My Hand in 2004: Atrophy or Not?

[hCapitalize]

I have just been looking at a photograph of my left hand and without a shadow of a doubt there is a peculiar hollow in the muscle visible between the base of my thumb and forefinger.

Just one thing, this photo was taken in 2004 !!!!!!

So if this is genuine atrophy, it is at least old atrophy

I don't think my hand looks discernibly any different now when compared to the picture.

Likewise I have been looking at old pictures of my face because I have been worried about the disparity between my cheek muscles on the left and the right. Well that disparity has been there a long time as well.

I think I will go to bed a little less worried about *LS tonight, however knowing me my twitches will keep me occupied and give me cause to look for some other nasty explanation instead

 

[Thane]

that is atrophy, his hand went from normal to that in a month or so

i'll remove this post if admin deems it necessary .

 

[hCapitalize]

Ok Ok enough already.

I will admit I have a way to go before I am that bad, but every journey starts with the first step.

I guess I need to take to wearing gloves, that's the only way I will stop examining my hands

 

[ValgerAce59]

Thaner~~
I would just like to say thank you for posting those pictures. I'm sure it's difficult to see your father having to go through something like this, and those pictures were very good for many people here to see how atrophy really looks. I, for one, am feeling much better about what I thought was atrophy. I know it can start off slow, but you said he looked like this in two months, so that is rapid.
Does he have ALS? I hope he is doing ok, let us know. I think my Uncle has some wasting of his muscles because of his MS. He is now in his late seventies, and was diagnosed with MS when he was 25, so he went many years living a very full life, and still does, but he is having more difficulty now.
Thanks again, good luck to you~~Val

 

[hCapitalize]

It is now two months since I noticed that my tongue was twitching, of course it may have been twitching for months, even years before that, however that marked the renewal of my worries and I have been watching for some degeneration ever since.

Today I took it with me driving because I could see the difference between my left and right hand clearly whilst gripping the wheel, all the indents and furrows in the back of my hand and it bugged me. Here they are, it's enough to give anyone the vapours.

 

[ValgerAce59]

Thaner~~
Thanks for the info. I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. I hope he is doing ok. Do you mind if I ask what were his first symptoms? Lots of us on here are worried about twitching since it is related to ALS, but it seems it usually is not the first symptom to show up. I wish they could come out with something now that could help your Dad. My Dad was a very healthy guy, a runner and everything, and he died really quickly from a very, very rare disease. I know how hard it can be. Hang in there, and thanks again for the pics. Enjoy your Dad. We didn't really know he was going to die, it happened so suddenly, and now there are so many things left unsaid. I think I would give almost anything to have one minute with him right now! Anyway, good luck, talk to you soon.
PlayfulPants~~
Hi~~how are you doing? You know, the thing is, your hands look normal to me. Everyone's hands have lumps and bumps, and yours don't look any different to me than they should. My hands look different from each other, I think that's normal. Now that I am looking, I have indentations all over the place. It's hard not to get worried, cause you don't know if they are new, or if they've been there a while.
Do you take vitamins? I've been trying that lately, I take a mulit-vitamin, a magnesium, and a Vitamin E in the morning, but not sure it's helping yet. I get so sick of worrying about this. At least you have your neuro appt. soon! I guess my next step is to reschedule that sleep study.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I thought your hands looked fine. You can see on the other picture, it's so obvious when you have atrophy, and I know it starts small, but still there is a certain look to it. Also, he said it went so rapidly. Well, talk to you soon! Val

 

[hCapitalize]

Hi Val thanks for the encouragement.

Yes with my hands, that was one I took two months ago and I can't say they look any worse today, its just the way the tendons stick out that bugs me somewhat.

I enjoyed the drive in the country today never mind worrying about my hands, but my left shoulder was a pain. I drove to an old brewery in Oxfordshire which is the only brewery where the machinery is still operated by steam, and I took home a sample of what they make there. I must say it is very good and is certainly making me more relaxed tonight.

I don't take vitamins, I think you can do too much, but I might consider giving magnesium a try from what I have read.

 

[ValgerAce59]

Hi~~
Yea, I know what you mean about noticing things such as the tendons, but really, they look normal to me. It's something you are noticing that to others probably looks normal. I have compared my hands to my kids (older kids)...and theirs look like that also. There are uneven spots, indents, bumps, you name it. I think atrophy is just so obvious, which is why the neuros usually don't examine it so throughly, they take a quick look, and can tell right away.
The area you are in sounds beautiful. We are in Texas, and sometimes find it hard to find really great spots, for nature especially. I am from California, so I am spoiled from living in a place where you can go to the beach, and go to Lake Tahoe and ski, all in the same day. I miss it! Maybe that's part of my anxiety.
Anyway, I've been taking magnesium each day, and honestly I don't notice any difference at all. I suppose it's hard to say, maybe I would be worse if I hadn't of taken it, but I am just the same as when I started it. I heard that Vitamin E has helped some people, so I figured why not, and I take that with a multi-vitamin also. I also try to have a banana each day for sure, and also maybe a smoothie with banana in it, so I get plenty of that. I've heard in lots of places that bananas help with cramps and twitching. If nothing else, it helps to make me feel like I'm eating healthy. Like, if I have a banana and a nice cold water before bed tonight, I'm sure I'll feel better, at least mentally.
The thing is, I really have a feeling that these symptoms that I'm having now are with me for the long haul. It's like my heart palpitations, I've had those for about 15 years, and I know I'll have them the rest of my life. I don't pay much attention to them anymore. I hope it gets that way with the twitches, where I don't worry about it anymore. With the heart palpitations, I sort of got into the mindset, from research on my own and doctor advice, to just kind of realize that it's only the symptoms that might accompany the palpitations that should get my attention. Like, if I felt light headed, or chest pains, things like that. And, those things would get my attention anyway, so I generally don't worry about it. But, the twitching brings about more anxiety than the palpitations did, I don't know why. It's a really weird feeling to have your muscle do these things. Tonight, my left thigh is feeling so weird. It twitches, but really feels like a bad cramp for a second or two, and it's just a generally creepy feeling.
That drink you were having sounds pretty good right about now!! So, when is your appointment? I am anxious to hear how that goes, be sure to tell us. I'm sure he will reassure you. Talk to you soon~~Val

 

[Thane]

first symptoms for him was that he felt like he was throwing his legs around, cant remember which one, but it was more pronounced than the other, and profound weakness, then atrophy, it was months and months before any twitching came, and even then it was only in the foot that was affected and it was constant and he couldn't feel them, they weren't fluttery type twitches, they were described to me by my mother as snakes going down his leg/foot if that makes sense

 

[MarksmanS]

My left hand (not the dominant one) is also not as thick as my right...basically looks like yours. Also, I note that my thenar muscle on my left hand is larger than the right. That's just normal. Notice the muscle between your thumb and forefinger?? There is obviously no atrophy and this is the muscle that wastes first and noticably in the hand. Look at the above pics for proof on that.