I'm 19 years old and I'm terrified I have ALS

[JesseBarrett96]

Okay so for the past month and a half I've been through the roughest patch of hypochondria I've ever experienced. So last month I went to the ER 6 times I thought I was suffering from a brain tumor. They did bloodwork, a Mri, and a ct scan. I've also had four different doctors give me neurological exams. So for a couple days I was okay and I was starting to feel like my normal self. I woke up one morning and I noticed my left foot had a weird tingling sensation like I had something stuck to bottom of it. Like the idiot I am the first thing I do is go on google and look up a bunch of neurological diseases. I came across als and I was in pure panic and when I mean panic I mean bed ridden not eating or drinking I was basically in a fetal position for about a week. My little brother bought me Witcher 3(video game) to cheer me up. I was fine for about 4 days then this Thursday while I was playing Witcher 3 I notcied I had excessive saliva I went straight into panic again. My calve muscles and arm muscles have been pretty sore too. I've been trying to pull myself together but it's been extremely difficult. Just an fyi:I take 40mg of Prozac. I Won't be able to see my psychiatrist until July 15th. Do you guys know any tips that will help me? I haven't googled any symptons for 2 weeks.

[StayingStrong]

Hi Jesse,

I am sorry you are going through this. I recently went through something similar and had it checked by a doctor twice. Apparently the feeling in my ankle [pretty much the same as yours] was a "stress twitch", similar to the stress twitch some people get on their eyelids for example. It was most likely caused by my anxiety. Funny thing is, as soon as she told me this, the feeling completely disappeared.

Also for the record ALS does not begin with any funny feelings in the legs and it's very rare in people under 40.

Your muscles are probably sore because you have unconsciously kept them in a tensed state - it happens when you focus on a part of your body a lot and when you send the brain the message that it's in danger: the brain cramps up the muscles in anticipation of danger - basically to avoid damage to the nerves or the bone. I have been having some powerful shoulder and triceps pain until i realized that i was hunching because of the stress.

It's great that you have not googled any symptoms. When we fear the worst, we have a very subjective way of looking at things and we read into the symptoms in a way that makes us think that they apply to us [even if they don't], leaving out details that are crucial to diagnose a certain disease. All other sensations are subjective as well [such as excessive saliva, there is no such thing as a norm for saliva]. The truth is we are not doctors and there is a reason it takes 10 years to get a degree in medicine.

Our body only has so many ways of telling us that something is wrong [pain, tingle, itch... if you think about it you probably can't name more than 20 different sensations], and there are hundreds upon hundreds of illnesses, most of which are completely treatable. not no mention normal bodily sensations that mean absolutely nothing such as the occasional itchiness, cough, jolt of pain etc. When you have HA you tend to read so much more into these.

Most of all, you are 19 so your young age is the best thing to ensure you that you are safe from most bad illnesses. Cancers, tumors and even sclerosis and things like that happen much later in life and are extremely rare in young people. Moreover, if you had some genetic disease it probably would have started by now so you are as safe as a person can be.

19 is a beautiful age and you should be enjoying life and going out with your friends, discovering the world and doing all the things that you are not supposed to do, finding yourself and your path in life. Illnesses are not concerns that should be on the shoulders of someone this young. Trust your body, it wants nothing but to keep you safe and let you experience this world to the fullest, and right now it is at it's peak, so believe it or not, you are actually at your healthiest you could possibly be!

Anxiety has a very wide range of ways it can screw with you, so don't let it get the best of you. i know it's easier said than done. The brain is a very powerful organ and it can easily take over if we don't learn to control it [this is how things like anxiety, addictions and all such things are born].

Also it's very important for your recovery that you trust doctors. You had every possible test done, they are all clear so trust that you are healthy. I know sometimes we are scared to let our guard down because we think something bad will strike us just as we relax, but that is the normal 'hook' that anxiety uses to perpetuate itself. Don't fall for it.

I wish you all the best :bighug1:

P.S. : fall in love. It's the best cure.