View Full Version : Worried I Have ALS... Arm Fatigue
darkside4k
21-12-16, 14:58
Hello,
Incoming new member from AnxietyZone here...
For the past week or so I've been very concerned I am developing ALS. It first started with some twitching in my arm which is what started the whole fear... the twitching only lasted 1 day and went away (I think it was because I took a caffeine pill that day).
A day or two later I noticed my arm felt a little fatigued while I was working on the computer. A day or two after that I noticed I had hand pain in both hands. The hand pain feels a bit better but my right arm is feeling very fatigued the past few days. Just a burning fatigue type feeling in my right arm like I have been working out but I haven't really. I'm just sitting here typing on the keyboard.
I'm very concerned this is indicative of ALS. I'm 30 years old so pretty young but it could happen and it appears to be happening :(
Anyone else have any experience with this?
Please read the below threads....its not that i dont want to contribute to this but theres some replies I and others gave to someone else struggling with ALS anxiety.
Both of these threads were created today so they are very very recent. I am sure you will find the information relevant to you and I hope it offers you comfort.
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=192285
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=192266
darkside4k
21-12-16, 18:06
Thanks for the feedback. For the past few hours I haven't noticed the fatigue feeling as much but my right hand pinky and ring finger feel cramped and like they aren't moving as well :(
AnxietyKillinMe
21-12-16, 19:18
Join the club. Except I have twitching all over my body in addition to pain in mostly my right wrist that feels very idk tight I guess just not as limber as the left which is worrying me too. I feel like I've gotten good answers here though that have made me feel a little better. Check out aboutBFS.com I think it is. Ppl there have a host of odd symptoms just like us. Good luck.
darkside4k
21-12-16, 20:56
Join the club. Except I have twitching all over my body in addition to pain in mostly my right wrist that feels very idk tight I guess just not as limber as the left which is worrying me too. I feel like I've gotten good answers here though that have made me feel a little better. Check out aboutBFS.com I think it is. Ppl there have a host of odd symptoms just like us. Good luck.
I had a bad bought of twitching last year when I was obsessed with ALS then. It went away eventually. Be well.
Carpal tunnel.
Don't take caffeine pills. The worst thing you can do if you have anxiety. Literally the worst thing.
darkside4k
21-12-16, 23:44
I've never heard of carpal tunnel affecting the arms. That's what has me mainly concerned, the arm fatigue.
darkside4k
22-12-16, 11:18
Hmm, now in addition to all of this my right leg feels fatigued and sore.
You are looking for reasons to fuel your concerns. That is what the brain does when it perceives a threat.
It's all a trick of the mind. Quit caffeine. Get exercise. Drink plenty.
darkside4k
22-12-16, 20:56
For the past few days my ring finger on my right hand has been sorta painful. I work on the computer all day so I notice it quite a bit. I'm already worried about ALS and I'm wondering if this is a symptom.
I'm not sure what else it could be at this point. Is this a symptom of ALS?
"I work on the computer all day"
"Not sure what else it could be"
:unsure:
I'm not sure what else it could be at this point.
A sore finger...?
darkside4k
23-12-16, 17:20
Today I'm still having the hand pain and stiff feeling fingers. I'm wondering if it is because my office is very cold. This room doesn't heat as much as the rest of my house and my hands are always quite cold in here.
I'm even more concerned a bit by some twitching I've noticed in my thighs. I noticed that when I'm sitting in my chair I can feel my thigh basically having this continuous subtle twitch / ripple feeling. To me that just screams ALS. :(
Captain irrational
23-12-16, 21:37
Today I'm still having the hand pain and stiff feeling fingers. I'm wondering if it is because my office is very cold. This room doesn't heat as much as the rest of my house and my hands are always quite cold in here.
I'm even more concerned a bit by some twitching I've noticed in my thighs. I noticed that when I'm sitting in my chair I can feel my thigh basically having this continuous subtle twitch / ripple feeling. To me that just screams ALS. :(
Everybody gets twitching muscles from time to time. As I am sitting here typing this my calf muscle is going like the clappers.
stiff feeling fingers. I'm wondering if it is because my office is very cold
:doh:
I can feel my thigh basically having this continuous subtle twitch / ripple feeling.
You are hyper-sensitive. Its most likely just your circulation.
darkside4k
24-12-16, 19:39
Does anyone know if finger / hand pain is a sign of early ALS? I've had soreness in the fatty part of my palm under pinky, and also random finger pains mainly in my ring fingers it seems like.
My leg tightness feeling wasn't there yesterday or today, but I'm still worried these hand symptoms are the beginnings of ALS. :(
darkside4k
24-12-16, 19:43
But I don't really know what that means? Aren't your hands hurting and cramping part of the ALS process? Isn't that failing?
darkside4k
25-12-16, 00:52
So ALS has no pain at all in the early stages?
So ALS has no pain at all in the early stages?
Honestly, a simple research about a disease you fear so much would answer basic questions like this for you. If you don't know what a disease can do, why are you afraid you have it? You literally aren't aware of the symptoms.
darkside4k
25-12-16, 18:08
I just don't like to Google a ton of stuff like that. Still have the hand soreness today, not sure what is going on. I can't say I really feel any weaker but just general hand soreness and some leg soreness. Really worried :(
darkside4k
25-12-16, 23:10
Gosh I can't stop being convinced I have ALS. It's so frustrating. I think I picked up a pitcher of sweet tea and it felt heavier than it should. Also I'm feeling twitching or trembling in my leg thigh.
I really hope I don't have ALS. I know this all started with like 1 hour of twitching a week ago that went away. It hasn't come back since so I don't think it was really related. Then somehow I ACTUALLY did get ALS a few days later.
I just don't like to Google a ton of stuff like that. Still have the hand soreness today, not sure what is going on. I can't say I really feel any weaker but just general hand soreness and some leg soreness. Really worried :(
So allow me to put this to rest. Soreness is not a symptom of ALS. Carry on with your life now and Merry Christmas.
---------- Post added at 23:11 ---------- Previous post was at 23:10 ----------
Twitching is not a symptom of ALS. Please stop.
I had this fear for the last year now , and I feel ridiculous for wasting hours timing twitches and self testing. I finally started looking up videos and stories about ALS. Usually this puts me in a huge panic and I immediately regret it, but this time it didn't. I realized what I was going through and what those poor souls were going through was completely different. They woke up and couldn't stand on their tip toes or couldn't pick up a cup of coffee. I'm not suggesting doing this because an anxious mind is a horrible thing, and it can really put you in a dark and scary place. There are weird and rare cases to every disease and it's funny how we all think we're the .0001 % of people to develop them. Hopefully everyone on here feels the same about the lottery that way we can have some positive rare outcome to actually look forward to lol
darkside4k
26-12-16, 14:50
I had this fear for the last year now , and I feel ridiculous for wasting hours timing twitches and self testing. I finally started looking up videos and stories about ALS. Usually this puts me in a huge panic and I immediately regret it, but this time it didn't. I realized what I was going through and what those poor souls were going through was completely different. They woke up and couldn't stand on their tip toes or couldn't pick up a cup of coffee. I'm not suggesting doing this because an anxious mind is a horrible thing, and it can really put you in a dark and scary place. There are weird and rare cases to every disease and it's funny how we all think we're the .0001 % of people to develop them. Hopefully everyone on here feels the same about the lottery that way we can have some positive rare outcome to actually look forward to lol
Thanks for the response. What symptoms were you experiencing?
darkside4k
26-12-16, 19:47
I would say my hands and arms are getting more fatigued than ever when typing today. This really sounds like something progressive like ALS. Today it is very noticeable and somewhat annoying to even keep my arms up at the keyboard to type. This can't be from anxiety.
I had this fear for the last year now , and I feel ridiculous for wasting hours timing twitches and self testing. I finally started looking up videos and stories about ALS. Usually this puts me in a huge panic and I immediately regret it, but this time it didn't. I realized what I was going through and what those poor souls were going through was completely different. They woke up and couldn't stand on their tip toes or couldn't pick up a cup of coffee. I'm not suggesting doing this because an anxious mind is a horrible thing, and it can really put you in a dark and scary place. There are weird and rare cases to every disease and it's funny how we all think we're the .0001 % of people to develop them. Hopefully everyone on here feels the same about the lottery that way we can have some positive rare outcome to actually look forward to lol
This is an excellent post. All twitchers and crampers read this! You are not experiencing anything remotely ALS like.
darkside4k
26-12-16, 22:39
No I am not stroud but am well aware of who you are referring to :unsure:
Fatigue is not ALS. This is just getting obnoxious if you're gonna insist that your symptoms are something they are not. It's perfectly ok to be anxious, but stop assigning symptoms to random diseases that have nothing to do with each other.
darkside4k
27-12-16, 00:30
So just to clarify, your forearm feeling like you've been working it out (kinda that burning / fatigued feeling) is not a symptom of ALS at all?
The more you focus on it the worse it gets. I've experienced this with my arms and all over I'm not going to go I to details but I know own what your talking about. It's lactic acid and it's a normal reaction to muscle use . You never really noticed it until you became fixated on ALS. You wouldn't be able to turn your computer on to type if you had this disease. I know how hard it is to think rationally while fearing this disease. Start working out and eating well and have a sense of control over your life. You can do this
You seem totally convinced that you have ALS regardless of what anyone here says to you. No amount of logic, reassurance or common sense seems able to deter you from this. As Fish said this is a place where you can come to share your concerns but in your case that seems pointless. I guess one of the main objectives of this site is that people will share their concerns and take on board at least some of the advice they are given. You either refuse to do this or your anxiety is so severe that you are incapable of doing so. So you need to ask yourself if there is any point coming here at all. Whilst it might help you to continually describe your symptoms and reinforce your conviction that you have ALS that isn't helping you or anyone else here. In fact, you may be triggering other anxiety sufferers. You need to see a professional about your anxiety. There are no mental health professionals here and if you continue to seemingly ignore advice from the other members here eventually your posts will be met with exasperation and/or suspicion. Suspicion that you are not even genuine.
darkside4k
27-12-16, 02:43
I really am not trying to be annoying, sorry. I do have pretty bad health anxiety I admit.
I can accept that soreness is not really a sign of ALS, thanks for that. I guess one more thing nagging at me is I remember reading online at one point that someone concerned about ALS mentioned they had "thumb pad atrophy"... this concerns me because the part of palm under my thumb has been pretty sore today and I'm wondering if this is what thumb pad atrophy is. It gets sore when using my iPhone, etc. This has never happened to me before.
If you aren't full of it then you sound like you are full of it. See what I mean about exasperation and suspicion? If you aren't then start considering others here and above all go and get a referral to a psychologist because you clearly aren't benefiting from any of the responses you have been receiving here.
So just to clarify, your forearm feeling like you've been working it out (kinda that burning / fatigued feeling) is not a symptom of ALS at all?
For the last time - no. Not at all. Not even a little bit.
---------- Post added at 04:06 ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 ----------
I really am not trying to be annoying, sorry. I do have pretty bad health anxiety I admit.
I can accept that soreness is not really a sign of ALS, thanks for that. I guess one more thing nagging at me is I remember reading online at one point that someone concerned about ALS mentioned they had "thumb pad atrophy"... this concerns me because the part of palm under my thumb has been pretty sore today and I'm wondering if this is what thumb pad atrophy is. It gets sore when using my iPhone, etc. This has never happened to me before.
Honestly, you are gonna have to meet us half way and do some of the leg work here. I know you are afraid to Google, but that's not an excuse to be completely unfamiliar with medical terminology, especially pertaining to a disease you are obsessing over. So allow me to answer this one - no, atrophy is not soreness. Atrophy is muscle wasting from lack of use/strength. Thumb pad atrophy would mean your thenar would be flattened, dented in, and very seriously "shrunken." It also comes AFTER the muscle is clinically weak in ALS, or at the very least, concurrent with it. So if you still have use of your hands, no matter how they FEEL, then you aren't clinically weak, and do not have atrophy.
This is all excellent advice.
Like many have said the ALS anxiety is one of the worst because of the severity of the disease but also like many have said that the symptoms of ALS is CLINICAL weakness. The important aspect of this is the word CLINICAL, it's not a feeling of weakness (which is a very common symptom of anxiety), CLINICAL weakness is actual weakness.
We are not strong enough to lift cars, we are clinically not strong enough to lift a car, ALS patients are clinically not strong enough to turn Keys, lift mugs stand on top toes etc.
Your muscles are not weak, they may be tired but that honestly is a side effect of your anxiety and depression (I wouldn't be surprised if you had this too due to your fixation).
Chronic pain and muscle fatigue are incredibly common in us anxiety sufferers.
darkside4k
28-12-16, 14:56
I'm still having the hand / arm fatigue and soreness even when I feel like I'm not anxious about it. Is that common? Could that be a sign that it is something real like ALS?
I'm still having the hand / arm fatigue and soreness even when I feel like I'm not anxious about it. Is that common? Could that be a sign that it is something real like ALS?
No, you dont have to be actually be anxious to have symptoms of it.
Also, forget the fatigue/soreness. Can you use that arm and hand? Is it still functioning like it always has? regardless of the feelings?
If so, then you don't have ALS.
I'm still having the hand / arm fatigue and soreness even when I feel like I'm not anxious about it. Is that common? Could that be a sign that it is something real like ALS?
Are you the new Reb/Helenhoo? We have answered the same question over and over.
Kathryn313
29-12-16, 09:47
I have an aunt with ALS and she would be very happy to have the version that you think you have. Your symptoms don't sound remotely like her initial symptoms.
She would also be saying that you need to crack on and live your life.
Get help for your anxiety and give yourself the future you want.x
darkside4k
29-12-16, 13:50
Well sadly I have found a real symptom. When I stick out my tongue the tip of it quivers... not twitches... actually quivers like they talk about with ALS. I'm the most scared I've ever been.
Well sadly I have found a real symptom. When I stick out my tongue the tip of it quivers... not twitches... actually quivers like they talk about with ALS. I'm the most scared I've ever been.
I really feel for you as I am also in the midst of a ALS HA scare. Anxiety is one of the worst feelings to be living with in my opinion. It is misery.
You need to take steps to reduce your anxiety. It is taking over.
ALS does not begin in multiple locations. You would not have arm symptoms along with bulbar (tongue) symptoms. Are you slurring your words? If not your tongue is just fine. Anxiety and fatigue cause all sorts of quivering/twitching. Your anxiety and subsequent adrenaline release has fatigued your entire mind and body.
I agree with FMP that you should go to your doc, present all your symptoms, including anxiety, have him/her do some basic strength/reflex tests, and refer you based on his/her opinion. Your doc should be able to point you in the right direction regarding your anxiety.
Good luck-
Well sadly I have found a real symptom. When I stick out my tongue the tip of it quivers... not twitches... actually quivers like they talk about with ALS. I'm the most scared I've ever been.
Oh for God's sakes, EVERYONE'S TONGUE DOES THAT. The tongue is not meant to be outside of the mouth. Even still, people with ALS can't stick their tongue out cause it's too weak. Say it with me - WEAKNESS. That is the hallmark symptom of ALS. Say it again - WEAKNESS.
One more time - W.E.A.K.N.E.S.S.
Someone I work with died of ALS last year. I've had this anxiety myself in the past so I understand the obsessing, but believe me if you had it, you would know something was very wrong. This guy could only walk with a stick a few weeks after his symptoms started and pretty soon after that he couldn't walk at all. He wasn't questioning whether his leg felt a bit weak or different - it simply stopped working. He got very ill very quickly and it was extremely obvious to everyone. I truly believe you will be fine. This is such a rare illness after all.
Kathryn313
29-12-16, 18:16
Have you gone to the GP?
darkside4k
29-12-16, 22:31
No, I am too scared to. Do you think my symptoms warrant it?
Your anxiety symptoms do warrant it.
Kathryn313
29-12-16, 22:34
Yes I do
darkside4k
29-12-16, 22:43
Kathryn,
Which symptoms concern you the most? :(
and the logical response is totally ignored yet again.
darkside4k
29-12-16, 23:35
Honestly when I stick my tongue out and look at my tongue it looks fairly similar to ALS tongue videos I see online. This is literally the most scared I've ever been.
darkside4k
30-12-16, 00:46
When checking my tongue do I need to be looking at it at rest?
When checking my tongue do I need to be looking at it at rest?
See your doctor and let us know how you make out.
Positive thoughts
darkside4k
30-12-16, 01:32
Does ALS typically start affecting multiple areas at onset like my perceived symptoms do? Would it be uncommon to have arm and hand symptoms plus tongue symptoms within just 2 weeks of symptoms beginning?
It would be extremely uncommon.
Also, did you know that your tongue is never "at rest". Infact it's the only muscle in your body that is never truly in a resting state. So when you stick it out, it will move and look as if it's twitching because you are engaging the muscle.
The one video on YouTube on tongue twitching ALS is pretty damn conclusive.
I need to reiterate though. For you to be diagnosed sithALS, you need to have weakness in your muscles (actual weakness that means you literally can't do things, not perceived weakness where it feels like you can't. ACTUAL WEAKNESS) if you don't have that then you don't have ALS.
Kathryn313
30-12-16, 10:25
Kathryn,
Which symptoms concern you the most? :(
Your preoccupation with this diagnosis concerns me the most, you need to see your GP to get help with anxiety.
As an aside if you do have ALS (which I think deep down you know you dont) then you need to be making the most of your life not worrying it away, you would also need pills to slow down any progression.
Ok, no more answers for you. You are ignoring us.
darkside4k
01-01-17, 19:08
Today my left hand feels harder to type with. Feels slower and less accurate.
My forearm on that arm feels tight, fatigued, and sore. I have not exercised it. Surely my symptoms are progressing? This is basically muscle failure.
General pain in my hands and arms continues as well.
You need to go to a neuro, we cant diagnose you with anything, but I agree with everybody else, doesnt sound like als
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