This is an amazing site -- thanks for all you've done to put this together.
I've been worrried about ALS for several months and am finally getting a referral to a neurologist to set my mind at ease. From what I've read here, the 6 months I've spent with some twitches and fasciculations seem to fit BFS more than ALS (varied in size, all over the body, good days and bad days). Strength seems fine -- I'm somewhat weaker in say, the bench press than last year, but I've almost completely stopped going to the gym, so the dropoff in strength makes sense. Yes, I've done the surreptitious strength testing many of you mention, like wall sitting, and seem fine!
However, the symptom that has me worried is the way my right hand seems to fall asleep and the pinkie and ring finger cramp up while I'm sleeping. This first happened 2 weeks ago. I woke up with my right hand on my chest, it felt rather numb, and the last two fingers were quite numb and curled up. There was no pain. It took several seconds for me to be able to make them move and flex, but within a minute all the fingers could wiggle and move again. This scared me so much I googled the symptoms, found this place, and joined up!
This has happened again another 2-3 nights since, but not as severe -- the cramping seems milder, and my fingers haven't locked up as badly. It seems as if one part of me is attentive for these symptoms and wakes me early in the process.
So while I will be seeing a doctor, the mixture of info I see here about some people getting finger cramping -- after exertion -- and the "clonus" exhibited in early ALS, has me a little worried.
Do any BFS people experience similar night finger cramping?
I've been worrried about ALS for several months and am finally getting a referral to a neurologist to set my mind at ease. From what I've read here, the 6 months I've spent with some twitches and fasciculations seem to fit BFS more than ALS (varied in size, all over the body, good days and bad days). Strength seems fine -- I'm somewhat weaker in say, the bench press than last year, but I've almost completely stopped going to the gym, so the dropoff in strength makes sense. Yes, I've done the surreptitious strength testing many of you mention, like wall sitting, and seem fine!
However, the symptom that has me worried is the way my right hand seems to fall asleep and the pinkie and ring finger cramp up while I'm sleeping. This first happened 2 weeks ago. I woke up with my right hand on my chest, it felt rather numb, and the last two fingers were quite numb and curled up. There was no pain. It took several seconds for me to be able to make them move and flex, but within a minute all the fingers could wiggle and move again. This scared me so much I googled the symptoms, found this place, and joined up!
This has happened again another 2-3 nights since, but not as severe -- the cramping seems milder, and my fingers haven't locked up as badly. It seems as if one part of me is attentive for these symptoms and wakes me early in the process.
So while I will be seeing a doctor, the mixture of info I see here about some people getting finger cramping -- after exertion -- and the "clonus" exhibited in early ALS, has me a little worried.
Do any BFS people experience similar night finger cramping?