Worried about symptons, awaiting EMG

[Frank87]

Hi all,

I'm from Belgium and there isn't something great as this forum for ALS. My english isn't flawless, so I appologize for that
I'm reading on this forum for a while and I would like to consult my symptoms. Since 4 months I have more trouble walking. It starts all of a sudden. It feels my upper leg is stiff and doesn't move well. It feels like I'm limping, but my girlfriend says it's not noticeable. It worsened over time. I also have the feeling that I have to put more effort to lift my foot for not getting footdrop. I also have mobility issues in my left hand. Especially when i'm typing. I have not noticed any significant weakness, though I notice that my left hand is more clumsy. I'm twitching on multiple places on my body. Sometimes there are hotspots for a few days, but they are not constant.

I've had an appointment with a neurologist. She notices brisk knee reflexes on both sides and she doubts if there was an obvious positive hoffman sign.
My other relflexes were normal, also bloodtests were good. She said she doesn't expect any motor neuron problems, but she orders an MRI and EMG (end of may) to be sure. So i'm worried about my symptoms, especially the brisk reflexes and possible hoffman sign. They don't disappear and I think they worsen. I have also MS in my direct family and I suffer from attrial fibrilation (diagnosed by an electrophysiologist). Though the heart is regulated by different nerves, I have read that ALS could affect the heart rythm and cause

Could this be a possibility of ALS onset or is that very far-fetched?

Regards,

Frank

 

[lgelb]

Hi, Frank, what you're describing doesn't really worry me as regards ALS.

AF should not affect ALS and vice versa.

Sorry to hear about MS in your family. It should not be related, either.

It sounds like your neurologist is ordering the right tests. Brisk reflexes are not necessarily a sign of disease, and things like clumsiness and twitches can be greatly magnified by your mind once they get started. Fixating on whether your Hoffmann's is positive is generally not productive and only feeds your anxiety. Nor is it specific for ALS.

If nothing is discovered as regards neurological disease, you can ask about physio. It is very common for a deficit in one set of muscles to affect the way you move others.

Best,
Laurie

 

[Frank87]

Thanks for your answer, Laurie. The brisk reflexes, especially Hoffmann's (which the neuro doubted of it's there), are scaring me. I don't know if I've allways had brisk kneereflexes. So maybe your're right and that uncertainty feeds anxiety and affects my nervous system and leads to the things that I have. I'll return here when I've had my EMG.

 

[Frank87]

Little update. I'm going to a manual therapist for a couple of weeks now, because of my muscle problems. I discussed my walking problems with him last friday. Did some strength tests with my legs and feet and that looked good. He notices knots and stiffness in the right gluteus muscles (buttocks) and massaged them for an half hour. My walking problem get much and much better afterwards, so thats a relief! Now it's a bit worse again, but I'll follow up on the massages.

 

[Frank87]

Update on the EMG and MRI. I received the reports and both came back clear. So I feel a very blessed person with this outcome.