Fear ALS

[Ow1984]

So after my MRI was clear and doctor said its a muscle strain. I have been better anxiety wise but still not great. Today I feel awful again... Been to the gym a few times this week and each time I lift weights with my hand my fingers twitch like crazy after. I also notice my index finger going mad when I'm at my computer and sat in meetings again. I stupidly just googled twitching after 4 months and 1st article was ALS and a guy 39 so 4 years older than me who had pain and then twitching and was diagnosed with als.

Im not sure I can take this anymore. Why won't it stop and why won't the pain go away. It's been 4 months now

 

[matisworried]

So after my MRI was clear and doctor said its a muscle strain. I have been better anxiety wise but still not great. Today I feel awful again... Been to the gym a few times this week and each time I lift weights with my hand my fingers twitch like crazy after. I also notice my index finger going mad when I'm at my computer and sat in meetings again. I stupidly just googled twitching after 4 months and 1st article was ALS and a guy 39 so 4 years older than me who had pain and then twitching and was diagnosed with als.

Im not sure I can take this anymore. Why won't it stop and why won't the pain go away. It's been 4 months now

anxiety-based symptoms will continue as long as anxiety is present. i experienced progressive symptoms for a year and it wasn't until i came to accept i was fine that my symptoms started to resolve.

if you had als, you would have a hard time gripping a fork, never mind lifting weights.

 

[liveinthenow]

It's important to stay away from anecdotal stories from actual sufferers. As heartbreaking as it is, often their perspective doesn't give an accurate medical overview of their situation. The man who was diagnosed would not have passed the simple strength tests that your GP gave you, there would have been red flags. My dad is a doctor and when I was having this scare, he told me that this disease is one of the easiest to rule out - if there are no detectable motor issues, especially after a few months, it's not possible for you to be ill. Anxiety is a killer and takes months to get over, just give it time and keep doing weights and you'll be fine!

If you aren't already, try wearing weightlifting gloves. I get hand and wrist pain and twitching after a workout, and the gloves are helping.

 

[Ow1984]

Hope your all right.

My anxiety had dropped this but the twitching remained. I do often wonder if it's a compressed nerve somewhere. But you know what it's like with HA the massive doubt it always there

 

[Ow1984]

So twitxhing is still there. Is so small it's hardly noticeable most of the time. But I'm so paranoid about ALS. I'm having cbt but don't think it's working. It's making me more convinced that it's something se rip.

 

[matisworried]

Is so small it's hardly noticeable most of the time. But I'm so paranoid about ALS.

there's your answer right there.

as long as you're anxious, your symptoms are going to remain.

 

[Ow1984]

5 months of finger twitching and muscle between index and thumb. Will this ever end, its got me so down now.

 

[Larii]

Muscle twitching is normal and can also indicate a lack of potassium, i remember my neurologist - whos been in the field for many years now - said she hates the advent of Google and all the symptom checking that comes from it because she has a lot of patients complaining about twitching terrified its als whereas in the past most people would have twitching and not think twice about it. If you focus on getting your anxiety under control your symptoms should subside, easier said than done but you have to train your brain

 

[Ow1984]

I've had blood tests and all where clear although I'm not sure what he tested for altogether. He definetly tested for magnesium

 

[Scared1234]

I've had blood tests and all where clear although I'm not sure what he tested for altogether. He definetly tested for magnesium

I was told that you wouldn’t be able to pass a basic neuro test if you truly had ALS. I have had twitching off and on for almost a year now. Before that, I had it after starting some new med for my gastritis. I stopped taking the med and about a month or so later, the twitching went away. This past spring it came back. The only thing low in my bloodwork was vitamin D. My dr sent me to the neuro and I had some more testing done. It was normal. And I passed all my basic neuro exams, too. Here it is, 9 months later, and I still twitch. But I’ve learned to live with it. It can be benign and it can be caused by anxiety.

 

[Ow1984]

I was told that you wouldn’t be able to pass a basic neuro test if you truly had ALS. I have had twitching off and on for almost a year now. Before that, I had it after starting some new med for my gastritis. I stopped taking the med and about a month or so later, the twitching went away. This past spring it came back. The only thing low in my bloodwork was vitamin D. My dr sent me to the neuro and I had some more testing done. It was normal. And I passed all my basic neuro exams, too. Here it is, 9 months later, and I still twitch. But I’ve learned to live with it. It can be benign and it can be caused by anxiety.

I do wonder whether it's vitamin D or something as I've been really down for months now. 2 doctors done very basic strength tests on my arms and wrists basically saying I was strong.

 

[matisworried]

I do wonder whether it's vitamin D or something as I've been really down for months now. 2 doctors done very basic strength tests on my arms and wrists basically saying I was strong.

this is a possibility. i'd venture to guess a majority of us have a vit. D definicicy, especially this time of year. it's also a possibility that this is psychosomatic/anxiety-based. if this is the case, your symptoms will last as long as your anxiety about it lasts. in cases like mine, twitching has actually become a symptom of my anxiety.

try to remember that ALS tends to progress VERY quickly. if you had it, your doctors would have little doubt something serious was going on. my ex-father-in-law died of it. i have a friend that's in the final stages of it. a musician that i've liked for 20+ years just recently died of it. all three of them went from asymptomatic to being almost 100% wheelchair-bound/disabled in less than a year.

regarding your symptoms, please try to keep in mind that 1.) muscle twitching caused by ALS doesn't usually start until AFTER muscle weakness and 2.) muscle weakness in regards to ALS generally means almost complete loss of function - like, you wouldn't be able to make a fist or hold down the accelerator in your car.

 

[TenLettersRap]

its also important to note that having a balance of nutrition is key, a lot of nutrients rely on other nutrients to do their job properly, and also note that American RDAs are flawed and are only a standard to keep you at base operating level.. constantly teetering on deficiency... most people require a lot more.. at peak health we can absorb about 10% of the nutrients we put in..it really takes a lot to put our body in peak performance mode

 

[Ow1984]

this is a possibility. i'd venture to guess a majority of us have a vit. D definicicy, especially this time of year. it's also a possibility that this is psychosomatic/anxiety-based. if this is the case, your symptoms will last as long as your anxiety about it lasts. in cases like mine, twitching has actually become a symptom of my anxiety.

try to remember that ALS tends to progress VERY quickly. if you had it, your doctors would have little doubt something serious was going on. my ex-father-in-law died of it. i have a friend that's in the final stages of it. a musician that i've liked for 20+ years just recently died of it. all three of them went from asymptomatic to being almost 100% wheelchair-bound/disabled in less than a year.

regarding your symptoms, please try to keep in mind that 1.) muscle twitching caused by ALS doesn't usually start until AFTER muscle weakness and 2.) muscle weakness in regards to ALS generally means almost complete loss of function - like, you wouldn't be able to make a fist or hold down the accelerator in your car.

Thanks for this post. My twitching is the muscle between thumb and index finger. It's almost like a light pulse under my skin at times others it will twitch/shake my finger slightly

 

[matisworried]

Thanks for this post. My twitching is the muscle between thumb and index finger. It's almost like a light pulse under my skin at times others it will twitch/shake my finger slightly

this sounds like absolutely nothing to be concerned with.

 

[Ow1984]

this sounds like absolutely nothing to be concerned with.

Having a bad day anxiety wise today again. Just don't understand that if my finger is resting on something it doesn't do it. If my hand is hanging there it does. It twitches after the slightest of use.

 

[E.B]

Having a bad day anxiety wise today again. Just don't understand that if my finger is resting on something it doesn't do it. If my hand is hanging there it does. It twitches after the slightest of use.

That is common, i am competitive in strength sports and compete specifically in grip and hand strength contests and mine will do that!

 

[Ow1984]

Was having an OK day anxiety wise. Until about an hour ago notice my muscle was twitching ever so slightly. Then on the news I see a league player 2 years old thanme has been diagnosed with mnd. I cant think what else my twitching would be

 

[matisworried]

Was having an OK day anxiety wise. Until about an hour ago notice my muscle was twitching ever so slightly. Then on the news I see a league player 2 years old thanme has been diagnosed with mnd. I cant think what else my twitching would be

people twitch. it happens.

and it happens for tons of minor, benign reasons.

when i voiced my concerns over twitching to my sister-in-law, who's a nurse, her response was "welp... i guess i have MS or ALS too, because i twitch all the time."

 

[Ow1984]

But mine is always in the same place and I've read that if you can hardly feel them it's als. I cant really feel mine just see it unless my finger twitches. I do get the odd twit he's all over my body but these I can feel.