updownandaroundagain
New member
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Messages
- 1
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- N/A
- Country
- US
- State
- ny
- City
- nyc
hi all
well, this is my first post on this forum and like many other 'first-posters', i am scared, confused, wondering, depressed, anxious, and all the rest.
ok, to sum up what i'm about to write...i'm 41, a writer by trade (although my grammar in this post will probably state otherwise), highly active up until 4 weeks ago (i did african dance about 5 times a week as well as work out with weights about 4 days a week), and, long story short, i feel like crap.
in august, i started to notice that my left thumb was twitching, jerking this way and that whenever i was at rest. also, my hands shook uncontrollably when ever i put them in a certain position. i googled all this and, lo and behold, it was a sign of parkinsons. my heart went boomboomboom. my mind went ohmygod! i made an appointment with my GP. a week or so later he saw me. gave me a checkup and said i should be concerned. he referred me to a neuro.
a week later i was in the neuro's office, an anxious mess, and he gave me what i gather is the standard neuro exam. he finished, told me i wasn't crazy, and that something was definitely wrong with me. what was found? fasciculations, hyperreflexia, and clonus.
since that time, i've been noticing constant fasciculations in my left shoulder/tricep and my right as well as a feeling of jerkiness or spasticity all over my body. he sent me to get a c-spine mri. the initial report said that my c-spine was was that of professional football player at 50. but when he got them, he felt that the techs overstated it. we set up an emg.
around this time, i also got a severe case of paresthesia all over my back, arms, trunk, and legs. it lasted about three days. i've also continually had tingling/burning at various times at various points...all very temporary. i went back to my GP and asked him to do a round of blood tests. all the usuals. and the not so usuals. everything came back clean including the lyme tests. i explained to him that i had read that lyme doesn't always show up on the current tests and asked to be put on tetracycline. i'm currently taking 100mg twice a day.
while i was there, we both called my neuro. my neuro told him, without mentioning anything else like arthritis or cervical hernias, that als was in the differential. i should also mention that about three months or so ago, i had gone to my doctor because i had this constant lump in the back of my throat back near the tonsils (i can touch the area that feels off with my finger). he looked at and said it was post-nasal drip/sinuses. that feeling is still there...worse at night when i go to bed. i've also been having excessive yawning when dancing...whenever i pause, i yawn. a lot. i'm also feeling very weak...all over.
*sigh*
okay, fast forward through all the self-imposed (?) agony to last thursday. i had a nerve conduction test and an emg. he did my hands, feet, arms, legs, and upper back/neck near my spine. they came back normal. he said for me not to worry and that i didn't have als. his diagnosis...hyperreflexia and clonus sometimes just happen, i have carpal tunnel in the hands, some motor issues are being caused by c-spine, and BFS. we have a brain mri set up for two weeks from now.
not sure if any if this makes sense or what i'm looking for, but doesn't it seem odd that a lot of the symptoms i'm exhibiting line up with als, but are being pushed off to other causes? i'm so tired and weak all over. i'm depressed. anxious. scared.
ugh.
help?
ps - sorry for any mispelled words or grammatical errors.
well, this is my first post on this forum and like many other 'first-posters', i am scared, confused, wondering, depressed, anxious, and all the rest.
ok, to sum up what i'm about to write...i'm 41, a writer by trade (although my grammar in this post will probably state otherwise), highly active up until 4 weeks ago (i did african dance about 5 times a week as well as work out with weights about 4 days a week), and, long story short, i feel like crap.
in august, i started to notice that my left thumb was twitching, jerking this way and that whenever i was at rest. also, my hands shook uncontrollably when ever i put them in a certain position. i googled all this and, lo and behold, it was a sign of parkinsons. my heart went boomboomboom. my mind went ohmygod! i made an appointment with my GP. a week or so later he saw me. gave me a checkup and said i should be concerned. he referred me to a neuro.
a week later i was in the neuro's office, an anxious mess, and he gave me what i gather is the standard neuro exam. he finished, told me i wasn't crazy, and that something was definitely wrong with me. what was found? fasciculations, hyperreflexia, and clonus.
since that time, i've been noticing constant fasciculations in my left shoulder/tricep and my right as well as a feeling of jerkiness or spasticity all over my body. he sent me to get a c-spine mri. the initial report said that my c-spine was was that of professional football player at 50. but when he got them, he felt that the techs overstated it. we set up an emg.
around this time, i also got a severe case of paresthesia all over my back, arms, trunk, and legs. it lasted about three days. i've also continually had tingling/burning at various times at various points...all very temporary. i went back to my GP and asked him to do a round of blood tests. all the usuals. and the not so usuals. everything came back clean including the lyme tests. i explained to him that i had read that lyme doesn't always show up on the current tests and asked to be put on tetracycline. i'm currently taking 100mg twice a day.
while i was there, we both called my neuro. my neuro told him, without mentioning anything else like arthritis or cervical hernias, that als was in the differential. i should also mention that about three months or so ago, i had gone to my doctor because i had this constant lump in the back of my throat back near the tonsils (i can touch the area that feels off with my finger). he looked at and said it was post-nasal drip/sinuses. that feeling is still there...worse at night when i go to bed. i've also been having excessive yawning when dancing...whenever i pause, i yawn. a lot. i'm also feeling very weak...all over.
*sigh*
okay, fast forward through all the self-imposed (?) agony to last thursday. i had a nerve conduction test and an emg. he did my hands, feet, arms, legs, and upper back/neck near my spine. they came back normal. he said for me not to worry and that i didn't have als. his diagnosis...hyperreflexia and clonus sometimes just happen, i have carpal tunnel in the hands, some motor issues are being caused by c-spine, and BFS. we have a brain mri set up for two weeks from now.
not sure if any if this makes sense or what i'm looking for, but doesn't it seem odd that a lot of the symptoms i'm exhibiting line up with als, but are being pushed off to other causes? i'm so tired and weak all over. i'm depressed. anxious. scared.
ugh.
help?
ps - sorry for any mispelled words or grammatical errors.