Weak leg?

[Twitcher]

I have a question concerning a weak feeling in my left leg.  How would weakness associated with ALS feel?  For the past 4 days my left leg has felt weak.  Not in terms of not being able to walk up stairs or having difficulty standing up from a seated position, but more a rubbery feeling.  This feeling tends to be centered around the knee area.  It's very similar to the "weak in the knees" feeling one gets from being nervous.  If I perform a lunge (step forward with one leg and lower the opposite leg's knee to the floor), my left leg requires slightly more effort in returning to a standing position.  The difference is slight.  Muscle tone seems fine.  I can walk on my toes and heels.

This started about 5 days after I saw a Neurologist from the CCF for muscle twitches/fasciculations.  That was the third Neurologist I've seen over the past few months concerning my worry over having ALS.  So far the concensous seems to be BFS. (Though none have seen any fascics during my office visit.)

I've been having head to toe muscle twitches/fascics since November.  The original reason I started seeing a doctor was for hand tremors that have been present since at least spring of 2001.(dx polyminimyoclonus due to arm fascics)

My main quesion is does this sound like ALS or anxiety?  I understand you can't give me a diagnosis, but your opinion would be much valued.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

Although ALS has many different clinical presentations that don't necessarily fit into a textbook description, there does seem to be a common pattern of symptoms and signs that we see in patients with this disease. It commonly first affects the muscles in the hand which shows visible wasting. Patients complain of difficulty doing fine motor movements with their hand. I had one patient whose beginning symptoms were that she couldn't bowl anymore. The twitches can come much later and should be picked up easily on exam if they are truly present. Your symptoms do not sound like the typical presentation of ALS. They could be due to anxiety, but I would be careful to work you up for other things such as thyroid disease before attributing everything to stress. Good luck

[CarolynZLaw]

Whenever I hear of people with undiagnosed weaknesses, I suggest they get tested for paraneoplastic syndrome. There is a simple blood test that can rule this out and it is not something that most doctors look for or think of because it is relatively rare.My mom struggled with similiar symptoms for months before being properly diagnosed.
However, early diagnosis is key so it may be something to discuss with your doctor if your symptoms persist.

[lisacounce]

A related discussion, Weekness and pain in legs was started.