LatinoLoco
Member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2010
- Messages
- 22
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- CA
- State
- On
- City
- Toronto
Hello all,
I have been lurking on this forum for about 6 months and I am finally getting the courage to post what I have been experiencing and my source of grief. I do apologize if this is a long post; I did try my best to condense it, but really couldn't as I don't want to leave any important details out. Thank you in advance for taking your time to read and any advice/info would be greatly appreciated. I am a 29 year old male from Toronto, Canada.
Last year at around this time I started an extensive workout program. Following this workout program I experienced twitching/fasciculations throughout my body (legs, arms, hands, feet, neck etc..), but didn't think much of it as I just related them to the demanding workout routine.
Twitching became more obvious and I developed a tremor on my left arm/hand, especially noticeable upon exertion. Left arm seemed to fatigue rather quickly which made this tremor worse. Naturally, I looked up these symptoms online and bumped into ALS and this forum, so I panicked. Stopped the serious working out around last August, but continued to test my strength (especially the left arm). I would normally do dumbbell curls with heavy weights, but important to note that since I was just randomly testing my strength(due to my fears) I didn't warm up my muscles at all.
Around October, I wake up in the morning and notice that a piece of my short head bicep (inside near the armpit) running up to the anterior/front shoulder seems to have been torn off. Shoulder no longer had that full roundness. Indentation (deep dent, not there before) on the bicep is very noticeable and I have what looks like fresh stretch marks at the site of concern. I realize stretch marks are caused by gaining muscle, but can also be caused by rapid loss of muscle which is what looks like happened in my case. Of course I panicked, thinking muscle twitching+visible muscle atrophy=ALS. I make an appt with my Dr. and still continue to test my strength. Strength doesn't seem too affected, but the arm tires unusually quick and I also get a mild pain at the bicep indentation and the shoulder area. To this day I get a mild pain around the shoulder/affected area and even feel it on what seems like the clavicle and surrounding bones. I also notice that my deltoid is no longer round and has lost some mass. Not completely gone but definitely flattened. Deltoid has progressed and I can safely say it is smaller than what it was about a month ago. Also, notice scapular winging when flexing my bicep/arm. Depending on my position, I can actually feel my scapula bone sticking out. This is very noticeable.
My Dr. examines me, does bloodwork, books me for an EMG and sends me to a Neurologist as he knows what my biggest fear is. I've had 2 EMG's on the left arm and 2 different neuro check ups. The EMG's were normal and the neuro appointment was also normal.
GP sends me for an ultrasound of the left shoulder. Ultrasound says:
"an irregular 8x4 partial tear, undersurface of the supraspinatus tendon insertion. Mild hyperemia on Doppler images shown. A small peritendinous effusion. The remaining rotator cuff, long head biceps and tendon and AC joint images are unremarkable. No impingement with movement." Not sure what hyperemia and small peritendinous effusion mean. Any info on that?
So here I am....with an atrophied left arm and now some scapular winging. Twitches are felt more than even and I am still concerned about an MND like ALS even though the Dr. says that both EMG's are reassuring that it isn't. I just want to know if it is possible for a shoulder injury, like the one presented in the ultrasound, to be the cause of atrophy of the shoulder, bicep, deltoid and scapular winging? This has been giving me alot of grief and anxiety and I am sick of being worried, but I can't help it since I see the atrophy everytime I look in the mirror and take a shower. Any ideas on what is going on? I intend to request an MRI just to see if there is anything else going on in the upper arm. Again, I do apologize for this really long message, but any suggestions are welcomed at this point. Thank you.
I have been lurking on this forum for about 6 months and I am finally getting the courage to post what I have been experiencing and my source of grief. I do apologize if this is a long post; I did try my best to condense it, but really couldn't as I don't want to leave any important details out. Thank you in advance for taking your time to read and any advice/info would be greatly appreciated. I am a 29 year old male from Toronto, Canada.
Last year at around this time I started an extensive workout program. Following this workout program I experienced twitching/fasciculations throughout my body (legs, arms, hands, feet, neck etc..), but didn't think much of it as I just related them to the demanding workout routine.
Twitching became more obvious and I developed a tremor on my left arm/hand, especially noticeable upon exertion. Left arm seemed to fatigue rather quickly which made this tremor worse. Naturally, I looked up these symptoms online and bumped into ALS and this forum, so I panicked. Stopped the serious working out around last August, but continued to test my strength (especially the left arm). I would normally do dumbbell curls with heavy weights, but important to note that since I was just randomly testing my strength(due to my fears) I didn't warm up my muscles at all.
Around October, I wake up in the morning and notice that a piece of my short head bicep (inside near the armpit) running up to the anterior/front shoulder seems to have been torn off. Shoulder no longer had that full roundness. Indentation (deep dent, not there before) on the bicep is very noticeable and I have what looks like fresh stretch marks at the site of concern. I realize stretch marks are caused by gaining muscle, but can also be caused by rapid loss of muscle which is what looks like happened in my case. Of course I panicked, thinking muscle twitching+visible muscle atrophy=ALS. I make an appt with my Dr. and still continue to test my strength. Strength doesn't seem too affected, but the arm tires unusually quick and I also get a mild pain at the bicep indentation and the shoulder area. To this day I get a mild pain around the shoulder/affected area and even feel it on what seems like the clavicle and surrounding bones. I also notice that my deltoid is no longer round and has lost some mass. Not completely gone but definitely flattened. Deltoid has progressed and I can safely say it is smaller than what it was about a month ago. Also, notice scapular winging when flexing my bicep/arm. Depending on my position, I can actually feel my scapula bone sticking out. This is very noticeable.
My Dr. examines me, does bloodwork, books me for an EMG and sends me to a Neurologist as he knows what my biggest fear is. I've had 2 EMG's on the left arm and 2 different neuro check ups. The EMG's were normal and the neuro appointment was also normal.
GP sends me for an ultrasound of the left shoulder. Ultrasound says:
"an irregular 8x4 partial tear, undersurface of the supraspinatus tendon insertion. Mild hyperemia on Doppler images shown. A small peritendinous effusion. The remaining rotator cuff, long head biceps and tendon and AC joint images are unremarkable. No impingement with movement." Not sure what hyperemia and small peritendinous effusion mean. Any info on that?
So here I am....with an atrophied left arm and now some scapular winging. Twitches are felt more than even and I am still concerned about an MND like ALS even though the Dr. says that both EMG's are reassuring that it isn't. I just want to know if it is possible for a shoulder injury, like the one presented in the ultrasound, to be the cause of atrophy of the shoulder, bicep, deltoid and scapular winging? This has been giving me alot of grief and anxiety and I am sick of being worried, but I can't help it since I see the atrophy everytime I look in the mirror and take a shower. Any ideas on what is going on? I intend to request an MRI just to see if there is anything else going on in the upper arm. Again, I do apologize for this really long message, but any suggestions are welcomed at this point. Thank you.