Worried...

[m2egg]

I have some symptoms that are really worrying me, so at the risk of looking like a fool, I'm going to ask for opinions. I will be calling to schedule a neuro appt. this week regardless because something is certainly amiss. I apologize for this being long, but I feel like some of the background is important.

I am a 30 year old female with no family history of ALS. For a long time(at least 8-9 years) I have had a hand tremor. My PCP looked at it and said it looked like essential tremor and brushed it off. It was a minor tremor so I forgot about and it just became something I have. For the past couple years I have noticed pretty bad shaking when I squeeze something. I again brushed that off thinking I didn't use those muscles enough. It was with things like pumping gas, using the manual car wash, etc. Now I'm noticing anything that requires a prolonged gripping motion causes severe shaking. It only shakes when I make the gripping motion and stops if I open my hand. This severe shaking will last for quite some time after gripping for a longer period, but does go back to normal eventually until the next time. This has been happening at least 4 years but has gotten much worse the past year. I do not drop things or have a complete inability to use any muscles though. I do sometimes(not at the time of the shaking) have shooting pains down the arm and into the hands which I think contradicts ALS? The shaking is so bad that I can't do anything with that hand that requires gripping until it stops. I have taken a video of it to show neuro but I'm not sure if that's helpful.

Other symptoms include random muscle twitching all over. I can feel ripples through leg muscles, eyelid twitching, etc. Sometimes my limbs feel heavy or feel uncoordinated. I know those aren't a good indicator of ALS, but I'm mentioning because it's things adding up that worry me.

I'm just very worried and am not sure what to think. I'm terrified of not being here for my son.

 

[ShiftKicker]

Hiya-
Tremor generally points away from Motor Neuron Disease. While I'm not saying there is nothing wrong, tremor does not sit high on the list of ALS symptoms, if at all. The period of time you've had your tremor also does not indicate a degenerative disease like ALS, as you'd be WAY more affected by degeneration- as in, your limbs would not be working properly.

I think it's a good idea to book an appointment with someone who can assess you- if only to put your worries to rest.

Best wishes

~F

 

[affected]

I agree with shiftkicker - tremors are not an indication of ALS beginning.
Some PALS do experience clonus, but that is very different to what you describe.
You have been diagnosed with essential tremor, so a neurologist is the place to go. Especially considering how long this has been going on, ALS will be extremely low on this list of likely candidates, like at the bottom.
Let us know after you have been seen

 

[m2egg]

Thank you guys for taking the time to respond. You said what I was thinking, but I feel better hearing someone else say it.

I was thinking the sheer length of time this has been going on seems unlikely for ALS, even if I don't include the essential tremor and just the gripping issue. That's still been noticeably bad for a couple years. I panicked yesterday when I felt like my legs weren't going to work. They just felt so odd(almost like sticks), but they worked just fine. When I combined that with the shaking grip and google...well, we know how that goes. I should have seen a neurologist years ago, but was afraid to know to be honest. It's long overdue. Hopefully I can get in without too long of a wait so I can put this worry to rest for good.