Muscle Cramping - MND/ALS fear

[LDHarv]

EDIT - please read my latest post on page 2! Thank you

Hello all,

About three weeks ago my groin started to ache, I booked an appointment with my GP to have it looked at. Monday last week (so we’re 7 days in) my left leg started to ache badly, it was all day and it came on randomly. I made a note to mention it to my GP. Then I went down the Google rabbit hole and found myself in the ALS/MND area. I became obsessed and my serious health anxiety kicked in hard. On Wednesday my arm stared to feel numb and weak. This has progressed and now my left arms feels very heavy and weak, keeps flickering and now my two furthers left fingers feel very weird - numb, stiff and hard to move. I’ve also had random cramp in my right foot and other flickering. All of this over the past 7 days. I feel weak, this has all happened so quickly - last Sunday I was fine! This has mainly been in my left hand side of the body.

My GP said on Thursday that he didn’t know what was causing it but he didn’t think it was anything sinister. He’s booked some bloods in for Tuesday this week but said again he didn’t think it was anything to worry about. This hasn’t helped, this entire weekend I’ve been a mess and I’m really upsetting my wife. She has told me I’m fine, my mum has told me I’m fine and so has everyone else but nothing seems to work.

I have had panic attacks, lots of crying and been in a dark mood today. I have had health anxiety for many years now, it comes in peaks but I’m worried on a daily basis of death. This has been since I was a kid.

I’ve got another GP appointment this Thursday but feel like I need to see someone ASAP. I’m 29, have an amazing daughter and wife and she’s pregnant again. I am normally a happy person and don’t get down or anxious about anything. I just keep searching on the internet and convincing myself it could be something bad.

Any support, thoughts or links welcome. Just want to know I haven’t got ALS/MND and this is just health anxiety.

Thanks again and sorry for the long message.

[Nervousmommy]

You don’t have ALS. It doesn’t cause pain, and if it started in your leg, you’d first notice when you started falling over. Could the responsibility of a new baby coming be triggering this?

[LDHarv]

Thank you for the reply, really appreciated and I welcome any messages.

I know the ALS/MND is a rabbit hole many people have been through on this forum. It is so hard to get out of and especially hard when you are experiencing symptoms that you believe could be linked to this.

Today my left arm feels so weak, like led. I can still move it, I can still do stuff but it feels like such an hard effort. I'm currently at work and typing this feels so hard. I know people say you don't feel weakness when you have ALS/MND but then I've read people who have been diagnosed saying they felt like they had a weak arm or hand. It almost feels like my left arm isn't there, like it doesn't belong to me but everything I read on here says it can't be MND/ALS but I've searched out stories that suggest you do feel weakness. Why is this the case?

This health anxiety is horrible, I feel I can't function. Does anyone have any apps, podcasts or support that I can access today? Any suggestions, thoughts or reassurance is really appreciated. This forum is really helping.

[LDHarv]

Hello all,

Firstly, I've posted this in the Health Anxiety forum and I've read the very good ALS sticky in that section of this amazing forum. I'm just hoping by posting here in this section of the forum I might find people who are suffering with the same symptoms as me and have come out the other side fine and now positive. Apologies for the rambling and long post.

About three weeks ago my groin didn't feel right, so I booked an appointment at my GP to discuss and make sure everything was ok. I was fine until Monday last week when I started to feel my left leg ache (24 hours a day) - this was random, came from nowhere and I don't know why it started. Due to my serious health anxiety I started to Google this and for some reason (and I don't even know why I went down this road) I found myself looking at MND/ALS symptoms. Leg ache wasn't on there list of symptoms but I kept looking, this is then how it progressed:

Tuesday: Left leg ache continued, more googling but I wasn't too bad

Wednesday: Left leg ache was really bad, walked around on it a lot of the day and it felt so tired. I googled more and more about ALS/MND (driving my poor Wife up the wall). Late Wednesday night, my left arm (mainly bicep) started to ache and feel weirdly numb.

Thursday: This is when it really started to kick in, the health anxiety and symptoms. My arm felt weak, numb and I had tingles. My bicep started twitching, I started to feel sick and my leg still had aches. I had a mini break down that evening with lots of tears and more Googling of MND/ALS symptoms.

Friday: I woke up feeling very depressed. My right leg had jerked when I was falling asleep the night before. My symptoms continued and then my two further left fingers felt numb, almost not attached to my body. My bicep still felt weak and I had a muscle flicker/twinge lower leg.

Saturday: Everything continued, it didn't get worse but it was the same as the day before. I was very aware of my biceps and hands feeling weird and weak.

Sunday: A very hard day. My left arm feels like led, the two left fingers I spoke about before felt so weak and stiff. My bicep feels likes its going to fall off, so numb. I cried and broke down a number of times, I got angry and frustrated and felt so down.

Monday: The hardest day - my arm feels so heavy, like I can hardly lift it. I keep getting random pains in bottom of my feet. My fingers feel so stiff, everything feels like an effort. I can hardly concentrate, my tongue feels numb and I feel like I can't speak properly. I keep getting cramp in my big toes.

I have a blood test booked for tomorrow and another GP appointment (about my health anxiety) on Thursday. I'm not taking anything yet though my GP has said I should go on some anti-depressants - I'm not sure I should though? I feel awful, I keep thinking that it can't be ALS/MDN or anything serious as these symptoms wouldn't come on quickly all in the same week would they? I've read so many ALS/MND articles, stories and websites that I can't stop worrying.

Any help, reassurance, support or links would be so appreciated.

Thank you

[Fishmanpa]

You used the word "feel" or a variation of it more than a dozen times in your post.

ALS is about failing not feeling. It's not feeling weak, it's the inability to perform. It's not that you have a harder time with lifting your arm, you can't lift it at all.

I suggest you read that stickie until those facts sink in

Positive thoughts

[LDHarv]

You used the word "feel" or a variation of it more than a dozen times in your post.

ALS is about failing not feeling. It's not feeling week, it's the inability to perform. It's not that you have a harder time with lifting your arm, you can't lift it at all.

I suggest you read that stickie until those facts sink in

Positive thoughts

Thank you and thank you for that post, it really did help the other day. You seem like a great guy

I have an honest question though, I've read people who have MND/ALS say that the arm or hand felt weak - why do they use that word (felt/feel) or way of explaining it? Obviously the health anxiety really means you pick up on it and over analyse it but I did wonder why after I read the great post you put together.

[Fishmanpa]

Thank you and thank you for that post, it really did help the other day. You seem like a great guy

I have an honest question though, I've read people who have MND/ALS say that the arm or hand felt weak - why do they use that word (felt/feel) or way of explaining it? Obviously the health anxiety really means you pick up on it and over analyse it but I did wonder why after I read the great post you put together.

That post is a C&P from the ALS forum. They ask all who join to read it. The "Do I have ALS" part of the forum is inundated with HAers. The same types of posts and patterns seen here. The people who respond, often having to do so using their eyes, have the patience of Saints!

Perhaps the answer to your question is because they "used" to be able to feel. It's like someone who's lost their site saying "I see" when speaking.

Positive thoughts

[LDHarv]

Thank you for the response, you've been an amazing help.

[LDHarv]

It’s 5am here and another day has started badly for me.

I’ve just woke up to look after my 18 month daughter. My entire left side aches, my left foot hurts with cramp as it has done most of yesterday, I feel sick and in pain (almost like a virus which I’m pretty sure I haven’t got) and my head feels heavy. I feel so weak, especially my left hand side. All my anxiety brain keeps on telling me how can this be just anxiety when I feel so physically terrible? This had come on so randomly.

Thank you for all the support and help.

---------- Post added at 06:42 ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 ----------

Now I feel like I can’t swallow properly, like food is getting stuck in my throat! This is a symptom of anxiety right? Real rough morning so far, finding it tough

[jtw5651]

Hello. I tend to type a lot but I believe I can relate.

I had a really bad bout of anxiety thinking I had cancer in my brain or spinal cord in July-August. I ended up spending a lot on an MRI and it was all clear for that.

Immediately after that though, I started getting twitching. Mostly in my left calf. The twitching has spread all over my body and my left leg feels "weird" sometimes. I don't know if it's weakness but it's continued my panic, thinking I have ALS.

I'm saying this because it's somewhat similar to your symptoms and several other peoples' that I've read in my short amount of time on there.

The odds are against one of us having ALS or MND, much less all of us. It's a rare disease and rarer still for those under 40.

This fear, this anxiety can kill us, it can literally ruin our health, but it can also save us.

I have used my fear to motivate myself to remove a few "bad" things from my diet, and gradually I'd like to remove them all.

I've started yoga. I rationalized that if I fear death this much then I must truly enjoy life and being alive, and I should respect that.

I also started taking magnesium supplements in the past week. I think my symptoms have gotten more mild, but that could also be from me finally managing to get myself somewhat calmed down.

Just remember, this is a place for nervous people. I get nervous whenever the landline phone rings. I just assume everything is bad, bad news all around. For me, the more I talk about it the better it gets, but I understand that it's different for everyone.

tldr, Get the tests done if your mind is making you. Then try to find someone to talk to, use your anxiety to make a positive change.

You don't deserve the world anxiety is trying to build for you. Make your own.