als?

im a 26 year old male. 5 months ago I started having slight headaches, and a weird taste in my mouth everynow and then. It has been getting constantly worse and now I have headaches occasionally and the bad taste in my mouth is there ALL the time, wife says my breath smells bad/weird sometimes with it, its really hard to explain the taste its just very unusual and feels like sometimes its coming from the roof of my mouth. It dont go away no matter how much I brush my teeth,sometimes it feels like a burning sensation and goes to my lips. also have hot flashes. Since this has started about 5 months or less ago, I've also lost about 18 lbs unintentionally. My appetite is not good at all, just no desire to eat. I dont exercise or do anything so that cant be the cause.  I also recently developed these strange muscle spasms/twinges, and muscle cramps everywhere, this started about 6-7 weeks ago, before they started I was having muscle pains in my thighs, and calves, and it would switch from one to the other throughout the day.the muscle twitches are constant while at rest in my ENTIRE left and right calf area and now my feet, mainly my whole lower leg, my hands also just started twitching, and getting muscle cramps there also. also have pain in my thighs that comes and goes and cramps in my feet. also like when i sit on the toilet my legs will start tingling and go numb within less than a minute. does this signal anything?  i had an emg done on my legs about 2 months ago and he said it was normal, but i live in a real small area and the Dr's here are not familiar with ALS at all and he only stuck the needle in each leg about 4 times, and then the muscle twitches wasnt as bad as they are now, and also when he done the test i wasnt having any twitching.also from the weight i lost my wedding ring no longer fits. arms and everything got smaller but bellys still there.fatigued all the time. muscle pain in legs,feet,and hand. could it be ALS? CPK blood was 236. Seems like my muscle witches are.getting.worse and I have pain in both my legs mainly in the calf area and thighs.  Dr also said my knee /leg reflexes was very brisk. Could I have als? also feel like i might be getting weak in arms and legs.

[beachcomber13]

My understanding of ALS is that it is only motor, not sensory. The twitches would be motor, but tingling and numbness would be sensory.

Has your doctor brought up multiple sclerosis?

[Narble]

This doesn't sound much like ALS, which is the most common motor neuron disease. The standard presentation of ALS is lower-limb weakness with dull reflexes, but no pain or other parasthesias (e.g.: twitching, tingling, numbness, etc.), taste issues, or cramps as you describe.

Rapid weight loss itself can cause depletion of calcium and potassium stores, which in turn can cause cramping and other muscle symptoms. But that isn't an explanation of what's going on with you, just a thought about the complex interactions taking place.

MS is one of many possible explanations for the symptoms you've described. I suggest you get ready for multiple visits to specialists, and lots of tests. A neurologist would be a good specialist to start with (if you haven't already), and a trip to a major medical center at a nearby university or urban area may speed the process along.