Here I go again, Help needed

[Benny8444]

I have been having some muscle pain in the left side of my throat for a few days but have had normal speach and I really only feel the pain when I try to rub the muscle. I can move my tongue fine and speak fine as well as move my neck I just have pain in my left upper neck close to where it meets my mouth. I feel the pain sometimes when I move my mouth in wired ways. I am able to chew and open and close my mouth at a fast pace as well.

Like I said my tongue is fine I am just super worried about this minor pain.


Should I be worried at all about ALS?

Please help, I know I have posted before asking these questions but I get worried a lot and have an appointment to speak to someone about it on Tuesday.

Any help between now and then would be great as It would put my mind to rest.

 

[trfogey]

Should I be worried at all about ALS?

No, you shouldn't be worried about having ALS. The pain that you are currently having in your neck is probably no more than a minor sore throat, but you've made it more painful by doing silly tests on it to feed your ALS fetish. Like the "weird" faces and the probing and rubbing of the sore spot. Find something more appropriate for your hands to be doing and leave your poor neck alone.

You should be sure to get a referral to a psychiatrist or psychologist at your meeting you have on Tuesday.

 

[kiwisally]

Does anyone know how to put trfogey up for sainthood? He has the patience of........

 

[Karvorka]

I read this section like once every 3 months and I've never actually read a real case of potential als.. I think they should delete it and replace it with an information section and stop feeding the munchausen internet addicts .. My advice; move to a third world country for a while where you have to scrounge for a meal once a day and find somewhere to sleep at night with next to no possessions and I guarantee your neck will be the last thing on your mind .. Sorry if you're offended but stiff bickies

 

[trfogey]

Does anyone know how to put trfogey up for sainthood? He has the patience of........

I'm no saint, kiwisally, as any of a large number of folks here will attest. We've been blessed lately with a more reasonable grade of "questioners" than we usually have, so I've been showing my mellow side.

 

[fitzroy]

I'm no saint, kiwisally, as any of a large number of folks here will attest. We've been blessed lately with a more reasonable grade of "questioners" than we usually have, so I've been showing my mellow side.

Aw shucks, trfogey... :wink:

Btw, the toes on the right foot still don't move and the wasting in the hands is more pronounced. I'll update everyone in a week or so after my followups.

ps, I'd put you forward for at least having the patience of one for hanging in this section and providing honest, well intended answers.

 

[fitzroy]

Back to the original question. Let's say you do have ALS. What are you going to do about it? The chance of you having ALS is the same as anyone else amongst ~20'000 other people.

In your case, probably even less as I assume you've already spoken with your GP and listened to him or her. Right? Didn't think so.

 

[Mpiresteve]

We can't assume that every symptom we receive is related to ALS, because we read about it on the internet. If you are sick, please go see a doctor. There are hundreds of ALS symptoms, but each of these symptoms is also related to another illness. A doctor is always your best solution to finding out if you are sick and what you are sick with. If the first doctor does not satisfy you, please go see a different one. If I worried about every twitch I got when I was reading a post about someone with ALS, I would lose my mind.

 

[Benny8444]

I totally agree with what you guys are saying, I just have bad fears and always worry that it is the worst.


For example whenever now I lift my head up I feel a tickle going down the left side of my throat starting in the area near my tongue

 

[kmendsley]

Benny, if you keep coming to this site and this section specifically, you are just going to keep feeding your anxiety and fears. By what you stated, you do not have symptoms of ALS. Pain in your neck when you push on it can be caused by a variety of factors- one being that you are just pushing too hard on it! Also, you could have a virus in your throat, enlarged lymphnodes, simple cold, flu, or maybe even mono or strep. Go to your dr. or urgent care, if you are worried and have them take a culture of your throat and check it out.

The more you nit pick and try different 'experiements' on your throat...the more weird things you will find because that is the nature of human curiosity. Try to relax, definately get that appointment with a psychiatrist, and put this out of your mind. Good luck to you.

 

[DeansWife]

Benny8444 - You don't want ALS even though it sounds like you think you do. Go to your doctor and LISTEN to him and what he says. After you have had all the tests that rule out every thing else imaginable then come back and tell us what you have. I could sit here with my hubby who does have ALS and think that I have ALS with every ache, cramp, tickle in my throat, ache in my ear, headache, and everything else that my body throws at me at the end of a long day. I don't mean to sound harsh but really, get out and enjoy life and quit looking for trouble!

 

[kiwisally]

Who's to say sainthood requirements don't include the ability and fortitude to deliver a swift kick in the arse when appropriate?

 

[kmendsley]

Maybe trfogey will get to 'sainthood' when he reaches '2000' posts?

 

[Karvorka]

I'm sorry but I get really annoyed with this section because a) most of the symptoms don't even resemble ALS b) even if they do what else can you say besides 'go and see a neurologist' because if you say anything different it'd be grossly irresistible c) the knowledgeable members spend their time answering the same questions which the information is the same as any google search when they could be talking about and advising newly diagnosed scared out of their mind folks and d) they get their advice and are back within a month with the same question .. I'll say it again replace the 'Do I have ALS?' section with an information section outlining symptoms and advice on what steps may be taken and save everyone a load of time ..

Dk

 

[kmendsley]

Karvoka, that is definately a good thought. However, I do feel that we are able to help some people out tremendously and they will just be on the one time thank everyone , while admitting they were anxious and are now fine. Sometimes, they will stay in touch and let everyone know what they are eventually diagnosed with. Other times, like one DIHALS person recently said they will stay on the forum to help support it with money, volunteer time, finding out more about the disease and informing others. He wouldn't be doing this if we hadn't helped him through his problems and fears earlier.

Also, the members who stick around know what they are getting into...sometimes we take breaks from it and others step in when we get a little too 'punchy' with our words