Worried about my mother, answers would be appreciated.

[Hector47]

Hello everyone, it's all in the title: I am very worried about my 57 year old mother. (previous thread here)

Two months ago she had a loss of strength in her right hand An EMG was done and the neurologist said: carpal tunnel . Alright. She undergoes an infiltration in the wrist and her symptoms are improving a priori. For about a month now, his thumb has changed considerably in appearance, it seems to be thinner and thinner than the left. Like he was skinny and deformed. In my opinion, there is no atrophy of the hand muscles but I am not a doctor. So I can't be 100% certain. However, I noted that his preemptive strength in the right hand is lower than that of . Return of carpal tunnel or real symptom that must be taken seriously Is “thinning” of the thumb visible in ALS? I say "weight loss" because there are no muscles to speak of in the fingers...

Anyway your help would be welcome. I'm totally panicking because of That.

I thank you in advance and wish you and your loved ones the best.

 

[lgelb]

Hi, Hector, if the thumb is still functioning normally or the same as it was after the surgery, it is hard to be too concerned about the thinning, but she can certainly see the surgeon who has notes on what things looked like before.

I have not heard of any ALS that began with the thinning or even weakness in the thumb alone. As you know, thumbs are not always strong when we do not use them a lot. In the surgery rehabilitation period and even before the surgery, she could have been using muscles less and that of course can cause thinning and feelings of weakness.

Therefore, if she is not receiving hand therapy, an evaluation from one could be worthwhile, or if she is already doing exercises, a therapist might re-evaluate to see if things are progressing as they should.

Best,
Laurie