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Really scared about als!

I have been having muscle weakness in my arms, legs, and hands for the past 10 days or so now and it is accompanied by a dull ache in my wrist, hands,elbows,thighs,calves, and feet. It is a feeling of weakness and was quite sudden. I also get slight twitches under the skin. It has progressed with feelings of extreme anxiety and worry about als. At this point, my hands and arms have signs of atrophy like a dent in the side of my hand when I move my pinky down. Also my arms have atrophy in the forearm too. My right arm feels heavier and weaker than my left arm and hand. I also got a sudden feeling in my hand where my pinky went tight and seemed to lock up. I should note that just 2 weeks ago I had no symptoms to speak of. Also my left calf is weak and my right thigh is weak. I also recently got short of breath for a while too. I have no problem swallowing or talking, but the rest still worries me. I have however read that anxiety can cause pretty much all the symptoms I have described including the atrophy and weakness. Also I would like to know if 10 days seems too rapid for ALS? Seen as I had weakness in both legs and arms all at once, and all of a sudden too. Since then, different symptoms come and go such as head tension and dull rheumatoid like aches, numbness in head and scalp and like I said, difficulty breathing. I'd say my weakness is a  mixture of perceived and clinical. My arms feel heavier than normal as do my legs. But I can still sprint or run up stairs in spite of the weak and weighed down feeling. I have lost considerable weight too as I have not been eating due to extreme anxiety. I get light headed and sometimes my weakness seems worse than other times. I really need to know what's going on.

I should probably mention that my doctor said it is unlikely that I have ALS or MS based on my blood test results showing no indication of any inflammatory condition. I'm not saying a blood test alone can diagnose ALS or MS, but it can indicate. I hope this is a really bad anxiety spell. If so it will probably take a couple of months to recover from the damage I've done to my self with worry. I just want to get someones opinion on the whole thing. Thanks :)
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Avatar universal
Hi here my story what could be wrong with me  Hi my name is Carol i think i might have MS because im getting crazy symtoms like i start to get a hot flash like im sweating but im not blurry vision body shaking loss of balance and hearing loss or ringing bells all while standing kneeling or sitting and i went to a eye specialist and he told me that i have black spots in the back of my eyes from all the spells this started back in 1996 than in 2001 the spells got worse then in 2007 i seen a ms doc.he strongly told me to go to his ms semiar and said I need to go to this semiar. but the mri came back before the semiar and he did a mri of my brain and it came out normal the doctors wont do a mri of my spine or lp they ruled out seizures and diabetes and lupis.and iv been diagnosis with oab,ibs ,acid reflex d and fibro.and my cousin has ms and my 3rd cousin has it and my moms sister getting tested for ms because it runs in the family to. and they told me that i have ms but i just have to have it confirm im just scared because i dont know whats going on w me.now i get numdness tingling tremers weakness off balance and iv been getting alot of charlie horses and always tired and stiffness and my feet is cold too and in my feet it feel like im walking on glass and lately I've been getting like this electrical shock feeling in my neck and shoulder. can someone please tell me what is wrong with me because i dont know does anybody know what it could be i ve been going though this sense i was 18yrs.old its just getting worse.on 10/18/13 i had a strange ep one morning I woke up and sat up in bed started walking to the bathroom and walking sideways like I was drunk and I was lightheaded and my leg wanted to give out so I started walking back to the bedroom same thing happen if my bed was not there I would've fell right in to the corner of my dresser this has never happen before my right side did not feel right for a while after that lasted for a couple days.i went to so many doctors and said it was panic attacks and they wanted to stuff drugs down my throut for the past 5-6 days I've been in so much pain my left leg & hip I have to walk with a cane now I have good days and bad days I'm not getting better im getting worse. I don't know what to do. my attacks gets worse in summer than winter.     thanks carol
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Avatar universal
Thank you for replying. I have seen the doctor and she said that it was anxiety related. And I have since recovered for the most part :) My blood work showed nothing indicating diabetes or thyroid problems. All perfectly healthy. I have calmed down about it as a result and symptoms have slowly went away. My limbs don't feel tight and heavy any more and I don't loose my breath. I had a slight cataplexy like feeling in the hands where I couldn't grip anything full force as it felt funny. Like when blood doesn't flow to your arms and legs if you rest on them too long and you can't stand up on them. I don't know the clinical term for that feeling. It was a strange thing to happen to me. I have been worried many times before in the past, but never has it caused any physical symptoms other than a headache. Any way, thank you for your reply. I feel even more at ease now :)
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351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi!
I am sorry to hear about your medical problems. Well, if you can sprint, climb stairs etc, then probably there is no weakness and probably you do not have ALS or MS. If blood work was done then, was diabetes, hypothyroidism and autoimmune disorders ruled out? All of these can cause a generalized heaviness in body along with aches and pains. Possibility of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance should be looked into along with anemia and low blood pressure.  Please discuss with your doctor. Take care!

The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.
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