IPG1983
New member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2016
- Messages
- 4
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- CA
- State
- Ontario
- City
- Brockville
Hello to you all,
I am a new member to this forum, however I have been reading some topics on here for about a week now seeking answers. You are all so supportive so I thought I would register and tell my story to possibly get some answers and help with my anxiety.
My symptoms started about 5 years ago when I could honestly feel what felt like a perfectly symmetrical divide down the center of my body, where my left side felt completely normal and my right side felt "different" and cold. My anxiety started to take over and I started twitching all over my body and my right hand became tight. I checked the internet and immediately convinced myself I had Parkinson's disease. I went to my DR and he didn't seem concerned and told me it was anxiety but referred me to a neurologist to reassure me. The neurologist didn't perform any tests with a device, but he checked my reflexes, and when he tapped my left knee it felt fine, but when he tapped my right knee, my reflex was fine but it sent the strangest sensation through my leg which is hard to describe. Almost like a tingling feeling. He ended up telling me that everyone's body is different and that it's just my anxiety and the physiological make up of my body. I accepted that.
Years have gone by with this weird feeling in my right leg but no weakness or anything, until recently.
3 months ago, I had an x ray at my dentist which showed some (what I now know) as gland stones. This sent my anxiety through the roof thinking I had mouth or throat cancer....I saw a ENT specialist who scoped my throat and told me I had some swelling and put me on some medication for GERD. My anxiety by this time had consumed me and I developed a rash, got really tired, saw random bruises, so I thought I had leukemia, and blood work done which came back fine. This should be where my story ends but my anxiety will not allow myself to believe I am healthy. I have always had fear of that strange feeling on the right side of my body.
This leads me to my recent concerns.....it's been three months of steady stress and lack of sleeping but now my right leg is feeling very strange again. I will wake up from a nights sleep with a pulled muscle in my calf and my leg feels heavy. I am catching my leg on stairs and it feels like I am dragging it along sometimes. It even keeps me up at night due to twitching in my thigh and a heavy feeling in my calf, almost like a restless leg. My ankle joint is hurting constantly and my achilles muscle always feels tight.
In addition to my leg problem, my right hand is tight, and arm feels heavy and my forearm muscle feels like its pulled. I am also having trouble chewing my food as my jaw muscles get sore and swallowing food takes a few attempts.
I am also experiencing difficulty pronouncing certain words and my tongue is twitching and I feel like I have a lot more saliva in my mouth.
I am convinced in my head I have ALS and the fear of not being around for my daughter is consuming my thoughts and affecting my family life with my wife and parents as I am not myself.
I am scheduled to see a therapist and am going to schedule a visit with my DR again, but I would love to hear from someone on this forum about their thoughts/concerns of my story. My major concern out of all the ones that I listed is my heavy foot and weak calf so if anyone wants to elaborate on this, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
I forgot to mention that I recently went to a massage therapist to help try and relax my leg and she told me that my muscle tone in my right leg is much different than my left which only caused me more stress.
Sorry for the lengthy introduction to my story, thanks for listening.
Greg.
I am a new member to this forum, however I have been reading some topics on here for about a week now seeking answers. You are all so supportive so I thought I would register and tell my story to possibly get some answers and help with my anxiety.
My symptoms started about 5 years ago when I could honestly feel what felt like a perfectly symmetrical divide down the center of my body, where my left side felt completely normal and my right side felt "different" and cold. My anxiety started to take over and I started twitching all over my body and my right hand became tight. I checked the internet and immediately convinced myself I had Parkinson's disease. I went to my DR and he didn't seem concerned and told me it was anxiety but referred me to a neurologist to reassure me. The neurologist didn't perform any tests with a device, but he checked my reflexes, and when he tapped my left knee it felt fine, but when he tapped my right knee, my reflex was fine but it sent the strangest sensation through my leg which is hard to describe. Almost like a tingling feeling. He ended up telling me that everyone's body is different and that it's just my anxiety and the physiological make up of my body. I accepted that.
Years have gone by with this weird feeling in my right leg but no weakness or anything, until recently.
3 months ago, I had an x ray at my dentist which showed some (what I now know) as gland stones. This sent my anxiety through the roof thinking I had mouth or throat cancer....I saw a ENT specialist who scoped my throat and told me I had some swelling and put me on some medication for GERD. My anxiety by this time had consumed me and I developed a rash, got really tired, saw random bruises, so I thought I had leukemia, and blood work done which came back fine. This should be where my story ends but my anxiety will not allow myself to believe I am healthy. I have always had fear of that strange feeling on the right side of my body.
This leads me to my recent concerns.....it's been three months of steady stress and lack of sleeping but now my right leg is feeling very strange again. I will wake up from a nights sleep with a pulled muscle in my calf and my leg feels heavy. I am catching my leg on stairs and it feels like I am dragging it along sometimes. It even keeps me up at night due to twitching in my thigh and a heavy feeling in my calf, almost like a restless leg. My ankle joint is hurting constantly and my achilles muscle always feels tight.
In addition to my leg problem, my right hand is tight, and arm feels heavy and my forearm muscle feels like its pulled. I am also having trouble chewing my food as my jaw muscles get sore and swallowing food takes a few attempts.
I am also experiencing difficulty pronouncing certain words and my tongue is twitching and I feel like I have a lot more saliva in my mouth.
I am convinced in my head I have ALS and the fear of not being around for my daughter is consuming my thoughts and affecting my family life with my wife and parents as I am not myself.
I am scheduled to see a therapist and am going to schedule a visit with my DR again, but I would love to hear from someone on this forum about their thoughts/concerns of my story. My major concern out of all the ones that I listed is my heavy foot and weak calf so if anyone wants to elaborate on this, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
I forgot to mention that I recently went to a massage therapist to help try and relax my leg and she told me that my muscle tone in my right leg is much different than my left which only caused me more stress.
Sorry for the lengthy introduction to my story, thanks for listening.
Greg.