Question & Story About Chronic Changes

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Kennythekid

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I have some questions and a story for the group. I am a 38 year old male and my changes started in Feb of 2004 with a heart palpatation, dizziness and tingling in my left leg. So my first assumption is heart attack or stroke, I have everything checked out and everything test ok, no heart problems. The doc places me on altenalol for the heart palp and I have used acid reducers for two years for acid reflux. The heart palpatations never go away but I am told that it is normal and stay off the caffeine and use the atenalol to reduce the severity (atenalol blocks adrenaline). June of 2005, I tell my doctor that the my left leg and arm are tingling every day, I feel fatigued, dizziness spells and I have night sweats (the night sweats have been going on for several years).
So this sends me down the MS trail to visit a Neuro and I have the usual tests full MRI's, spinal tap, blood work and electrocardiogram for my heart. One of the MRI's comes back with an abnormal signal in the high white matter (only one spot) and the radiologist's report reads "worrisome for MS". All other MS tests come back negative, so I am feeling better but MS is a possability.
When I have the MRI's in July of 2005, I begin to notice twitching and movement in my left calf that will not go away and it migrates to other muscle areas, torso, arm, right leg. I try to ignore the twitches and have tried to meditate, stretch, exercise to make the movement go away. I told my neuro about the twitchs and he attributed it to anxiety. So of course I start using the web to self diagnose and come across the disease which must not be named. So in under two years I have went from thinking that I have a heart problem, to MS and then recently ALS.
I am having difficulties keeping my head in order and not giving into the despair of considering permanent disability or worse. I worry about what will happen to my family and not being able to see my daughter grow up. The internet is my worst enemy and I have a tendency to self diagnose.
So my quesitions are listed below:
1. Has anyone had an abnormal MRI along with the twitchs?
2. Does anyone recall symptoms prior to the twitchs, such as tingling etc.?
3. Has anyone went down the trail of being diagnosed with MS to later find out that the diagnoses is BFS?
4. After reading other posts on this site, it appears that if you do not have clinical weakness or atrophy the a** is not a possability. I went to the gym yesterday to lift weights and my strength is fine. If you do not have clinical weakness with the twitchs does this rule definently rule out a**?
Please give me some feedback.
 
I have 3 brain lesions that are "suspicious for demyelination", twitching & tingling, not to mention a brother w/MS. I do not have MS. Brain lesions can be caused by so many benign things such as an old bump in the head or migraines. They really are quite common. Twitching is not a symptom of MS according to my brothers neuro from Columbia. Tingling is common w/stress and anxiety. Without weakness or atrophy it is extremely unlikely that you have als, especially w/a normal neuro exam.
 
I went to my Neuro yesterday to show my twitchs and of course during my 10 minutes at the doctor my calves choose not to perform a display of twitching. So the doctor hits my muscles with a small hammer to try and provoke twitching, checks my strength etc. and no results.

Yesterday my twitchs started to migrate more to my arms and my forearms began twitching and moving my hands. Is this common with BFS to have large twitchs that move the fingers/hands?
 
I get twitches that move my fingers and hands. It freaked me out, but I have heard back from Basso and others that they experience the same thing. You are not alone. I kept having a finger twitch the other day that has since stopped. It freaked out my entire day that day, but the fact that it is now gone has brought me more back down to earth. This too shall pass...... ;)
 
My understanding is that bigger twitches are less likely to be ALS, simply because by the time there's that much distress due to denervation, the disease would be far along and you'd notice the weakness for sure. This is especially true for the smaller muscles in the hands. My neuro (along with the CCF / medhelp) has said that twitches that move fingers significantly are not symptoms of ALS.
 
Ya whatever. It is useless to try and discern between what is a small twitch/big twitch, fast twitch/slow twitch. I am starting to agree with Guest10, this just serves to confuse. Science in spite of it's many advances doesn't know why a flower grows. (yes, I did first hear about that on a Cat Stevens song when I was really young)

Chill sports fan, you are not weak, nor are your muscles wasting:

repeat

This is your Mantra:

No weakness, no wasting, no Als!!!!!!

I have believed over the years that I had brain tumour, cancer, diabetes, thyroid problems, food allergies, gluten-intolerance, MS, Early Alzheimers,
AIDS, and Tig-Dug-a-Roo (a rare disease transmitted only from the dominant Hyena in the pack, which causes the afflicted to laugh incessantly at inappropriate times, subsequently vomiting, losing bladder control and then falling down in that messy stew quite dead.) And as you can see, I am quite fine, even if Diego4Life doesn't think so.

Cheers,
Basso

PS: You are fine, just believe it.
Alter Ego: I thought you were finished Basso.
Basso: You bugger, get out of there.
AE: Now, now Basso, remember what you are always preaching, calm, beauty, life forces and (yawn) blah, blah, blah.
Basso: Ego sum alpha et omega vita via veritus primus novisimus.
AE: Excorcism? How quaint. Better sign off, cause now the fights really on.

sreehc,
assoB
 
Basso,

You crack me up!


Sports Fan, I am constantly second-guessing myself and my dr's opinion that my twitching, etc...is all anxiety related. Just yesterday, my eye was irritated and I went to the Dr. thinking I had pink-eye, but was diagnosed with a corneal eye ulcer. Immediately, I thought about auto-immune disorders. Why? I have elevated WBC, heart issues, skin changes, rapid weight gain and MAJOR twitches for over one year. All does not seem normal to me but I am trying not to work myself up over it. Somedays are better than others.

I know it is easier said then done but for your own sanity and that of your family, get a second opinion if necessary but don't consume yourself with the "what-if's" like I did last year. It wore me out!
 

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