you need professional help… listen.
And, for your own good… closes this Thread.

Correction... Laurie did not post on that Thread but did reply to another
Fibro Thread in 2012. I'd bet she read it though. Sorry. :)
 
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Obviously I shouldn’t have posted an update. I apologize.

Karen, I just want to clarify that during my appointment, I never once mentioned ALS or wanting/needing to have another EMG. I explained to him my symptoms, he did a physical exam in which he commented that I have atrophy, weakness and brisk reflexes. He then went over my (clean) full spine MRI that I had last year and he said he wanted to do his own EMG first and we would go from there. I didn’t try to steer him in any direction and didn’t even ask him what was wrong with me. He also never brought up ALS and didn’t tell me what he thought was going on. He wants to do the EMG first and said that he would be looking for lots of things in the EMG.

Just hearing atrophy and clinical weakness being found was very scary for me, considering my ability to function normally has been slowly declining in the past year and a half. When you can’t do half of the things you’ve always been able to do without any trouble and you’re having difficultly taking care of your kids by yourself, there’s obviously something seriously wrong and it’s not all anxiety. But I can see now that I shouldn’t have posted here.

Thank you very much Shiftkicker for the well wishes for my EMG. That was very kind of you and I appreciate it very much.

Im very sorry if I’ve wasted your time or made you angry. That was never my intention. This will be my last post on this forum regardless of what my EMG shows. A mod can close this thread. I wish you all the very best.
 
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Andrea, please let us know the results of your tests next Thursday. And if you get a clean bill of health take the suggestion to make an appointment with a psychiatrist.
 
Andrea, thanks for clarifying. That’s a good approach. I also like dldugan’s advice.
 
Just a couple of comments, because many reading this thread have fears of ALS that could be helped by counseling.

Most psychiatrists do in fact focus on drugs rather than talk therapy because that enables them to see more patients in a week. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in medical treatment of mental disorders.

But it's talk therapy that most often helps make health anxiety less crippling. The people who do the most of that are allied health professionals such as psychologists (most often with doctorates in psychology as well as appropriate certifications) and some social workers (most often with a Master's degree in social work and also certified as a counselor).

Some counselors instead of psychology or social work degrees have other degrees, from theology to art therapy. But to be insured as a counselor, a state certification will generally be required. It's kind of like the diversity you see in teachers.

So it's not what degrees someone has, but how well they do what you need done. It's like any other search for a professional, not one-size-fits-all. Asking your primary care doc and other personal and professional resources for recommendations, checking online reviews, etc. is part of the process.

Best,
Laurie
 
A bit offensive Mike as my daughter had a fine upbringing and is earning her Phd in phychology. I understand its just your humble opinion but offensive none the less. By the way...one of her main objectives is talk therapy and the avoidance of just handing out drugs to mask the issue.
 
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Agree that the comment on psychologists was offensive and misleading.

I'm currently doing talk therapy with a clinical psychologist whose focus is on individuals with chronic and terminal illness. He has a PhD. My severely autistic child is also followed by a clinical psychologist, only her focus is neuropsych and developmental disorders. She has a PhD, and several other alphabet titles. My mother is a psychologist who works with child victims of sexual assault. She's in a management role where she coordinates clinical exams (often in the middle of the night), SVU, DHS, regular therapists, advocates, and court dates. She has a Master's degree.
 
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