neySueSid567
Well-known member
Congratulations! That is wonderful. Now get out and enjoy your life!!!
Time to Celebrate and Enjoy Life!
- Thread starter neySueSid567
- Start date
sherlockholmesz2
Well-known member
Just thought I'd post a little followup.
When the neuro walked in for my emg, the first thing she asked was if I'd always been this thin. I nearly laughed and replied "yep". I was thinking how malnourished I must look to some people.
The nerve conduction test was interesting. The mild shocks felt more like intense tickles to me. The actual emg was somewhat painful at times. When she did my right calf and asked me to resist her pressing on my foot, I felt intense pain and nearly came off the table. She smiled and said "normal". Afterwards she said there were no signs of any weakness so I was really reassured. She said I'd probably have some soreness for a few days and she was right. However, it didn't keep me from mowing my yard that evening or from walking 2.6 miles tonight!
I also asked her about the validity of bfs as a true medical syndrome. My GP said the jury's still out on that, but the neuro said otherwise. She said she's seen patients with bfs with and without anxiety but in my case it could be related to the anxiety. She constantly kept telling me that anxiety is a true clinical illness and can cause all manner of symptoms. She also said that I did the right thing by having the mri and emg to ease my mind.
I have one last follow-up consultation with the neuro PA Monday morning. I decided not to cancel it since it was already scheduled and I think this will make for good closure.
This afternoon, I was in the local mall and noticed some calf fatigue but this time I just said to myself, "Hmmm....calf fatigue." and went about my business. Just a few weeks ago, I would have completely freaked out over that. Obviously it didn't persist or I couldn't have walked tonight. My twitching continues to be greatly diminished.
I'm finally beginning to gain back some of the weight I lost to anxiety over the summer.
We all need to keep the following things in mind (in no particular order):
1) Twitching by itself isn't indicative of als.
2) True weakness by itself isn't indicative of als. Many things can cause weakness.
3) Waxing and waning of our symptoms is indicative of their benign nature.
4) Anxiety is an illness that CAN be overcome.
5) We should trust our GP's and neuro's when they tell us we're okay. My failure to do this caused me to waste an entire summer.
6) fatigue doesn't = weakness
7) inability to move = weakness
Sooner or later, we're ALL going to twicth, feel tired, cramp, choke on our own spit, drop something, trip, spasm, gag, burp, and lots of other things I probably souldn't say here. These things are all normal and we shouldn't be alarmed when we do them. Our hyper-awareness, not the things I mentioned, is the bad culprit.
9) Remember the sanity checks that are all around us reminding us we don't have clinical weakness: we can drive, we can walk, we can move around, we can eat, etc.
My sincere thanks to all who have encouraged me. I hope I have returned the favor in some way!
When the neuro walked in for my emg, the first thing she asked was if I'd always been this thin. I nearly laughed and replied "yep". I was thinking how malnourished I must look to some people.
The nerve conduction test was interesting. The mild shocks felt more like intense tickles to me. The actual emg was somewhat painful at times. When she did my right calf and asked me to resist her pressing on my foot, I felt intense pain and nearly came off the table. She smiled and said "normal". Afterwards she said there were no signs of any weakness so I was really reassured. She said I'd probably have some soreness for a few days and she was right. However, it didn't keep me from mowing my yard that evening or from walking 2.6 miles tonight! I also asked her about the validity of bfs as a true medical syndrome. My GP said the jury's still out on that, but the neuro said otherwise. She said she's seen patients with bfs with and without anxiety but in my case it could be related to the anxiety. She constantly kept telling me that anxiety is a true clinical illness and can cause all manner of symptoms. She also said that I did the right thing by having the mri and emg to ease my mind.
I have one last follow-up consultation with the neuro PA Monday morning. I decided not to cancel it since it was already scheduled and I think this will make for good closure.
This afternoon, I was in the local mall and noticed some calf fatigue but this time I just said to myself, "Hmmm....calf fatigue." and went about my business. Just a few weeks ago, I would have completely freaked out over that. Obviously it didn't persist or I couldn't have walked tonight. My twitching continues to be greatly diminished.
I'm finally beginning to gain back some of the weight I lost to anxiety over the summer.
We all need to keep the following things in mind (in no particular order):
1) Twitching by itself isn't indicative of als.
2) True weakness by itself isn't indicative of als. Many things can cause weakness.
3) Waxing and waning of our symptoms is indicative of their benign nature.
4) Anxiety is an illness that CAN be overcome.
5) We should trust our GP's and neuro's when they tell us we're okay. My failure to do this caused me to waste an entire summer.
6) fatigue doesn't = weakness
7) inability to move = weakness
Sooner or later, we're ALL going to twicth, feel tired, cramp, choke on our own spit, drop something, trip, spasm, gag, burp, and lots of other things I probably souldn't say here. These things are all normal and we shouldn't be alarmed when we do them. Our hyper-awareness, not the things I mentioned, is the bad culprit.9) Remember the sanity checks that are all around us reminding us we don't have clinical weakness: we can drive, we can walk, we can move around, we can eat, etc.
My sincere thanks to all who have encouraged me. I hope I have returned the favor in some way!