Aa
Does this sound like 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.
i have the same mouth problem as you prescribed and im female not male by the way it as come back oral thrush loads of times and now the gp and mouth specialist says its dry mouth have you had any bloods taken i have and it comes back high white count i had loads of weird symptoms and i got tested for hiv in jan june august and septemeber all negative and no one can give me any answers to the mouth problem i also get headaches and lightheadness the mouth problem is driving me insane it goes of if i eat drink or smoke but if i dont do any its back and really irritating any advice welcome the last blood tests i had the gp said my neutrophilis was high which they say indicate a bacteria infection had more bloods done yeaterday and saw a mouth specialist who say everything is fine with my mouth but im telling them it isnt its painfull xx
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.
Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.
It must be emphasized that in the MAJORITY of cases muscle twitches are benign meaning that they are of no consequence and are not resulting from a serious cause. In such cases, the twitches may be related to anxiety/stress, caffeine, and often occur after recent strenuous activity or muscle over-use. It is important in such cases to reduce stress/anxiety levels and to reduce caffeine intake. Tremors of the hands can be physiological that is exacerbated by stress/anxiety and caffeine.
Benign fasciculation syndrome, abbreviated as BFS, is a condition in which there are involuntary twitches of various muscle groups, most commonly the legs but also the face, arms, eyes, and tongue. If the diagnosis is confirmed and other causes are excluded, it can be safely said that the likelihood of progression or occurrence of a serious neurologic condition is low.
When BFS is present but not particularly bothersome or disabling, treatment is not necessary. If severe and it requires treatment, there are a few medication options though this condition is not very common, and the research that has been done on its treatment is limited. Minimizing caffeine and stress, and treating anxiety if it is present, will improve your symptoms.
However in general (and please understand I am not trying to imply I feel this is the case in you), when fasciculations occur in the setting of associated symptoms such as progressive loss of sensation, tingling or numbness, weakness, trouble swallowing and other symptoms, the cause may be due to a peripheral nervous system problem particularly with an area called the anterior horn cells, which is the area where the nerves that supply motor innervation to our body comes from. These are the cells that give off the nerves that allow us to voluntarily contract our muscles. The diseases that might affect the anterior horn cells include ALS (also called Lou Gherig's disease), a condition called spinal muscular atrophy, polio-like viruses, west nile virus, and other infections.
Another nervous system problem, neuropathy, may also lead to fasciculations. There will again be associated weakness or sensory changes.
You mentioned also having tingling/numbness sensations too. If symptoms migrate (move from one place to the other), causes might include seizures, migraine disorder or metabolic problems such as low calcium.
Often these symptoms may reflect emotional/psychiatric problems related to stress (what is called somatization disorder). The latter is a true medical condition whereby instead of a patient experiencing depression or anxiety, they experience physical symptoms, and once the stress is addressed, the symptoms resolve.
I suggest follow up with your primary doctor and you may benefit from evaluation by a neurologist as your primary doctor feels fit. It is important that you discuss your concerns with him/her. You may need basic lab work to ensure your blood chemistry, particularly your potassium, sodium, and calcium, is normal. Further workup would have to be decided upon by your neurologist depending on the clinical examination and historical findings.
Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.
Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.
It must be emphasized that in the MAJORITY of cases muscle twitches are benign meaning that they are of no consequence and are not resulting from a serious cause. In such cases, the twitches may be related to anxiety/stress, caffeine, and often occur after recent strenuous activity or muscle over-use. It is important in such cases to reduce stress/anxiety levels and to reduce caffeine intake. Tremors of the hands can be physiological that is exacerbated by stress/anxiety and caffeine.
Benign fasciculation syndrome, abbreviated as BFS, is a condition in which there are involuntary twitches of various muscle groups, most commonly the legs but also the face, arms, eyes, and tongue. If the diagnosis is confirmed and other causes are excluded, it can be safely said that the likelihood of progression or occurrence of a serious neurologic condition is low.
When BFS is present but not particularly bothersome or disabling, treatment is not necessary. If severe and it requires treatment, there are a few medication options though this condition is not very common, and the research that has been done on its treatment is limited. Minimizing caffeine and stress, and treating anxiety if it is present, will improve your symptoms.
However in general (and please understand I am not trying to imply I feel this is the case in you), when fasciculations occur in the setting of associated symptoms such as progressive loss of sensation, tingling or numbness, weakness, trouble swallowing and other symptoms, the cause may be due to a peripheral nervous system problem particularly with an area called the anterior horn cells, which is the area where the nerves that supply motor innervation to our body comes from. These are the cells that give off the nerves that allow us to voluntarily contract our muscles. The diseases that might affect the anterior horn cells include ALS (also called Lou Gherig's disease), a condition called spinal muscular atrophy, polio-like viruses, west nile virus, and other infections.
Another nervous system problem, neuropathy, may also lead to fasciculations. There will again be associated weakness or sensory changes.
You mentioned also having tingling/numbness sensations too. If symptoms migrate (move from one place to the other), causes might include seizures, migraine disorder or metabolic problems such as low calcium.
Often these symptoms may reflect emotional/psychiatric problems related to stress (what is called somatization disorder). The latter is a true medical condition whereby instead of a patient experiencing depression or anxiety, they experience physical symptoms, and once the stress is addressed, the symptoms resolve.
I suggest follow up with your primary doctor and you may benefit from evaluation by a neurologist as your primary doctor feels fit. It is important that you discuss your concerns with him/her. You may need basic lab work to ensure your blood chemistry, particularly your potassium, sodium, and calcium, is normal. Further workup would have to be decided upon by your neurologist depending on the clinical examination and historical findings.
Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.
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? please help
Just thought I’d give you a quick response since you seem really worried.
If those are the classic symptoms of ALS – I should be dead by now. :) There can be lots of reasons for those symptoms. I’ll give you a bit of what I discovered and maybe it will put you at ease.
I had a really bad taste in my mouth too – saw several doctors – dentist, ENT, etc. It turned out that I had chronically infected tonsils (which the first two docs missed). Getting rid of the tonsils got rid of the problem. Keep in mind that “taste” is actually mostly “smell”. Even post nasal drip from allergies can cause the bad taste – also being dehydrated – I can always tell by my friend’s breath if he hasn’t been drinking enough water.
Weight loss – I went from 115 lbs to 95lbs unintentionally over a couple months – stress/illness? – I’m still not sure, but I’ve put the weight back on and that was over 10 yrs ago.
Although you have an elevated CPK – it’s really not that high – healthy people can spike up into the 1000’s on occasion. I bet your weight loss can even explain that – sounds like you probably lost some muscle mass.
Numbness, twitching, cramps, etc. Your symptoms are almost identical to mine. Mine got so bad that I would wake up and my arms would be cold, dead, and numb from the elbow down. Taking supplements (B vitamins, Mg, etc) has helped a lot with the symptoms but they’re still problematic. The arms are much better but one leg is way worse. My doc is still looking into it for me – I have other neurological issues as well. The point is that I’ve had these symptoms for over 5 yrs and if it had been ALS it would have reared its ugly head by now.
Regardless of what’s wrong with you, stress will totally make it worse (believe me) – especially the twitching and tense muscles. I’m not a doctor, but your group of symptoms doesn’t scream ALS to me. My personal suggestion would be to take 4-6 wks to de-stress. Talk to your doctor about taking some neuro/muscle supportive vitamins (B, Mg, etc), hydrate, exercise, get a couple of massages – very serious about that one – really, really helps! You and your doctor won’t know what symptoms to focus on until you can eliminate the stress factor.
Hope that helps...
If those are the classic symptoms of ALS – I should be dead by now. :) There can be lots of reasons for those symptoms. I’ll give you a bit of what I discovered and maybe it will put you at ease.
I had a really bad taste in my mouth too – saw several doctors – dentist, ENT, etc. It turned out that I had chronically infected tonsils (which the first two docs missed). Getting rid of the tonsils got rid of the problem. Keep in mind that “taste” is actually mostly “smell”. Even post nasal drip from allergies can cause the bad taste – also being dehydrated – I can always tell by my friend’s breath if he hasn’t been drinking enough water.
Weight loss – I went from 115 lbs to 95lbs unintentionally over a couple months – stress/illness? – I’m still not sure, but I’ve put the weight back on and that was over 10 yrs ago.
Although you have an elevated CPK – it’s really not that high – healthy people can spike up into the 1000’s on occasion. I bet your weight loss can even explain that – sounds like you probably lost some muscle mass.
Numbness, twitching, cramps, etc. Your symptoms are almost identical to mine. Mine got so bad that I would wake up and my arms would be cold, dead, and numb from the elbow down. Taking supplements (B vitamins, Mg, etc) has helped a lot with the symptoms but they’re still problematic. The arms are much better but one leg is way worse. My doc is still looking into it for me – I have other neurological issues as well. The point is that I’ve had these symptoms for over 5 yrs and if it had been ALS it would have reared its ugly head by now.
Regardless of what’s wrong with you, stress will totally make it worse (believe me) – especially the twitching and tense muscles. I’m not a doctor, but your group of symptoms doesn’t scream ALS to me. My personal suggestion would be to take 4-6 wks to de-stress. Talk to your doctor about taking some neuro/muscle supportive vitamins (B, Mg, etc), hydrate, exercise, get a couple of massages – very serious about that one – really, really helps! You and your doctor won’t know what symptoms to focus on until you can eliminate the stress factor.
Hope that helps...
I'm just so scared to leave my wife and 17 month old son. I start crying and get all depressed. Could it be als? It seems like I have all the classic symptoms.
someone please help, it seems like my extremeties go numb real quick from any pressure on them and tingle, and the small twitches in my legs are worse and wont stop. im so scared and depressed.
You are reading content posted in the Neurology Forum
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease
