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Neurology (Expert Forum)
I am extremely worried to say the least; pondering death; ALS?
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I am extremely worried to say the least; pondering death; ALS?
by Izac, Apr 25, 2004 12:00AM
Hi,
One of my hobbies was body building(for 3 years; no drugs), i am 20 years old,due to a wrist injury i decided to stop weights on my upper body until i found out what was going on with my wrist, so i stayed off my weights for upper body & focused on my lower back and legs, during my time off weights i got a bit of twitching with my left shoulder, then went away, okay, i felt slight tightness/cramping in my upper body muscles which however i was accustomed too feeling after if ever i stopped doing weights for a long period, i eventually also started to feel nerve pains around my body, a "pin sticking into just below the surface of skin like" shot of pain(periheral neuropapthy?), this seemed to occur anywhere in my body: my arms,back, neck, legs, ears, top of my head... while i was doing my excercises with my lower back & legs(running etc.) i felt sciatica like nerve pains down my legs, & lower back pain, i also had nerve pains shooting up my back, so i used my lower body & upper body to a minimum... despite the fact that the scaitica nerve pain symptons reduced after some rest, my crampness/tightness in my muscles increased & i started feeling twitching in my muscles, firstly just in my legs, shoulders & then progressing to other parts of my bodys arms, abdomen area, neck, left cheek, eye, & plus neuropathy still exists, i have an elevated CK in my blood, a CT scan on my Lumber spine suggests minor bulging & congenitial narrowing of neural foramina at L5, its been three months since ive done weights or anything physical, i feel wearker & twitching gettin worse, ALS or?
One of my hobbies was body building(for 3 years; no drugs), i am 20 years old,due to a wrist injury i decided to stop weights on my upper body until i found out what was going on with my wrist, so i stayed off my weights for upper body & focused on my lower back and legs, during my time off weights i got a bit of twitching with my left shoulder, then went away, okay, i felt slight tightness/cramping in my upper body muscles which however i was accustomed too feeling after if ever i stopped doing weights for a long period, i eventually also started to feel nerve pains around my body, a "pin sticking into just below the surface of skin like" shot of pain(periheral neuropapthy?), this seemed to occur anywhere in my body: my arms,back, neck, legs, ears, top of my head... while i was doing my excercises with my lower back & legs(running etc.) i felt sciatica like nerve pains down my legs, & lower back pain, i also had nerve pains shooting up my back, so i used my lower body & upper body to a minimum... despite the fact that the scaitica nerve pain symptons reduced after some rest, my crampness/tightness in my muscles increased & i started feeling twitching in my muscles, firstly just in my legs, shoulders & then progressing to other parts of my bodys arms, abdomen area, neck, left cheek, eye, & plus neuropathy still exists, i have an elevated CK in my blood, a CT scan on my Lumber spine suggests minor bulging & congenitial narrowing of neural foramina at L5, its been three months since ive done weights or anything physical, i feel wearker & twitching gettin worse, ALS or?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS, Apr 29, 2004 12:00AM
Fasciculations may be a marker of disease, but it can also be part of benign fasciculation syndrome. Also strenuous excercise, after not having excercised for a while, can produce fasciculations. I think ALS is unlikely given your age. To have this formally evaluated, I would recommend seeing a neurologist. They can examine you and determine if there are any abnormalities. You did not state how elevated the CK level was, but a mild elevation can sometimes be seen in normal people. Other lab tests which can be performed include a repeat CK after several days of rest, and a aldolase (another muscle enzyme). Good luck.
how does ALS get diagnosed?
OH AND TO THE GOOD NEUROLOGISTS ANSWERING THIS QUESTION... i'd thought i should let you know that i saw a nuerologist he did a nerve conduction test on the back of my left calf muscle and another on my right leg behind my knee and foot, he did a needle EMG on my thigh, calf, and right arm, and he found nothing unordinary... however where then is my cramping muscles, twitching muscles and "pin" pains around my body coming from... i know have sharp pains in my hands whenever i bend my thumbs and other parts of my hands at certain angles... anyway i know i asked a further question but i guess i was the original questioner... i apologise... thank you for your awaited reply...
There is a commonly used component in cleaning and degreaser products for instance, 2-butoxyethanol. It's worth learning about. You would have this or other assorted symptoms first, even headache, sore throat (no fever), coughing, etc. But you might especially notice, with this chemical, eyes watering and itching.
Did you paint, or do some home maintenance, or clean? Were you around groups of those kind of people? (Second hand solvent exposure is possible, as Gulf War Vets will attest to). Just as an example it is in oven cleaner (complex version) in 409 cleaner, Simple Green, Lysol Tub 'n tile (has its own pesticide number)
You won't have to worry about this chemical, though, if you don't have a debilitating fatigue and multiple other odd symptoms: much like the choices of add on symptoms for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
This fatigue can be found by a couple of simple add on blood tests, however (Not the normal ones, though) To find this often overlooked form of fatigue:
'retic' ratio (Reticulocyte Count) and ask for comment on the size and shape of the red blood cells. ... AND the Complete Blood Counts with differential (the combined tests are around $70 in our area) The headaches and neurological effects of this chemical SCREAM LOUDER but the provable harm is the fatigue caused by prematurely destroyed red blood cells.
Good luck!