Worried about MS and especially ALS

[Laxer971]

Hello everyone,


I know you have probably seen this about 1000 times before but my health anxiety is really getting to me. It is effecting my every day life and ALS and MS is all i can think about so please help!!!

I am 20 years old and an athletic white male that has been playing sports my whole life. I was wondering what my chances of having ALS or MS are because i am really worrying about them.

Symptoms: (some of which my be related to anxiety)

Musles twitches almost all the time in calfs and sometimes briefly in other places (i do have a twitch in my tongue sometimes which is what really freaked me out)

(all of these seem to get worse at night or when i am dehydrated especailly the electric shock feeling which is my biggest concern) ( very bad when im hung over as well lol)

Electric Sock type feeling in from elbows to biceps, in ribs and in chest but only with certain movements or strenuous activities, especially when I'm surfing.

Sometime my legs feel tired when i walk up a flight of stairs for about 3 to 5 seconds and then they feel normal


So those are my symptoms of why i am worried, I am more worried about ALS obviously but MS is still a big worry. So someone people help me put my mind to rest. Oh and i do have very bad health anxiety.

ps. I have seen a pain management doctor and he said the upper body electric shock things were do to tightness and inflammation, i have tried stretching and taking anti inflamitories but they dont seem to help.

What condictions i know i currently have:

sinitus, very bad allergies, asthma, post nasal drip, GA, and Visual Snow

Thank you in advance for your input!!!

[aggiecuttler]

hello there whats ALS? anyway the main thing to be aware of is that health anxiety can manifest itself in so many ways causing so many symptoms, and when we get fixated on something we can manifest symptoms, if you are a fit person thats a good thing so i would say likelyhood of being ill is remote, i think getting your health anxiety in check should be your priority if you can get that under control then it will lift the worries of your health so get the HA under control would be my advice i am sure you are ok blessings

[purgatory]

Well pleased to say none of that points to ALS or as we call it in the uk MND.

Muscle twitching presents in the later stages of ALS when the muscle is already dead and has already showed signs of wastage.

You are suffering from Anxiety my friend I have been their and done the whole ALS scare and have spoken to sufferers of it and have learnt from them.

[Speranza]

Yes, I have just answered someone on another thread re MND as my Dad had it.

I did mention - though I am not a doctor - that the muscle twitching stuff can be a dietary deficiency. I expect someone can tell you exactly what, I have forgotten... something like magnesium I think. Bananas wouldn't harm either...

[Kenna5027]

These symptoms can also be indicative of just over-using your muscles.

Also, if you are paying attention to every time you get a twitch, you WILL get more. I too have had several MS-related panics, and I've had a couple start with muscle twitches. They begin as a single twitch most of the time, or a couple of twitches, and then I obsess over every muscle ache and movement and before you know it, I'm twitching much more frequently.

I don't know the actual numbers, but I believe ALS is extremely rare, especially for someone your age. MS is also pretty rare, particularly for males.

[Lilharry]

What's your diet like? MS and ALS are not something you should be worrying about, but diet and lifestyle are the basis of good health and bad diet can put your body out of balance and cause all sorts of symptoms - especially the ones you've listed. Try cutting back on sugar and eat whole, nutritious foods, not processed or takeaways. Lots of vegies and a little fruit (not too much). Get some probiotics - either in capsule form or start eating acidophilus yogurt - plain without additives and sugar. And drink lots of water - stay away from fizzy drinks etc. Trust me, you will start to feel better after a few weeks if you do this - you might feel worse at first (tired, headachey etc) but this isn't a reason to stop, just means your body is getting used to the good stuff.

[joelhall]

Make sure you're taking in enough potassium and fluids, and remember to cool down properly after exercise. I sometimes get the tremors after particularly strenous training, but it's nothing worth worrying about. You might want to get some flexibility work done on your legs, and massage therapy wouldn't hurt either.