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I have some questions for everyone, as well as any doctor(s) who would be so kind as to answer. Any in put is greatly appreciated. I am posting in regards to my horrific fearFears and phobias of als that i stated in a previous post.symptoms began in march initially and started with a headache followed by a plethora of other strange occurances, including involuntary faceFace paincontractionsFetal heart and uterine contraction monitor Fetal heart monitoring Tension headache. I had completeComplete Complete a-z Complete allergy Complete natal Complete premium Complete senior Complete-rf spine and brain MRIs as well as all normalNormal saline flushregularRegular insulin and advanced bloodwork. After the series of tests, i began to notice what i percieve and looks like atrophy of both hands between the thumb and forefinger palm up, as well as a hoarse voice and the odd twitch here and there,which concerned me even more. I went to a follow up appointment previously scheduled with a neurologist who had given me a normal clinical exam about a month prior. I told him that i was concerned about als. I requested that he do an emg- which he did on my more symptomatic(stiff and crampy) side-my right. It was of the arm and leg and came back normal. Since that emg, i have been having widespread twitches and thumps all over my body, predominantly on my left side. The hand atrophy looked to be increasing, and just yesterday at work i was told by a coworker that i sounded a little nasal, which scared me even more. Also lately i have noticed that i have alot of saliva in my mouth sometimes for no particular reason. I went to another nuerologist two days ago for my increased fear, who is one of the most well known in the area-who had also examined me previously. He told me that unless he could see the fasciculations himself, there was no reason for another emg to be done. He examined me breifly and said that i was the picture of health. His examination was breif since he had examined me three months prior. I requested that he look at my hands and he said that patients who have als present with atrophy that would be apparent on the top of the hands in between the bones of the finger and that the bulk of the area with the indent that was concerning me looked fine. I also requested that he examine my tongue which he also said was fine, as well as my relfexes and grip strength/resistance. I am a 21 year ol male who, under normal circumstances, is in the gym 5 days a week on a bodybuilding routine. Here are my questions:
1. Would a normal emg on my right arm and leg after the onset of symptoms rule out als?
2. Does als usually present itself with weakness on the naturally weaker side. I.E. your left if you are right handed-which i am.
3.Would my neurologist have picked up anything upon his examination yesterday 2 onths after the emg if als was present?
4. At my examination yesterday my neurologist said that if there was something pathologically wrong, then i would not be able to work out and be back in the gym-which i have been.
5. Would the fact that i am more developed muscularly make it more difficult to feel weakness if it was caused by als?
6. If the atrophy i percieve and the stiffness and weakness was present on my right side, would the emg have shown something if it was due to motor neuron death?
Thanks to everyone in advance. I am truly terrified.