Seeking Help for New Symptom

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XinaMae535

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Hi All, I've been having a new symptom and have been trying to deal with it logically and not let it get the best of me. Really tried hard! Medicine, relaxation, re-reviewing notes and positives....not googling!!! but it's now to a point where I am pretty worried and would like to ask for your thoughts here.My right (dominant) hand. The thenar muscle (I think that's what it's called, it's on the palm side, the muscle attaching thumb to wrist). It hurts, but like a dull ache. It feels like the ache radiates up to my index finger. When I gently press around, it definitely hurts in that muscle somewhere.I had a tingle or a tiny tiny twitch that you couldn't see but I felt it. It was constant all last week, even when I moved my hand. It wasn't in this thenar muscle though, it was on the back side of my hand, in the muscle between my thumb and index finger. That tingle happens still but like 1-2 times a day.I know my hand is weaker. I can't grasp the remote control like usual and changing the channels is different, like I have to try harder. It is also a little uncoordinated.Sometimes this pain seems like it is in my whole hand. No wrist pain that I can tell.I did not do anything to my thenar muscle, so why this problem?I do work on the computer every day, so when I logically think about this, it seems like I might have strained my hand, or this muscle, by clicking and typing. I haven't ever had such hand problems though, in my computer career.I've never had this happen to my thumb or hand at all.My emotions don't listen to logic and are telling me these things:You started twitching in July last year, you are not 1 year in yet so you are not in the clear, and this is a symptom coming now where "it" is starting in your right hand.Weakness. That's it. The full use if your hand has now passed and it will only get worse. Why pain though? "It" doesn't cause pain, but, there have been cases of pain and strains where certain muscles get weak so other muscles need to compensate. Maybe that's happening in my hand/arm?Can anyone relate it give advice?
 
Xina,any pain in the thumb irradiating to the index finger strongly suggest you have compression trauma in your cubital nerve. Compression trauma causes real weakness, so this is even more supportive for mechanical reason of your problems.people who are working hard on the PC or do strenous selftests to check if their hands are working Ok may easily get that type of trauma and anyway people with BFS often present with something looking like compression syndromes.You may see the surgeon if that is bothering you. You may see a neuro again to assess your real weaknes (or not) and grip strength.my sister in law had such trauma - also quite suddenly (in fact after ingoring seweral weeks of growing pain, as it was disovered after talking to her), and up to the point she had 2 fingers well paralysed (she can not flex them), but after reatment she got them back and now is completely recovered.well, if you started twitching in last July, you are quite clear in stat means from any ALS chances which woul be higher than in general, please please consider that diseases do not have a calendar and do not count days like 365, ehe, we would not bother this young lady any more...
 
Hi Gracely,I thank you for your reply. I know diseases don't count the days, I don't know why I am hooked on this 1 year thing. :unsure: :confused: I have a neuro appointment tomorrow, a new one, for a second opinion (per my orthopedic doc), to see what he thinks of my twitching, test of my reflexes again, talk about this pain in my left leg/hip and I will mention this with my hand and will talk to him about my fears and a possible EMG. All my tests have always come back negative, which I should take as good news, but I can't really because 1) ALS is diagnosed by ruling others out and 2) I have then no explanation of my pain, therefore, no proper treatment, just more and more pain.That's why I have a feeling whatever the neuro may want to do to my hand to test it out, will show nothing (like a compression that you suggested). This will only up my panic and frustration levels, and intensify my fear of getting an EMG because I feel, if all tests so far showed no signs, an EMG will probably show (bad) signs.I had an MRI of my lower back today, for the leg/hip pain (been waiting months to get this MRI done). I get the results on Friday, hopefully they will have found whatever this is. If nothing, then I would be very lost, more than I am now.My hand, other things that disturb me, is when I slightly flex the web muscle part between thumb and index finger on the backside of my hand, there is this hole...something I didn't have before (per pictures I've taken of my hands months ago) and this hole not on my left hand. Also, the thenar muscle that hurts, twitched/thumped in the middle of the night and woke me up, and this morning, my middle finger jerked/moved/jolted a couple times on its own. All new things that haven't happened before. I am HOPING these things can be caused by a compression.
 
I wrote this about my visit to the Neuro today:About my hand, he didnt seem concerned with it. He said computer work can strain the muscles. He said when I see my orthopedic doc on Friday, to mention it to him, since I will be getting an x-ray of my neck anyway (as a follow-up from bulging discs I had last year) and my ortho doc can maybe then look for something that could be causing my hand pain. He welcomed me back to see him (the neuro) if the ortho doc thinks I should or if it gets worse, etc.I feel pretty good about the hand not being anything serious, since the EMG was ok. It hurts like hell at times, but I'll take the pain. I will tell the ortho that I am just worried about the weak moments I've had, about them maybe getting worse if something is pinched.
 
Thanks for the reality check about the pain!!Wondering if you know: my neuro asked me questions like "can you see and feel the twitches, or just feel but not see or just see but not feel".....and mostly, I can see and feel them. But this feeling in my hand, it's different. It's a tingle, I think. But what if it's one of these twitches I can feel but not see? Are those the bad kinds? Wondering why he asked that.
 

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