Worried:(

[Olesya36]

Hi dear members!
My name is Olesya. I'm 36 years old.
My symptoms started 3 weeks ago. First I had funny feeling in right arm. It was difficult to button and unbutton my shirt. It lasts 3 days and went away. Then after that during walking I had feeling like electricity through my left leg and then this leg started tickling and it was out control about 3 seconds ( I couldn't do a step). For now moment it lasts about 2.5 weeks. I feel severe tickling in left leg almost all days but nights. I must rub my leg to subside this feeling. From time to time I feel weakness in this leg. It seems that I can fall down. It seems the leg out of control few seconds..And muscles in calf are heavy and tired (come and go symptom). And from time to time I have widespread twitching mostly in legs. The feeling of weakness in leg come and go. I am waiting EMG. MRI is normal ( brain and neck).
Dear members, can it be early ALS?
Can the tickling in leg be a cause of feeling of weakness?
Thanks for any opinion!!
With warm wishes
Olesya

 

[lgelb]

No, it really doesn't sound like ALS. I expect the EMG to be reassuring on that count.

Are you saying the tickling is days only, nights only, or both? You might ask if restless leg syndrome or a similar disorder is possible. Keep working with your doctors.

Best,
Laurie

 

[Olesya36]

Dear Laurie! Thanks for your reply! Tickling bothers me only when I don't sleep. At night I am good. Other words I am every second feel it and it's annoying feeling. Only in one limb from bottom to foot...And I feel weakness from time to time. I can't understand this weakness is perceived or clinical. Can you say when ALS if leg is weak in one second can it be again normal after? I mean can this symptom come and go?( Weakness on and then weakness off)

 

[lgelb]

No/no. There can be bad and worse days for a while, but not on/off.

Avoid falls, whatever you have to do. Besides RLS, which can occur during the day, I would make sure a blood clot in your leg was ruled out.

 

[Olesya36]

Thanks! And I have one more questions. 1. Can it be ALS if a man had symptoms (feel weakness, fatigue in limbs, twitching)a year ago then symptoms went away and in a year they return? I read in many stories in Google that said it's real that symptoms come and go during one- two years. People said that they had falls and then they we're normal. And then again falls in a year and diagnosis. But in my opinion if a man had fall then his muscle already is weak and don't stop to fall.. and why so long he was normal after first alarming symptoms..
I don't know should I believe in that... unbelievable..
2. The second question: in ALS weakness is just weakness or you can feel it in limbs? I mean can a man feels something in limbs if he has weakness? Or is it just about action and no other symptoms?

Thanks so much for time that you spent for me!! You are awesome people!
Olesya

 

[lgelb]

1) No, ALS doesn't come and go from year to year. It doesn't cause falls and then improve to normal movement for months. Stop reading whatever you think you're reading on Google. There are many false stories, just as with any health care topic, because people are often not able to be objective about what happened, particularly well after the fact. And there are fraudsters who promote certain views of the disease so as to peddle their "cures" and books.

2) Just weakness. You don't feel weak. You are weak.

 

[Olesya36]

Thank you really much for answers! Now it lasts already a month and I have the symptoms ( especially in my left leg): severe fatigue in left leg during walking. When I start walking it's ok but later in a minute I start to feel a fatigue especially in calf and want to sit to have a rest. Twitching is subsided.tickling is too. But anyway I feel discomfort in leg. No weakness but strange feeling. I always FEEL my leg during walking. In Canada (especially in my province) all very slowly!! I can't get the date of my emg appointment until now( they said it's taken about two months only schedule an appointment with EMG!! And I am very worried... please tell me is it sound like ALS? Thanks and take care. Olesya

 

[lgelb]

No, this doesn't make us think more about ALS. You can document your strength and endurance yourself on video and by keeping a diary. While awaiting an EMG, which I would expect to be reassuring, perhaps you can ask for a physio evaluation to baseline your abilities and see if there is a mechanical problem with your leg that can be addressed. And again, I would ask about RLS.

It's easy to worry about things that aren't there, but more work to address what is there. Yet, the work is a much better use of your time.

 

[Olesya36]

Sorry again. I have couple of questions. 1. If ALS where weakness in leg started? Is it foot drop? Or weakness in toe? Or any muscle may get weakened? 2. If ALS Cramps in leg usually before weakness or after ? Or together with weakness?or in the same spot where twitching?
Thanks so much!

 

[lgelb]

Any leg muscles may weaken, and the answer to the second question varies. But these concerns don't apply to you because you have not described a sequence of events that would make us worried.

Remember, most weakness is not ALS, most twitching is not ALS, and most cramps are not ALS.

I am closing this thread because there is nothing more to say at this point. Feel free to open another one after your EMG to let us know what the findings are.