I've had this horrible anxiety about having ALS for almost a year now. My friends and my family think all of this is in my head and just the result of some major anxiety issues. After nearly a year of being so afraid and stressed and worried, I honestly am not even sure if I care that I have ALS anymore. I just want the fear to stop.

I've had twitching all over my body for the last 10 months now. It started with my left hand. I can't remember if it was the hand specifically or a finger but now most of those fingers twitch - usually the thumb. Fingers in my right hand and arm twitch now, too - sometimes my calf muscles, leg muscles, thigh muscles, parts of my upper and lower arms, occasionally in my back as well. Usually it's in my hands and arms though. I'm not sure if it's more prominent when I rest or if that's just when I notice it more but that's usually when it seems more prevalent. When I'm doing something, like driving or walking, I don't notice it happening as much.

I've always been a pretty fast and accurate typist and I've always been a bit of a gamer. Lately - within the last few weeks - when I type, I notice I make a lot more mistakes, and when I'm gaming, my right arm will jerk when I'm aiming down and trying to be precise. These are the only instances where I always notice the twitching but the muscle is actually in use.

Over the last month, when I wake up in the morning, sometimes, my right leg from about mid-calf to upper thigh on the outside is asleep. It's always that part in that leg, not the other side or anywhere else. I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes when that portion of my leg has fallen asleep and have to shake it to wake it back up again.

Also, within the same timeframe, there are these instances of buzzing feelings in my arms/hands that I'm not totally sure how to describe. It sort of feels when you've had too much coffee and your hands and arms feel jittery and unstable.

I have, I guess what would be considered 'perceived weakness' in various parts of my body depending on what day it is, pretty much. Nothing major and nothing that causes me to drop cups or trip or fall or anything. But even right now as I'm typing this, I feel like my left hand is not keeping up with my right hand in terms of typing. While strength is not an issue currently, I'm concerned that precision and dexterity are slowly fading from my fingers.

I've always had trouble managing stress, and things in my home life haven't been very good the last few years. Had a traumatic childhood, and social anxiety ever since - to the point where I barely leave my house. I even work from home. And to add to it, my ALS fears all only started after I watched a movie about ALS on Netflix last year. Before then, I had none of these issues to this degree and this fear did not exist.

I'm 32 years old, I'm native american and I'm female. Statistically, I know I have a fairly remote chance of having ALS but I'm so terrified. I don't know how to get past this. I've never posted to a forum about anything seeking advice, but I don't know what else to do.

Thanks for reading my post. Any help or advice is appreciated.