worried and lost

[max36]

Hello,

I will try to keep it short. Im male 36yo having helth issues for last 5 months.

I have no history of illnes, eat well, going to gym etc..also no anxiety history.

5 month ago first simptoms raised i was feeling off tired thinkin of viral infection. I get this strange feeling in my head, dizzy like but not spinning, more like when you drink 2 glases of wine. This feeling lasted for 5 month and rencenty went away. I was also feeling generally sick with some mild nausea. I was going crazy over this becouse all my tests wore negative including lyme and brain MRI.

Aprox. 1 month after helth went down, i got this strange sensation in my right leg heavy like with something like very mild cramping from my butt to my toes. Somedays this feeling went away but returned, now its allways there.

Aditional month or 2 passed and i have neuro exam no special findings there was mentioned something like mild pyramidal issue but nothing serious.

Aditional month passed and i get some heavy feeling also in right arm...no other stuff yust heavy, some stiffnes in my hand, lasted for couple of weeks and mostly went away.

So why als fear? Last 2 weeks i started with fasciculations/twiching, i had them also in first months but i didng pay attention to them since most of people have them now and then, including me. Twiches apper everywhere but mostly in my legs. Arround calf area, and foot arch. What scared me is becouse they are constant arround there and i dont feel all of them i only see them. Then i started to look at other "healthy" leg and also there are present but mostly i dont feel them. In my problematic leg i also have buzzing sometimes.

I know that twiching doesent give diagnosis and im familliar with twich here and there this doesent seem ok.

I read the sticky here, also read that sensory symptoms are not als but anyway worried sick.

I searched the net about ALS and generall sick feeling or dizzines or beeing drunk like feeling connected with ALS but nothing usefull poped up. Is it possible.to experience this when nerves start to die?

If someone is willing to comment my issues i will be gratefull.

Also sory for my English is lts not my language.

My prayers to all of you and im hoping this is my last post.

Thank you.

 

[Atsugi]

Max, welcome. Your English is better than my Slovak.

Relax. You don't have symptoms of ALS.

The strange feeling in your head is not ALS. ALS never feels strange in the head.

The twitches you feel all over have nothing to do with ALS.

In the beginning of ALS, a leg or hand muscle becomes very weak. It will not contract, so you might fall down. The paralyzed muscle is limp and useless.

In ALS, the paralyzed muscle doesn't feel weak or strange. It doesn't feel anything at all. It just doesn't work.

ALS does not give a general sick feeling or dizziness or drunk-like feeling. There is no feeling when the motor nerves are destroyed.

So I don't know what the problem is, but it isn't ALS.

 

[max36]

Thank you for the comforting words. I will try to visit neuro one more time maybee with EMG. I started to worry when i read that sometimes ALS can cause some sensory problems.

For sure anxiety is also getting me slowly, becouse this fasciculations are constant in my legs and also i have thumb and finger twich sometimes, but as i can remeber it started all with my right eye twiching.

 

[Dusty7]

Atsugi is absolutely correct.

Try to remember that ALS is a disease of widespread, acute, and chronic denervation. This will either show of not show on your EMG. I suspect t will not show, but you will have your proof. in the meantime, try to relax. Worry will only aggravate the fasciculations. And try to stay off the internet.

 

[max36]

Hi. Since anxiety is really killing me last days I'm posting this additional questions/taught.

My symptoms in summary as they progress;

1. Month; generally feeling unwell, general fatigue, nausea, strange head feeling drunk like/dizzy/wobbly, with some vision blur, some twitching allover, occasional shortness of breath.

2. Month; leg pain started...cramping like/heavy sensation down my leg...first taught its sciatic but that was not the case. My trapezius muscle is also sore constantly. 1. neuro checkup, nothing special found. MRI of brain done. Clear. Bloodwork and Lyme, Thyroid testing all clear. My right eye twitches constantly for 3 weeks.

3. Month; heavy arm feeling, with some minor occasional tingling in ring pinky finger. On/off

4. month; feeling little better, head feeling starts to fade away, fatigue is not 24/7

5. month; head is clears no more drunk / dizzy feeling, still have general fatigue during the day, I sleep 10h per day. Fasciculation’s in legs start, some I can feel other don’t, I get them 1 per 5 sec. approx. Also some minor random twitching all-around. Last week I started to noticed, that my left leg is staring to act the same way I had problems with my right. I’m starting to get cramping like sensation from calf towards my ankle. It’s really annoying, but there is no real cramp occurring.

My anxiety is through the roof, currently…My EMG is next week, and I’m terrified. I have 9 month old baby at home and I don’t even want to start thinking if I get bad EMG result. I know “stay of the internet” but I’m not strong enough to actually do it my “reassuring” symptoms are strange head pressure, and sensory stuff with nausea, but all all other stuff could point to ALS.

I searched the board across, for someone mention general ill feeling or similar but it’s not the case with ALS, so this is currently my “thing” to hold it to. I must notice tough that last summer I catch chickenpox virus, and have full blown chickenpox rash, after my fever went down, I got this same head feeling for 14 days as it was present now for month, but no other stuff, and I recovered fully in a month, starting with gym etc.. Feeling ok.

Prayers to all.

 

[Atsugi]

Max, you don't have ALS.
You have no symptoms of ALS.
I don't know why you are here.

 

[max36]

short update on my status, I had EMG/NCV done. Since I had to pay for it it was only done on my "bad" leg. The exam was rather quick with 4 muscles on my leg being tested. At the time I didn't have any twitching in leg, and my EMG report together with NCV didn't detect anything abnormal.

I'm somehow more relaxed now, but anyway I still have additional question. Even tough twitching could be benign nature, what about fibs that are usually detected with ALS, is this similar to "twitching" and and comes and goes or is constantly present and EMG picks this up as abnormal finding?
When muscle starts denervation process is it constant?
Could it be, that fibs wore not detected if they also come and go randomly and are only picked up if more muscles are being tested and somehow EMG catches them with full body EMG?

Thank you again for your help and time.

 

[Dusty7]

No, fibrillations are not like twitching as fibs cannot be seen or felt by the person.

Fibrillations are consistent enough that they are picked up by EMG and a sign of acute (current) denervation, along with positive sharp waves and insertional activity.

If you had any of these three, the EMG would have detected them and your report would have been abnormal.

I have to agree with Atsugi's last post. I see no signs of ALS.

 

[Atsugi]

Max, a full body EMG would not be different. The doctor knows how to do EMG.
EMG would find ALS months before you see symptoms.

You don't see any symptom of ALS. And EMG did not find ALS.
We are not doctors, so we cannot diagnose you. But we know ALS very well and you don't have it.

Let your body fix itself. Eat well, sleep well, drink a lot of water.
Keep your mind busy so you don't think of disease.
I think you will get better with time.