View Full Version : Fear of ALS or MND
Hello all,
I am a 27 year old male, generally healthy, with increasing anxiety related to my health. Since my mother got diagnosed with a rare cancer I have been contsmatly questioning my own health. Last year I had a really bad bug and totally convinced myself i had bowel cancer. That all went away after several months, but my health anxiety remained. About 2 months ago my grandmother got diagnosed with breast cancer, and once again, health anxiety went theough the roof. Also its important to mention that I recently graduated university and have been going through a great deal of stress trying to find a job, while trying to get by on minimum wage. In summary, i have heavy loads of stress and health anxiety. Ive always been told im a hypochondriac.
About a month ago, i started experiencing a wet foot feeling, and sort of a numbness feeling arpund knees, and that lasted for several days. Went to GP and he ordered blood test for B12 defficiency, Thyroyd function, and it came back all normal. Then the twitching! Kind of generalized, leg, calve, biceps, but the one that freaks me out the most is the one on my right hand. I started having this joint pain around wrist and knuckles, and my hand became very sore. On top of the soreness, the twitching. Makes some of my fingers to jump and move. Since 2 days ago it became very annoying and my concern this is early onset of ALS freaks me out. I have a neuro appointment scheduled for sometime in the future, but i just wanna know if this is normal in someone with incredible loads of stress and anxiety. I feel like im going crazy and nobody in my family gets my frustration. I even created an account at an ALS forum only to be told I dont belong there. Thank you for any comments
Scaredlady
10-11-16, 00:52
Hello.
You've clearly been through quite a lot with regard the ill health of close family members, I'm really sorry that you/they had to go through it but I hope they are doing well and coming through treatment.
I can't give you any answers with regard the "symptoms" you're experiencing other than to say I have muscle/joint pains daily and I experience twitching sensations every now and again but I don't attribute them to ALS and I don't think you should either.
You acknowledge yourself that you have health anxiety and a tendency to be a hypochondriac, so I think you already know the truth to your question.
Check in with your GP again though if it's still bothering you.
Hello all,
I am a 27 year old male, generally healthy, with increasing anxiety related to my health. Since my mother got diagnosed with a rare cancer I have been contsmatly questioning my own health. Last year I had a really bad bug and totally convinced myself i had bowel cancer. That all went away after several months, but my health anxiety remained. About 2 months ago my grandmother got diagnosed with breast cancer, and once again, health anxiety went theough the roof. Also its important to mention that I recently graduated university and have been going through a great deal of stress trying to find a job, while trying to get by on minimum wage. In summary, i have heavy loads of stress and health anxiety. Ive always been told im a hypochondriac.
About a month ago, i started experiencing a wet foot feeling, and sort of a numbness feeling arpund knees, and that lasted for several days. Went to GP and he ordered blood test for B12 defficiency, Thyroyd function, and it came back all normal. Then the twitching! Kind of generalized, leg, calve, biceps, but the one that freaks me out the most is the one on my right hand. I started having this joint pain around wrist and knuckles, and my hand became very sore. On top of the soreness, the twitching. Makes some of my fingers to jump and move. Since 2 days ago it became very annoying and my concern this is early onset of ALS freaks me out. I have a neuro appointment scheduled for sometime in the future, but i just wanna know if this is normal in someone with incredible loads of stress and anxiety. I feel like im going crazy and nobody in my family gets my frustration. I even created an account at an ALS forum only to be told I dont belong there. Thank you for any comments
Hi. I am sorry you've had the illnesses of both mum and gran to contend with, it's terribly stressful time for a family. I agree with everything that the above poster has said, but can I just add something? Please stay off the ALS forums - they're right, you don't have it so you don't belong there. I honestly appreciate your fear, but these people are trying to support each other through their illness, they have it, and life is hard enough for them as it is. Please be respectful and leave them alone. Have you thought about getting help for your anxiety, maybe therapy?
Thank you so much to both of you for replying so promptly. I have asked my GP about getting theraphy, however here in Canada anyrhin health related is truly a pain, it is not covered by our medical system and right now I dont have the money to pay for it. He did refer me to a neurologist when I mentioned the twitching, which didnt help with my anxiety, however I do aporeciate seeing a specialist. Now, referrals here take a really long time, and since I am young they hardly ever take me seriously. It could be 1-2 months, or 13 months (thats how long it took me to see a gastro dr) I did the terrible thing of going to Dr. Google and when I typed my main symptoms ALS and MS came up first almost with a red flag. Since then my anxiety has gone through the roof and I have almost convinced myself that I have the absolute worst case scenario. I am fully aware im not alright, every time I try to convince myself I font have anything sinister my head spins around and all of the sudden I say, wait a seconf, i could be that .00001% that gets the disease at my age and with no family history. Since then I've been searching online for support groups where I can share my symptoms/thoughts hoping to ease my mind. Ive gone to my GP enough times? I guess now I just have to wait to see the Neuro. Once again, thank you for reading my long messages
Scaredlady
10-11-16, 02:53
You really should not resort to Google for confirmation or reassurance on what you perceive to be your symptoms - You know this yourself, I know this because I have fallen into the very same trap far too many times and it has never helped. So when you feel the urge to Google, distract yourself.
I'm in Ireland and the services here for mental health are beyond inadequate, so I can understand your frustrations to some extent with regard the lack of assistance available to you.
I am going to suggest you try some self help techniques and believe me when I say I used to roll my eyes when people were suggesting it to me but I have found since giving it a try that the worksheets etc do provide a degree of distraction when my anxiety is booming (which is every day) - Worst case scenario is the common conclusion for anxiety sufferers, we've all been moments from our biggest fear(s) repeatedly but such is the hell of living with a debilitating condition.
Have you heard of Elefriends? It's a platform for people with mental illness operated by the charity MIND - Similar to Facebook in that you write up a status whenever you like and other users can comment or like, the difference being the demographic is predominantly centred around ordinary men and women who are suffering from mental health problems and there's no "add friend" feature it's just a feed where members can see and interact with other members. Maybe try that? I don't know if it would help to distract you but it might.
Hi again. Just s suggestion, there are a couple online CBT resources that are free so maybe it's something to look at? One is Moodgym, the other Living Life To The Full - please go there instead of Dr Google! By the way - it's a cert that ANY symptoms type in will come up with the absolute WORST case scenario. An urge to pick my nose - brain tumour. An urge to scratch my ass - cancer. Try typing anxiety symptoms in! In fact, there is some useful info on this site, go to the actual homepage. Time to start addressing the real issue x
Thank you for all the resources. I can't get the idea of ALS off my head... I looked at both my hands and I swear I saw one with less muscle than the other. My right hand feels weird, achy, and i can see some of the bones, my left hand feels normal, and looks normal. I just cant seem to shake the thought of having a neurodegenerative disease such as this one. I don't think I'll be fully ok until I see a specialist and he/she tells me I have nothing to worry about. Another weird thing that has happened is I went bowling 3 nignts ago and my arm muscles are still sore as if I trained 3 hours at the gym. I used to go bowling all the time not feeling anything, now im sore 3 days after... Again, not sure if this is a sign of early onset of MND...sorry to keep bothering you guys with the same thing, I'll try to find help elsewhere also.
Rey,
The ALS rabbit hole is a very deep and narrow one and you can become stuck very easily. I've seen others that have practically ruined their lives due to this fear on anxiety boards.
You're hyper-focusing and backing up your fear by Googling and talking about it here. No amount of reassurance from a forum will convince you and even scientific medical testing can fall short of reassuring you. The key is treating the real illness which is your HA.
I'm willing to bet the house that you're fine other than a few odd aches and pains we all get.
Good luck and as always....
Positive thoughts
Thank you! Deep inside I know I am creating all my fears in my head, but sometimes I feel its more powerful than myself. Thank you all for your words and support. I am glad I found this forum and people like yourselves are willing to help someone with this type of anxiety. God bless you all
Hi again, this debilitating hand pain on my right hand, its like joint pain it hurts to move my fingers, plus twitching, I've never had this kind of pain before, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. I dont want to go back to my doctor over this...Can bad anxiety give you joint pains like this? hurts so bad...
Hello beautiful people. I was hoping some of you could comment on your physical health anxiety symptoms, I've been having joint pain, like arthritis or something like that, on my right hand... around the knuckles and the wrist. Has anybody else experienced something like this? What about other physical symptoms? Share your thoughts! Thank you!
Pretty common anxiety symptom (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms#Muscles_muscle_tension_stiffness_muscle_t witching_tight_scalp_or_neck).
Positive thoughts
That is a great page! Thanks so much Fishnampa! I did go bowling 4 nights ago and was using a heavy ball... i am thinking that didn't help neither and I probably strained my wrist...I think im slowly shaking off the thought of ALS
Pain is not a symptom of ALS, neither is wet feelings, and frankly, twitching in the absence of weakness means NOTHING. Move on. Like asap.
I do feel weakness on my right arm, specially around wrist, but it may br due to the pain and discomfort. My arm and hand feels shaky... just weird all around. Thanks for your input. I gotta work on my HA asap, its taking over my life and I feel im going mad.. horrinle feeling. Plus my family now thinks im making this up and doesnt take me seriously
You can't feel weakness. Weakness is a loss of strength. Try to pick up your refrigerator. You won't be able to. But you won't feel anything either.
Yes indeed! I can still do everything I notmally do, so Im sure its perceived weakness as opposed to clinical weakness. Thank you so much all of you for your participation, i trully value it
I went through a not too dissimilar MS fear a while ago, I didn't get pain but some bad tingles and burning sensations that I thought couldn't be anxiety-related. But - after many tests - they were (with possible B12 deficiency, but main suspect was anxiety). I also dabbled in ALS fear at the time, and allowed myself too much Googling that was healthy.
But two things to remember...
1. ALS/MND is a very rare disease. Like, very very rare. If you're young it's rarer than that. And if it's not in your family it's even rare than THAT. Essentially, you are so unlikely to get it it's not worth even having on your radar. Seriously.
2. From what I understand, your symptoms don't describe it anyway. You're falling for something we all have done, which is reading a bullet point list of symptoms for a disease we aren't qualified to understand. Like "weakness". This doesn't mean contemplating "hmmm... I think this arm may be a bit weak", it means you can't do things you previously could do. It's a dramatic illness.
You should put thoughts of ALS/MND out of your head. It sounds like you're having a bad time, which could well all be down to anxiety, or hundreds of mundane and benign things before you even have to contemplate anything nasty.
And whatever you do stay off illness boards. They'll panic you further, and they're for people to visit when they're unlucky to be diagnosed, for that specific purpose, not to support we health anxious types.
Thank you for your reply Axoloti. I know ALS/MND are pretty rare, and in my age group its like 1 in a million type thing. Thats why I find it so silly that I let my head play tricks on me to that extend, to actually believe I have a terminal disease from such vague symptoms. I honestly blame Dr. Google tho, because otherwise I would have never known about ALS or MS or other conditions such as those ones. And its such a nasty cycle, you are stressed or anxious, then you get these weird symptoms, and if youre like most of us HA sufferers, you google your symptoms only to find out you have 6-12 months left, then anxiety sky rockets and the vicious cycle starts all over again...this is a horrible condition and the worse thing is, i never realized i was doing it until it was too late. Thanks again for all your comments.
One last thing, Ive been developing weird cramps on my thighs and sometimes can radiate down my leg... not too painful, but sometimes i gotta sit down to relax my leg muscle... again, another sign of stress and heavy anxiety, or could it be caused by something else? These cramps come from nowhere at random, wether im standing up or sitting, often times at work where I have to stand for 8 hours at a time.
Kindest regards.
Thank you for your reply Axoloti. I know ALS/MND are pretty rare, and in my age group its like 1 in a million type thing. Thats why I find it so silly that I let my head play tricks on me to that extend, to actually believe I have a terminal disease from such vague symptoms. I honestly blame Dr. Google tho, because otherwise I would have never known about ALS or MS or other conditions such as those ones. And its such a nasty cycle, you are stressed or anxious, then you get these weird symptoms, and if youre like most of us HA sufferers, you google your symptoms only to find out you have 6-12 months left, then anxiety sky rockets and the vicious cycle starts all over again...this is a horrible condition and the worse thing is, i never realized i was doing it until it was too late. Thanks again for all your comments.
One last thing, Ive been developing weird cramps on my thighs and sometimes can radiate down my leg... not too painful, but sometimes i gotta sit down to relax my leg muscle... again, another sign of stress and heavy anxiety, or could it be caused by something else? These cramps come from nowhere at random, wether im standing up or sitting, often times at work where I have to stand for 8 hours at a time.
Kindest regards.
Stress and anxiety causes three things to think about - a false "fight or flight" response from the body, tension, and a hyperawareness of bodily feelings. If you think of that generalised pain and weird feelings become more understandable. And if it's generalised and doing various weird things stress is a strong contender - "real" diseases have particular paths and ways they manifest.
We're not doctors, only they can say if you have anything else wrong, but I'd be thinking it could all be put down to anxiety, with something mundane like vitamin deficiencies in mind as the alternative, rather than anything nasty.
I don't know what province you're in, but your doctor should be able to refer you to a social worker who can help give you some coping strategies for anxiety, which would be covered under your provincial health coverage. The Canadian Mental Health Association may also have resources.
Have you thought about going to a support group for people with family members with cancer? Dealing with the root of your HA may be helpful too.
I've found this forum immensely helpful with my own struggles too. Good luck!
---------- Post added at 12:08 ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 ----------
Oh and as for pain and anxiety, two things happen to me. One is that I become hyper aware of the pain and discomfort I have which makes it feel 10x worse than it is. The other is all my muscles tense because on the fight/flight/freeze thing, I freeze. This creates painful trigger points in all sorts of weird and wonderful places that make me think I must have something that's going to kill me. Then exercise to try and relieve the muscle tension and when that finally starts to subside I get muscle twitches.
So yeah, with anxiety it seems that it throws everything it has at you before it starts to get better. Once I'm in my right mind though and can see it for what it is, I can see how ridiculous it can get and at least laugh in the face of it.
Thanks for your reply. Since becoming hyperaware of ny body due to HA, i am finding all these imperfections with my body, such as a bump on my thigh, which immediately sends off alarms to my brain about potential muscle wasting or atrophy. Im trying to fight these thoughts with all my strenghth, it aint easy tho.
My leg has been cramping a lot, especially when driving (plus all the twitching) I seriously dont know what could be causing this, it has never happened before like this in my life. The twitching is everywhere but the cramping is mainly on my right leg only. Im gonna say it, im shitting in my pants, im exhausted of feeling this way, i keep thinking I have this incurable disease. I know none of you can help me, just needed to vent somewhere.
I've HAD rampant muscle twitching in my calves for around 4 months.
For absolutely no reason at all in the last 2 weeks it's all but stopped completely. There's still the odd one but compared to where it was it is MUCH better.
What else could it be other than Anxiety, when ALS twitches stop it means that that muscle is now dead (I wouldn't be able to walk now).
The reduction in my twitching coincided with me stopping worrying about ALS. Now I just need to apply that logic/method to my headaches and hopefully they will stop too.
Speaking from experience with this, I can almost guarantee that you're all good :). Just gotta believe it.
Thank you guys for all your input. I trully dont have any other symptom besides twitching and cramping every now and then. I am convinving myself that what I have is all caused by high levels of stress and anxiety, but I know I'll only be at easy after seeing a specialist and having him/her check my body. Until then, i'll do anything in my power to keep my sanity
I don't know what province you're in, but your doctor should be able to refer you to a social worker who can help give you some coping strategies for anxiety, which would be covered under your provincial health coverage. The Canadian Mental Health Association may also have resources.
This is where your answer lies
Please look up Benign Fasciculation Syndrome.
I have looked up BFS, i tried joining their forum but I dont believe its open... My joints in my right hand are acting up, i cant clench my fist without feeling stiffness... again, these is all new to me, it is most likely caused by anxiety and stress (im trying to convince myself of that) but it just cant simply put off all these thoughts to just anxiety without medical tests that show I dont have anything else more serious going on, although having this ammount of anxiety and stress is very serious and is ruining my life. Thank you all for participating, it makes me feel a lot better to know theres ppl out there willing to take a minute of their busy life to write a few words for me. Thank you.
My right hand joints feel stiff, wrist and knuckles. No major pain, just feels weird.Is this something i can put off as anxiety symptom, has anybody else felt stiff joints from one day to the next?
Just doing some research (I didn't fall down the rabbit hole).
Joint pain is not a symptom of ALS.
Rey,
You're hanging onto this fear for dear life and looking for any little thing to validate it and it's just taking your life away. You don't have ALS or MND or anything other than a bad case of anxiety. Go back and read through the symptoms (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms)link and you'll see how much stress and anxiety can do to you. Then seek help for the illness you actually have (anxiety). Treat that and you treat the symptoms associated with it.
Positive thoughts
Twitching is a big sign of anxiety. I went through this fear last summer (2015) it consumed me for a month. It started with a twitch in my shoulder. Like you, I scoped the ALS forums and totally panicked myself. I saw my GP who ordered blood work and the only thing I had was low vit. D. I took it upon myself and saw a neuro. He did a clinical exam and told me I was fine and had anxiety. He did set me up for an EMG for my peace of mind but I decided not to do it. Its a year and 1/2 later and I still twitch, pretty much all over, including my shoulder still.
I know pain is usually not associated with ALS, but ive also read some people who later developed the disease started with joint pains and their inability to clench their fist. My GP wanted to see me today, he said it sounds nothing like a neurological condition, and he also told me the time to see a neurologist is 14 months. Yay...
Take that as a positive. If he thought you needed to then he would've got your fast tracked.
Why do we. As health anxiety sufferers, do this!? Surely you (we) have l the reassurances we need.
The doctors arent dumb. They know what to look for. I do it all the time. Doctor says it's nothing, you're just anxious and I don't accept it!?
It's bizarre.
Btw, I'm 100% you don't have ALS.
It is bizarre, im new to this... he prescribed me with a medication to help me with anxiety, it is called cipralex 20 mg. I dont want to take medications for this, i dont want to rely on meds to keep my mind at ease. It is rather expensive to get therapy where I live, so im going to look for alternatives. I really wanted to see a neuro to put my mind at ease, too bad I was not able to get an appointment sooner. Any thoughts on the meds?
I am also very reluctant to take meds. I tried some earlier this yr and I didn't think they were helping really.
Doctors recently perscribed me a new type and I'm not really
Sure about taking them.
There comes a point though where you have the think about the alternative, if meds help and nothing else is helping then why not give them a try?
The arch of my right feet has been twitching like crazy, i am driving thats all i can feel. I can see the muscle twitching also. Is this a normal location for nonstop muscle twitching?
---------- Post added at 14:10 ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 ----------
I noticed both left and right feet are twitching, I can only feel the one on the right tho, the one on the left i only noticed because I looked. Just thought of adding this detail.
Also, I now have a choking sensation. Feels like pressure is being put on on my neck, weirdest thing ever. Can someone comment if theyve had these types of symptoms due to anxiety? Now the thought of bulbar is racint through my head. Im a mess, i know.
Thelegend27
01-04-17, 01:46
Sounds to me like a lot of anxiety relared symptoms, i have personally have had twitches in my arms legs fingers and toes even my eyelid gets to twitching sometimes, it did it once for like 2 days straight. I never thought much of it since i always had twitches from time to time. I haven't read much up on als and i probably shouldn't because I'm a hypochondriac as well.
The arch of my right feet has been twitching like crazy, i am driving thats all i can feel. I can see the muscle twitching also. Is this a normal location for nonstop muscle twitching?
---------- Post added at 14:10 ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 ----------
I noticed both left and right feet are twitching, I can only feel the one on the right tho, the one on the left i only noticed because I looked. Just thought of adding this detail.
My left foot has been twitching none stop 24/7 for the past 10 months :welcome: to the party. Just wear some socks and forget about them.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.