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Neurology  (Expert Forum)
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Various types of ALS?
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Various types of ALS?

by Mark51__0, Nov 02, 1998 12:00AM

  I'm sorry to use this forum to settle a debate as I'm sure your time could be better spent. However,here goes I have an ongoing unidentified condition that started about three years ago. My Dr first thought it might be ALS but various test didn't support that. Over that space of time to present my problems have progressed, increased cramping ,twitching ,jerking, fasiculations,tremor and I do loose my balance much more often and easier then in the past however the only substantial weakness I've noticed is when Itry to get get up from sitting and I do fatigue pretty easy. My belief is ALS would have progressed much farther and much faster the what I have experianced.  My wife believes there are various forms of ALS and some progress slowly.  The question are there differant types of ALS and if so how long might they last.      
==========================================================================
There is in fact a spectrum of disability in ALs with some types
particularly some familial,variants progressing very slowly, one famous
patient the British scientist Stephen Hawking has had the
diagnosis for over twenty years.
In general to be given the label certain criteria must be met and
I am not clear from your posting that you have ever even been given the diagnosis
with any degree of confidence in the first pace.
Some of your symptoms sound like ALs but tremors , jerking ans unsteadiness
which is independrent of weakness do not sound in any way typical.
You may well have an unidentified condition in which case the prognosis
cannot be predicted, but if the condition is not identified there is little
benefit in giving it the worst possible label.
The fact that you do not fit the diagnostic criteria for ALS and are
progressing at an unusual rate would suggest that this is not the
diagnosis in the first place.





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