Are there any other possibilities apart from ALS?

[logue1]

Hi, I've posted here before and Demiguise helped me out bigtime.To update i'm still waiting on my neurologist appointment, NHS aren't great when it comes to dealing with Urgent cases.
     My Doctor has now referred me to another hospital in the hope i get seen sooner.On his referral letter he states that i have  bilateral small muscle wastage on hands(partivularly prominant in anatomical snuff boxes)what ever that means,Ptosis of left eye, fascilations of intercorstals and thighs.Balance test was poor and that i suffer from a lot of muscle issues.It's just that i have so many other issues like,confusion,depression and extreme fatigue along with real bad headaches.I'm not sure these are ALS related or are they.
   I wonder are there any other diseases that cause symptoms similar to mine.I want to be well educated for my neurologist appointment when it comes, and i want to be able to throw other suggestions his/her way if any of you have any.
    Demiguise thanks again for helping me out before, hope you are doing well.
            Marty

[logue1]

Thank you so much for your response.I will certainly bring this up when i visit mt neurologist.I hope you are doing ok now at the minute.

[leemalie]

I have a disease called Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, so named because it has symptoms of several diseases that "overlap" such as lupus, scleroderma, polymyositis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease as are these others, and MS as well. I am not familiar with ALS. I couldn't find "fascilations" or "intercorstals" in any dictionary online, so I have no idea there and your other symptoms didn't sound like MCTD, until I read about your "muscle issues, confusion, depression, extreme fatigue and headaches."

Some of the symptoms of MCTD are fatigue, muscle weakness, joint pain, joint swelling, swollen fingers, mild fever, and Raynaud's phenomenon (blood vessel spasms that interrupt blood flow to the fingers, ears, nose and toes.) I don't have all of those but do have extreme fatigue, inability to concentrate, memory loss, muscle weakness and soreness--anywhere you touch me feels like you are touching a bruise--depression, headaches and backaches. Mine all started with Raynaud's phenomenon (almost lost the ends of all my fingers), which put me in the hospital where I went into respiratory distress with a rare type of pneumonia. Took the doctors weeks to come to a diagnosis.

Anyway, this may not have anything to do with your disorder, I just thought it might give you something to think about besides ALS. You can read more about MCTD at MayoClinic.com and merck.com as well as WebMD.com.

Good luck. Let us know what you find out.
Hugs and Blessings.

[Sarah26]

Hi,

I know exactly what you mean about the NHS! If a body isn't dead or half dead by the time they get to see a specialist, then that's a miracle in itself! I read up on ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases and I'm leaning towards MS, but I'm no expert by any means (just someone with a lot of time on their hands!)

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Symptoms.asp

Another thing...how long have you had these symptoms? Are they getting progressively worse, or just staying about the same?

[logue1]

I forgot to add that i'm only 29, and that my doctor does believe that Motor Neuron Disease is a possibility.