IlliniJon
New member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2014
- Messages
- 4
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- US
- State
- WI
- City
- Wisconsin
Well, I've been lurking for months, probably like hundreds if not thousands of others. Not sure what compelled me to finally register and post...probably the premature acceptance of this disease in the back of my mind.
I've read all the stickies, and hundreds of posts. I know I can't self-diagnose (though that doesn't stop me from doing so). I won't claim to know the difference between "twitches" and "fasciculations", even though I'm pretty certain I'm having the latter. I see a neuro at the University of Illinois-Chicago next week who will do an EMG, so I know I'll have more direction soon. I'm both terrified and ready for it.
Started in Feb when I had an early stage cancer removed from my vocal cord. I'm 37 with a wonderful wife and four great little boys, so even though the cancer wasn't even stage 1 yet (just short of it), I let the stress of this event get away from myself. Over the course of the next couple months I developed pretty decent...numbness?...fatigue?...in my forearms and calves. I don't quite know how to describe the feeling. Had a stretch of 10 days in March where I had cognitive issues, i.e. my brain was 8 steps behind my eyeballs, I could hardly make words come out of my mouth, couldn't sleep more than 3 hours, etc. Tried Zoloft for 5 days, which was horrific. My hands were shaking like I had Parkinsons. I started having tongue/swallowing issues (which still continue) where my tongue felt thick and heavy and just plain dumb. A number of toes on my left foot went numb for the better part of April.
I know, doesn't sound like ALS - just another health anxiety nut at this point.
Through May and early June, a lot of this starts to gradually clear up. If I was in a stress hole because of the cancer, I was 10 times deeper once I started reading about Parkinson's, MS, ALS, etc on the Internet. I get it - turn it off. Like I said I started to and was feeling better...not like my "old" self"...but better.
Then last Friday my left foot started twitching. It hasn't stopped.
I know twitching without weakness is fairly irrelevant (in the grand scheme of things). I also know I can't test for clinical weakness, despite my repeated (and successful) toe and heal walking. I've read the discussions about BFS vs ALS twitching, and again I know I can't self-diagnose.
My left foot twitches constantly, mainly in my arch. Today I felt a few on the top of my foot and on my lower ankle. I don't know if I have weakness yet - I have to assume in the beginning it's so subtle you wouldn't even know. I haven't tripped on any blades of grass, but my feet and ankles and legs sometimes feel like jello...I know anxiety is playing a role in that feeling as well. The top of my left foot up through my lower ankle feels...I don't know how to describe it...stiff?...cramped? Not painful, just off.
So anyway, I'll go see the neuro next week, but I'll be honest in that I've already started the grieving process. I know it's premature and this is all just speculation and conjecture, but things just don't add up. I can only blame so much on "stress" and "anxiety", and I'm not buying that it would be causing such specific symptoms. Things just don't feel right.
Thanks for listening,
Jon
I've read all the stickies, and hundreds of posts. I know I can't self-diagnose (though that doesn't stop me from doing so). I won't claim to know the difference between "twitches" and "fasciculations", even though I'm pretty certain I'm having the latter. I see a neuro at the University of Illinois-Chicago next week who will do an EMG, so I know I'll have more direction soon. I'm both terrified and ready for it.
Started in Feb when I had an early stage cancer removed from my vocal cord. I'm 37 with a wonderful wife and four great little boys, so even though the cancer wasn't even stage 1 yet (just short of it), I let the stress of this event get away from myself. Over the course of the next couple months I developed pretty decent...numbness?...fatigue?...in my forearms and calves. I don't quite know how to describe the feeling. Had a stretch of 10 days in March where I had cognitive issues, i.e. my brain was 8 steps behind my eyeballs, I could hardly make words come out of my mouth, couldn't sleep more than 3 hours, etc. Tried Zoloft for 5 days, which was horrific. My hands were shaking like I had Parkinsons. I started having tongue/swallowing issues (which still continue) where my tongue felt thick and heavy and just plain dumb. A number of toes on my left foot went numb for the better part of April.
I know, doesn't sound like ALS - just another health anxiety nut at this point.
Through May and early June, a lot of this starts to gradually clear up. If I was in a stress hole because of the cancer, I was 10 times deeper once I started reading about Parkinson's, MS, ALS, etc on the Internet. I get it - turn it off. Like I said I started to and was feeling better...not like my "old" self"...but better.
Then last Friday my left foot started twitching. It hasn't stopped.
I know twitching without weakness is fairly irrelevant (in the grand scheme of things). I also know I can't test for clinical weakness, despite my repeated (and successful) toe and heal walking. I've read the discussions about BFS vs ALS twitching, and again I know I can't self-diagnose.
My left foot twitches constantly, mainly in my arch. Today I felt a few on the top of my foot and on my lower ankle. I don't know if I have weakness yet - I have to assume in the beginning it's so subtle you wouldn't even know. I haven't tripped on any blades of grass, but my feet and ankles and legs sometimes feel like jello...I know anxiety is playing a role in that feeling as well. The top of my left foot up through my lower ankle feels...I don't know how to describe it...stiff?...cramped? Not painful, just off.
So anyway, I'll go see the neuro next week, but I'll be honest in that I've already started the grieving process. I know it's premature and this is all just speculation and conjecture, but things just don't add up. I can only blame so much on "stress" and "anxiety", and I'm not buying that it would be causing such specific symptoms. Things just don't feel right.
Thanks for listening,
Jon