Very worried about twirching, percieved weakness and atrophy.

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Jonny5

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Learn about ALS
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Country
IR
State
LI
City
Limerick
Hello,

Firstly I'm sorry for posting here. I understand the gravity of als and really don't want to waste your time, I have read your pinned posts also which are comforting but I'm stressing out to the point its affecting my relationship and daily life.

My name is Josh I'm 26 and a soldier ( I've heard more are affected for some reason)
I had crazy twitches in 1 eye which was quite visible and embarrassing for months and then on holiday I began having headaches behind left eye (just including it incase it is relevant) for about 4 weeks, 2 months ago. They left and have not returned but just over a month ago while i was sick with sinusitis I noticed my grip in my left hand was not the same as my right. I can still do everything the same but my forearm gets very tired when gripping things and my left thumb muscle is smaller than right. Still toned but verified by my partner as its fairly apparent, even though its my non-dominant hand i was not too worried as im sure asymetry is common. The day after my left knee felt weaker like it would buckle while walking (it hasnt) but im having body-wide twitching now mostly in left side and in my foot, arm and knee predominantly. Ive noticed now the muscle on my left knee is dented where my right is not (also common i know) and my left food inner tendon is a lot more visible and feelable when flexing my toes than my right. I was putting all this down to coincidence and perhaps injury but after blood tests which were clear Im now being sent for an mri this friday.

I should mention i had covid 19 about 7 months ago. I know no single symptom here is cause for alarm and over the last month i have not felt any worse after this happening all of a sudden (but no better either) and im noticing asymmetries in myself that only seem to be on my left side. I seem to have tremors in my fingers on left hand slightly and only occasionally when i hold out my arm also

Its also worth mentioning last year i went to A&E with neck jaw and shoulder pain which eased itself after some months (probably irrelavent) And im having random dull aches in my thumb muscle, fingers, big toe. Very strange. Ive stoped working out over the last month aside from testing my strength with pull ups and squats daily.

Again im incredibly sorry for posting here but I really am worried sick and hiding it from my partner as best I can. Any input is appreciated.

Thank you,
Josh
 
You must have seen a doctor Did they see this atrophy or confirm any weakness? Your symptoms are all over your body which isn’t like the beginning of ALS and your symptoms do not sound ALS like anyway.

post viral syndromes are pretty common Covid especially is already known to have neurologic sequelae You are at least the third person to come here with similar symptoms post covid. regular post viral syndromes often last a year Or more
 
I agree with Nikki. More clinics are being set up to treat the long-term effects of Covid so I would try to access that kind of advice, even if via telemedicine. They might suggest a modified workout regimen to retain as much muscle tone as you can. Going from fitness to not working out at all has its own consequences.

Best,
Laurie
 
Thank you very much for your responses Nikki and Igelb, you both are truly remarkable prople from seeing the amount of time you invest here to help others.

I live in Ireland and the healthcare system is shockingly slow.
At the time of seeing my doc about 3 weeks ago i didnt have any muscle aches in thumb etc. She did not identify any clinical weakness in the 20 minutes i was with her and i didnt notice any differences in my body, (hadnt looked for it and she didnt ask) but in the last 3 weeks tongue twirching has developed and i noticed a few muscles are smaller on my left side by a noticable margin at least by me and 2 by my partner ( knee and thumb) i was told i could have to wait upto 5 months for an EMG if the mri is ok even if i go private hospital.

The twitches in the bottom of my foot have become a lot more focused the last few days and its also noticibly slimmer at the arch than my right (but my partner has not seen that)

Again I do not have any clinical weakness but the process of seeing these things and long wait is very unsettling. And i can see my stress is taking a toll on my partner.
Hopefully its a post viral symptom of some description. I was having chills/weird feeling in left of my face before having covid last year which also went away on its own recently.

Im sorry and i know thesw symptoms are all over the place but just trying to be thourough as i dont know how much is incidental and what is a red flag.

Thank you again,
Josh
 
Hello again,
I'm back from the appointment with the neurologist today and also MRI was clear. Neurologist took my notes and fully examined my reflexes and strength etc and told me it is most likely something brought on by post viral symptoms and it should subside over the coming months.

Posting the outcome so it will reassure someone else who is destroying their lives living in limbo for months.

Thank you for your words of wisdom and I'm sorry for wasting your time bring this here. You are a credit to the community Laurie and Nikki.

Josh.
 
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