Concerning Left Hand Symptoms

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santos271

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Hi guys:I haven't dropped a worried post in several weeks now. I had a normal MRI a few weeks ago and have generally had pretty stable symptoms since. I hadn't even worried about ALS in weeks and weeks.My left hand, which had never really bothered me too much, has been acting up today. I've had a weird feeling in the muscle in the webbed area between my thumb and index finger for several weeks. It's kind of a like a twitch, but not exactly like the others I get. It almost feels like I'm getting a mild electric shock or something is crawling around in my hand. Tonight, the feeling is there, but it's stronger. I'm also getting some other weird sensory symptoms in that area - kind of like tingling but not exactly. I'm also worried that the muscle there looks a little atrophied. I know it's a little smaller than that of the other side, however I can't swear that it hasn't always been - it's not my dominant hand, and since I hadn't really had problems with it before I never really "examined" it. I'm not sure why I'm getting concerned, and I know people here have had similar symptoms and concerns. I know the tingling, weird sensations have been experienced by others. Anyone else notice that this muscle on their non-dominant hand is noticeably smaller? (Sorry if this is a stupid question - I'm in reassurance-seeking mode again and I hate it.)Joanne
 
There is never a stupid question at all when it comes to BFS/BCFS. You are just experincing another BFS/BCFS/ symptom. I am right hand dominant and I have the same sensation you describe every now and then. I even thought it was mild atrophy at one time. The truth is I never really checked before BCFS. After BCFS I was always examining my body for new signs and sxs. Since I am not an MD I decided to leave that to the experts. But, after a while it just becomes a routine for the sxs to come and go. The sxs will be new until they are not new sxs then you will get a new sxs and that will be new. Finally you may get to apoint where you will say ok this week it's so and so going! :cool:
 
Thanks to you both. I know, I get anxious at times and there is probably no reason. My hand is feeling better today - and it's back to my right hand (cubital tunnel) bothering me and my eye is twitching again. :)Generally I feel pretty good about things and I"m easily able to see clearly when it comes to others and can reassure them with certainty. Of course, when it comes to myself, then uncertainty creeps back in. I was feeling great about my normal MRI until reading the post of someone who PM'd me and now I got myself back on the bandwagon of questioning the significance. It's apparently possible to have MS and normal MRI, however it's not common. I'm slightly concerned, however I am doing my best NOT to go there. My neuro didn't seem concerned and he ordered the tests "for reassurance." I can't imagine he'd suddenly be more concerned about it in light of my testing all coming out normal, so I am trying to just focus on that. It's a little easier now that I'm working on the anxiety in general and have been taking an SSRI, however it's still a struggle for someone like me who's a chronic worrier. Thanks again -Joanne
 
Hi Joanne.Glad to hear from you, just wish it wasn't because you're feeling anxious.Personally, I'd ignore the "it's possible to have MS with a normal MRI" line; possible, maybe; probable, no; likely, a bigger no. Last summer, I was in the midst of my first bout of anxiety--a cancer scare. Stupid me, I read an article about a women who found she had stage 3 colon cancer but never had any symptoms whatsoever. Imagine my delight! :mad: My GP told me the reason I read that in an article was because that is so da**ed rare; possible, yes, but MOST people would have noticed something by then--so maybe she had symptoms but didn't recognize or report them. He said no one reads articles about people who are correctly diagnosed and treated and who, by the way, make up the vast majority of those in medical care. Our media culture focuses on the exceptions and the scandals because those sell. There are diseases that take a while to diagnose (ALS is not one of them) but if your clinical symptoms warranted further suspicion and testing, your doc would have set you up for the ever-popular lumbar puncture, AKA the spinal tap. (Personally, a "tap" sounds better to me than a "puncture," but what do I know? :) ).Your neuro wasn't worried; whoever PM'd you or whatever you read raised an unecessary alarm. You've cleared a huge hurdle; don't jump back to this side. And don't compare body parts for size!!! :eek: Hope you're feeling better.Mark
 
I don't know how a normal MRI of the Brain and Spine would still lead to MS let alone the clinical and mutiple doctors that would ahve seen this patient. Where I come from that is called a mistake on the MRI scan or the doctor who read it. Unfortunatly you and I may not have MS now but 20 - 30 years from now maybe one of us will. I would worry more about heart disease, pollution, diabetis, cancer & car accidents. You know, the things that kill Americans by the millions. I agree.... you always read about the rare exception but not the millions of people treated everyday. He/she probably ordered the test just to get you reassured. :cool:
 
Thanks again, both of you. Mark, your note cracked me up.I know it's not likely, but of course I go around fishing the net for reassuring info and then inevitably find the opposite. Searching "normal MRI and MS" and find that a normal MRI does not absolutely rule it out - 5% of MRIs of the brain in MS are normal. I didn't have a spinal MRI and one has not been ordered. THe neuro didn't even want to do contrast with my brain MRI, but it was done anyway. I can't imagine he'll order more testing now that it came back normal, and I don't necessarily want to push it. :)I have GOT to learn that internet should not be used for "reassurance" - never works.
 
Joanne: If its any comfort, my non-dominant side is smaller than the dominant side, not just the hand, but the forearm, the thigh, even my left foot is smaller than my right. I know it has been that way all my life, because I had the ALS scare in my late twenties. Too bad it has come back to haunt me at 50 :crying: Cindy
 
Well, I too have had recent changes that get me scared and worried all over again. The lil' twitches all-over and I mean all over: hands, feet, legs, arms, face, and tongue. But the tongue thing is really the scariest. It used to tingle on just the tip but now it's moved to the left and it also twitches. This has been going for over a month. The others began Nov. 2005. But in the last three days, I have been getting STRONG spasms in my arms above and below my elbow. I make myself read "BFE in a Nutshell" daily, otherwise I will get to depressed. I had an EMG, my third one, all others were normal, but this one came back "okay" When I asked why they said okay, I don't feel that I got a real answer. May be due to nerve damage from my c 5/6...but why then hasn't it been a symptom from the onset? i would really like to know why if it's so clean cut all these doctor and nurses are on here too. Trust US, that doesn;t make me feel better to see doctors and nurse on here. Don't they know better? Anne B.
 
Hi Anne.I can't speak for all medical professionals here or elsehwere. However, when I began my "anxious period" (as opposed to my baroque period), my GP told me that when he was in medical school, he, and many of his colleagues, often convinced themselves that they had whatever disease it was they were studying. He said they attributed otherwise normal aches, pains, bodily functions, etc to some nefarious disease. Medicos are human, and I suppose if I saw some of the things they see day after day after day, I'd develop a certain amount of anxiety as well. Most high-stress professions leave a "mark" on those in that profession. So I'd say that it just proves that doctors and nurses are vulnerable to the same anxieties all of us may face at one time or another. But that's certainly no cause to doubt what your own doctor tells you, especially when they're backed by testing data. Don't focus on the breathless stories of misdiagnoses or negligence. Those are exceptions to the rule, just as twitching as a presenting symptom of ALS is a RARE exception to the "normal" pattern of the disease. Just my 2 cents, but I hate to see you son anxious over this.Mark
 
I agree with Mark. Doctors and nurses are human, and have human anxieties too. I'm not a medical professional, but it's always easier for me to be objective about others than myself. I'm sure doctors and nurses have different feelings, just as we do, when it's their own body that they're worried about and can see sxs clearly for what they really are when it's someone else.
 
Hi Ann, Mark and Joanella is right, when it is your own body, all rules of the game are off. Our minds play the same stupid games as everyone else. It likes to convince you of all the bad things it could be instead of good things. I think it is a self protective mode. If we expect the bad, then if we do get a bad diagnosis we aren't so shocked. However, this way of thinking robs of the ability to live and appreciate today. I know I am an RN..I am also a paramedic, I see all kinds of things and stay quite calm, but let one of my kids get hurt, again all bets are off.Terri
 

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