Panic Mode: Numbness in Leg

[owingDuckWhistler777]

Well my panic mode is on once again. My right leg feels somewhat weak! Actually, I am not sure if it's true weakness... I felt this a few weeks ago along w/ the pain starting from my butt area, going down. I have had a normal emg which did comfort me a bit at the time. I am becoming scared again because this is not going away. I did exercise last night and the night before (just to make sure that I still could) and believe it or not, that actually made the muscle pain better. Can anyone tell me if it's possible to have a normal emg and still have "the" disease?? I don't know how to describe the way my leg feels. More like it's heavy, tight....I don't know if that means weak or not?? I can still jump on it, walk on my toes, heels etc. Should I try to relax or really start to worry? My emg was done about 2 wks ago, at which time I had the same mentioned "weakness" and pain...... I am just worried because it hasn't gone away.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Sandy

 

[Alonzo]

Sandy,

"perceived" weakness is _really_ common in BFS - try doing a word search on it on the site and see how many hits you get! I've had perceived weakness of my left leg on & off for months. REAL weakness means not being able to do things such as get out of a chair or walk. Perceived weakness means it just feels a bit strange and is completely unrelated to als. Your kind of "weakness" is usually variable or intermittent whereas als weakness in profound and rapidly progressive. Perceived weakness is made worse by worry and constant testing of your muscles.

A normal emg means no als so you can relax. It seems that most people with bfs seem to get little doubts creeping in again after a normal emg because they get twitching in new places or muscle pains etc develop - I know I did! Over time you'll gradually accept that it isn't als, but in the meantime try not to let the worry take over your life (which is easier said than done )

Above all (and sorry for all the upper case) - STAY AWAY FROM THOSE SCARY ALS SITES!!

David

 

[mczMcPhee]

((25)) Consider this, if you had this so called "weakness" 2 weeks ago and you had the EMG while this was happening, if it was ALS, the EMG would have 100% picked it up. No question about it. The ONLY time EMG's MIGHT be misleading is when there are no symptoms and it is VERY early-on in the disease, which if you had that weak feling at that point, that is NOT very early-on at all. In fact, once you notice symptoms like that, in ALS, it has been with you for quite some time and an EMG will positively pick it up.

On another note. If it was ALS, your "weakness" wouldn't have calmed-down between the EMG and now. ALS does NOT, and can NOT come and go. It is NOT selective towards days, moods or anything like that, and in ALS you SURELY wouldn't "feel" better AFTER you exercised!

A LOT of us BFS'ers complain of "drained" feelings and "rubbery legs" from time to time and it is pretty common. Sometimes it can last for weeks or even months before it lets-up.

You had a clean EMG... welcome to BFS...

 

[LetsGoBucs]

Alonzo,
I thought that if you had a clean EMG, then you could relax about "the dsease"? Had my EMG in June after two months of twitching. I'm still twitching but also still jogging and working out. Is it possible to have the EMG too early and have it miss something?

 

[Alonzo]

I do feel better now. You are right, I didn't think about the fact that the weakness seemed to go away for a few days and is back now.... The pain in my right leg is constant though. A really weird muscle pain, like after heavy exercising (which I didn't do up until a few days ago). I'm not sure if that's what is considered cramping? I am trying really hard to relax about this whole thing, but just "trying" to relax is making me more anxious.
Also, my weakness seemed to start right after the twitching, like the next day! And, my emg was done about 3 wks after the onset of twitching. I also would like to know if that's too early for the test? Should I retest?
Noone mentioned the word bfs at the dr's office. Just said emg was fine.
Once again, thanks everyone!

 

[mczMcPhee]

It could be a pulled scaitica muscle or just anxiety! Relax you have the classic symptpms of BFS! Have you talked to anyone about your high anxiety level?

 

[Alonzo]

Sarah and ((25)), relax... you BOTH had your EMG's AFTER you started twitching... several weeks after. Well, if twitching caused by ALS is a SECONDARY symptom, that would mean that you would have ALS running through your body already and doing it's thing to your muscles and nerves, so with that, NO, neither of your testes were too early.

If someone just happend to have an EMG done, for some other reason, and had no twitching or ANY signes of ALS, yet later-on developed ALS, then that would show why some tests "could" be too early. No symptoms were present at the time of the test. No twitching, no symptoms no signs on the EMG.

Let me explain it like this. We all pretty much know about HIV and AIDS, right? We know that you can become infected and while it is incubating and multiplying in your body, it most likely won't show-up in a blood test UNTIL there is enough of the disease present to initiate your body to release antibodies for the virus. It is those antibodies that tests screen for, right? So with that, it could be several weeks before HIV would show-up on a blood test with NO symptoms of HIV or AIDS before hand. That would show that there is a time where it is too early to test. On the other hand, if someone showed symptoms of AIDS and got tested, obviously it has already taken-hold of their body and it would certainly show-up in a blood test. Positive symptoms = positive test RESULTS. Not that symptoms MEAN you are HIV positive or twitching MEANS you have ALS, I am saying that SYMPTOMS that are present will mean the test will show SOMETHING one way ot the other. It is not too early for results one way or the other.

Well, ALS is exactly the same way. It takes a short while for ALS to show-up on a test (the EMG) BUT, and this is a big BUT, there would have to be NO symptoms at that time as well, or none noticed and that is the key here. If you got an EMG done WITH twitching, and we KNOW that twitching is a reaction the dying muscles do as a last ditch effort to stay alive, then you would have ALS present already and it WOULD certainly show-up on an EMG. Are you following me here? It's actually really simple. Let me put it this way, BOTH of you had twitches at the time the EMG's were performed, right? Well if it was really ALS, twitching IS a symptom of ALS that has ALREADY taken-over in your body and it WILL show-up on a test. Both of you had clean EMG's WITH symptoms present... You two are certainly in the clear, so relax.