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canadianguy13

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Sep 2, 2015
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Learn about ALS
Country
CA
State
Ontario
City
Ottawa
hi all,
First post here, thanks in advance for any responses. I'll try to be succinct in my symptoms. I'm at the point where I feel like ALS is likely, but still hanging on to hope that it's something else. I'm 28, otherwise healthy.

First symptoms 4 months ago, while on vacation overseas. odd sensation in both legs and arms, especially the left one. Felt like a tension or numbness, immediately worried about MS. When I returned home after 14 hour flight, had lots of weird symptoms for a couple of weeks that gradually improved. I had a body wide electric feeling and an intense tension feeling throughout my muscles, especially limbs. It's like that feeling after your legs fall asleep and start to regain senses, but all over. I also would have night sweats for 4 or 5 days. Gradually this improved.. Started getting twitches on my left arm. No sensory issues as far as I could tell.

Continued twitching in left upper arm for a week or two, several times per day. That went away, and I got twitching in my right hand, to the point that I had my pinky spasming inwards during twitches. Also had some random twitching throughout my body, and jelly legs constantly but to varying degrees. Still a light tension feeling in left hand.

I've had periods of time where my jelly legs improved. Left hand not quite as much, and has since gotten much worse. I feel a constant tension in that arm and hand. Worse in the mornings when waking up, especially if I got less than 8hrs sleep. Hard to describe the feeling, but it's again like the feeling you get when your legs fall asleep and wake up. I also seem to have my arms and legs fall asleep easily.

Onto the more worrying symptoms, my left hand has noticeably become less coordinated, with finer things. If I hold up my phone with my left hand, I feel a tension. If I hold up something light, the hand shakes. When I hold my partners hand, it feels like the hand is shakey keeping it in that position. If I stretch out my fingers, sometimes my pinky trembles. However I seem to have normal grip strength...

I've had throat issues for about a month. First it felt like I may have had a sinus issue so I got nasal spray, which I've had before., and prescription reflux medication just in case it was GER. But I had slight choking on liquids about 5 or 6 times in the past month, usually with small amounts, as I can gulp down a lot of liquid without issue. I've got frequent mucus clearing in back of throat, lots of clearing my throat, and the feeling like there is mucus there most of the time. I also have this odd feeling in my tongue like I am going to slur, but so far have only stumbled maybe a couple of times and no one seems to notice, and I talk a lot for work. My voice feels a little hoarse occasionally, perhaps due to all the throat clearing. Symptoms are better some days than others but always there to a certain extent.

I've had this constant pulsing in my stomach area for a while. I noticed it first a few months ago and it seemed to go away. Now it is back, and constant. It pulses to the beat of my heart nonstop.

I have some light muscle aching in my right arm, abdomen, and neck, which seems to come and go day to day. Never too intense.

Seem to be a bit more tired than usual, but could be the wearing down on me of the stress. I had a lot of anxiety about this at first, but now just feel less anxious even though the symptoms seem worse. I recognize that I have a stressful job and a history of mild to moderate anxiety, but I don't think that it is the cause anymore.

I see a general neuro in October, and have an MRI of brain and c4 spine a month later (slow health care in Canada). Hopefully an emg around then too.

At this point it seems clear to me that I have ALS, especially due to the hand and throat issues. My question is, if not ALS, what else could it be?
 
Your symptoms are common to many conditions, including vitamin deficiency. ALS is rare. It makes no sense to leap from common symptoms to a rare disease.

Despite saying you don’t have any sensory issues, you write about many sensory issues. The “odd sensation…tension or numbness…body wide electric feeling” have absolutely nothing to do with ALS.

ALS destroys motor nerves in the brain that tell the muscles to contract, so the signal to contract never gets to the muscle. When the motor nerve is destroyed, the corresponding muscle stays limp, useless and never moves again. Sometimes a nerve will go from OK to destroyed nearly overnight. There is no feeling of weakness, exhaustion, burning, tingling, numbness, or weirdness. The muscle just doesn’t contract.

You’re really young. ALS averages 50 or 60 years old. I recently saw a database of people with ALS, listing their age. Out of 1800 people with ALS, only one person was younger than you, at 27.

Night sweats are not caused by ALS. Could be stress.

Twitches are very common in many conditions. Very many perfectly healthy people have them. They often happen under stress.

Pinky spasms are likewise common. Also stress.

Jelly legs improved. ALS would never improve.

“Hand shakes” can be many things, including vitamins, diet, stress. Not ALS.

Choking on liquids would concern me. You should look into that.

Constant pulsing in my stomach area. That’s emotional stress for sure.

Muscle aching is not a sign of the onset of ALS. Can be stress.

“At this point it seems clear to me that I have ALS.” That’s whacko. But I understand you’re stressed and don’t understand ALS, so I shouldn’t say that. Somehow, probably through Internet searches, your natural penchant for anxiety has led you to focus on ALS.

I’m not a doctor so I won’t diagnose you. But I know ALS fairly well and you definitely do not have ALS, or any reason to suspect ALS.

I hesitate to second guess your GP doctor but I don’t see any reason to send you to a neuro. But you should continue to follow your doctor’s guidance. See the neuro, but don’t worry about ALS.

"What else could it be?" Please note that this is not a general health forum. We must focus our time on those who have ALS, so I doubt anyone here would give advice about what you actually might have. Good luck.
 
I have exact same symptoms like you described.
Slurred speech(no one has commented though)
Numbness in hands and legs during sleep.
Uncoordinated right hand that has tremors.
Throat clearing too many times a day( I do have chronic tonsillitis )
Weird stomach twitches just like you described .
I am 25 BTW, male.
 
Blade, please stick to your own thread. I would appreciate it. I'll be happy to address your concerns in that thread, thanks. :)
 
Thanks Atsugi, I'll try to keep my head up
 
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