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codya13105

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I WAS LOOKING AT MY ARM, WANT THERE IS AN INDENTION EXACTLY WHERE MY MUSCLE TWITCH IS...I'D SAY ITS ABOUTH THE SIZE OF A NICKEL...DOES WASTING CAUSE INDENTIONS? I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS! IM CONVINCED I HAVE ALS.:cry:
 
codya13105,

You need to stop thinking about it constantly. I know this is hard, but I'm taking your use of all caps to be a significant sign of distress (which you shouldn't feel the need to do, as I've found that the people on this forum are kind and understanding enough to try to read and respond to posts of 30+ lines of stream of consciousness writing with no punctuation).

Stress is only going to exacerbate whatever you are feeling.

Slight indentations in muscle mass, and minor assymetrical differences in the size and shape of one limb to the other are perfectly normal. I got nervous when I noticed a slight difference between my right and left arm, until my wife demonstrated that she had a greater difference between hers. She's a slender gal so 1cm on her goes a whole lot further than 1cm on me.

The problem with trying to hunt for atrophy is that you probably never paid that much attention to every inch of your body before your symptoms started. You have no reference point. If people weren't so scared and nervous it would be comical to watch people craning to look at remote corners, staring at old photographs, or trying figure out a way to measure hand thickness. Before I learned to let go, staring at my tongue was my household's equivalent of, "Do these pants make my butt look fat?"

Keep following up with the medicos, and in the mean time relax,

Best wishes,

Robert
 
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Needs alot more symtoms to be ALS

I have had a twitching eye off and on all my life. Leg spasms, arm spasms, muscle atrophy. None of this ALS. Can be many things as well as the normal aging process.

There are lots of other symtoms included for ALS.

So Relax and Go enjoy life......
 
Is this muscle wasting? I have alot of pain involving the wrist and side of hand where it inverts, and fingers. muscles on palm slowly disappearing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I saw a orthopedic a couple of years ago, it wasn't quite as bad then, he said it looked like some atrophy, but did not know what it was?
11800-albums338-picture2323.jpg
 
rdmullinnex--

it is hard to see in the light of these photos whether or not you have muscle wasting and in any case, it would be best to show your hands to a doctor who can determine whether you have atrophy, not to the untrained eyes on this forum. Once you start scrutinizing every muscle in your body for wasting, it is a slippery slope, believe me.

For what it is worth, I have had some unexplained muscle loss in my hands and forearms and some mild weakness which has not been diagnosed, along with other symptoms. My hands have developed a peculiar laxity or flexibility which I think may be due to the loss of muscle. The fingers kind of bend in a strange way, but they are still functional, but I have problems with some fine motor stuff like opening ketchup packets and ziploc bags. that said, I had an EMG on one arm one year ago and it was normal, so the neurologist said no ALS. I am due back for a follow up later this month, but whatever is wrong with me appears not to be ALS as it has unfolded very slowly and also there is the negative EMG.

there are many things that can cause problems with the hands, including various forms of nerve damage from repetitive stress, i.e. overuse of computer.

so don't go diagnosing yourself with a fatal disease. Do get yourself to a doctor, if, for nothing else, than peace of mind.

good luck-

Sandra
 
RD-- move your hand further away from the camera, man! I can see a little dent, but the rest is just a bright mess from the flash. Also, the dent seems to be in a fairly common place for people without als to have indentations.

Check it out with a doctor, let us know what they say. Don't worry too much. If you have had these problems for years and still don't have very noticeable weakness, that certainly points away from ALS.
 
Thanks for the info, I am not diagnosing myself with als, just frustrated at not knowing what is going on with my hand and wrist and am hoping to find someone who has either had what I have or someone who is familiar with this.
I have alot of pain on that side, the right wrist is very painful. I have been diagnosed with intersection syndrome in same arm, bilateral carpal tunnel surgeries. My doctor said that I would not get any better, no lifting, no repetitive movement for the rest of my life as far as a job is concerned, no typing all day, or computer all day. He said there was nothing else he could do for me, went to another specialist and he concurred with my first doctor, said if he operated on the intersection he would damage the arm more than help it, had steroid shots, cortisone injections and that did nothing to relieve inflammation it's been two years since and I have lost alot of my grip, when I make a fist my wrist hurts, my fingers are hurting, my right thumb is sometimes very painful. To top it all off my right leg and knee are now in pain 24/7, awaiting results for test that were taken from them. Sorry about the poor picture, here is a better one.
Thanks
Randy



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