symptoms and als

[cer2146]

My gf was diagnosed with als about 3-4 years ago. She's 31 years old. She has symptoms of als like extreme fatigue and weakness of muscles, headaches. I've tried reading up about all of this, but she has a couple of symptoms that is not commonly suggested diagnosis for it. Unless I'm wrong or didn't do proper research. Please could someone tell me if the following are symptoms of als: Left side goes completely numb and after a couple of minutes back to normal again. When I touch her arm when it goes numb, it feels funny, like the same feeling when you touch a pins and needles machine which you commonly find at a physio practise. Almost like her arm is sending an electronic current through to me. Some nights she goes blind or loses her hearing completely and then restores back to normal again after a couple of min. Also has no taste in left side of tongue. Some nights she acts very strange, almost like she's drunk and then sometimes it's almost like she's hallucinating. Also developed pkd (Polycystic kidney disease) which also suggests that symptoms are chronic headaches.

I know that a lot of als cases are misdiagnosed, but just wanted to find out if some of these symptoms are related to als or could there be any other possibilities.....any feedback would be highly appreciated.

[chochmeh]

Was she diagnosed at a certified ALS clinic?  ALS is very difficult to diagnose...usually it's the last thing diagnosed after all other tests for all other neurological diseases are negative...ALS is different in every PALS, but i have never heard of chronic headache or someones whole side going numb-(maybe a hand)being one of them...if you are concerned about your friend, i would suggest a second opinion through an ALS clinic in your area. You can check for ALS clinics in your area through the MDA website.

[cer2146]

Thank you for the response, it's very much appreciated! As far as I know she didn't go to a certified als clinic. I actually don't know if there's any certified als clinics in south-africa but I'll find out! Have to make sure that it's not something else!

Thanks again for the response!

[julia111]

Hi, please don't quote me, but I think that ALS does not have any sensory issues associated with it - such as numbness and loss of taste, eyesight or hearing.  

A lot of her symptoms sound similar to Multiple Sclerosis - MS.  Has that been ruled out?