ALS or anxiety?

[Bunbun]

Hi everyone.

I’ve been getting ALS like symptoms for the past 2 months.

I’ve gone to the doctor/doctors a million times and they keep telling me it’s anxiety, but I truly feel like they are wrong.. nothing I do makes these symptoms go away, in fact I feel like they are even getting worse.

Does this happen to anyone else?

[Doolhof]

Hi Bunbun,

Can you please explain what ALS stands for. I am not familiar with that term.

Anxiety can manifest itself in many different ways.

Are you receiving any assistance to help you deal with your anxiety?

I find the more I concentrate on an issue the worse it becomes at times. It is good to be checked by a Dr.

From Dools

[Claydo]

Hi Bunbun

Yes I went through this exact some scenario 2 years ago. I Started getting these muscle twitches in my arm and then it spread all my body. I also would get tingling/vibration in my legs. I was convinced i had ALS or MS it took me over 1 year with several Doctors and Neurological visits with MRI and EMG which all came back clear. I couldn’t believe it was just anxiety that was doing this to me but I had to accept it was. Anxiety is a funny thing and it can manifest in many ways.

If you can’t get your head around that it’s only anxiety ask your GP to see a Neurologist so you can put it behind you.

What physical symptoms are you experiencing? I’d recommend checking out a site called anxiety centre they have a full list of symptoms and explain how anxiety can cause these symptoms. Also there is a blog called calm and courageous which is quite good.

Id recommend seeing a psychologist to start talking about your situation to identify triggers and anxiety mitigation techniques. Once you open the door to anxiety it’s hard to close.

Good luck mate!

[Bunbun]

Ahh yes it really is an awful experience 😞 yeah I’m having a lot of those symptoms, plus I feel like I have some muscle weakness/tension on top of that and it’s just so exhausting.

I’ve had an mri, x rays, blood work, ecg and so far nothing’s come up. I’d really like to see a neurologist because I think that’s the only thing that will put my mind at ease and I actually asked a doctor today for a referral and they said no and I should wait and see if the symptoms go away after my new anxiety medication kicks in but it’s been two months already and I feel like I’m going insane, I just need answers and for some reason my head just can accept anxiety as the answer!

Thanks for your reply by the way, it’s hard finding people to talk too about this ya know

[Doolhof]

Hi Claydo,

Can you please explain what ALS is.

Thanks.

[Claydo]

It’s also called motor neurons disease. It’s a extremely rare neurological disease that causes your muscles to waste away and is fatal. If you google some symptoms which are common with anxiety you may find info on ALS comes up, but because you’re dealing with anxiety you convince yourself you have it. That’s what i did anyway..

[Claydo]

Yep it’s tough, friends and family don’t get it and tell you to relax. It might be worth seeing another GP for a referral. I’ll warn you though it will be short lived as your symptoms will persist and you’ll convince yourself they got it wrong.

Your meds should be helping by now you may need to try a different one. It took me 4 before I found something that helped. I still struggle now with anxiety buts it’s more manageable and my symptoms have gone but occasionally come back.

Seeing a shrink helped me understand anxiety better and how to deal with it. If you not already I suggest you see one.

keep at it mate you’ll get there.

[Bunbun]

Yeah! I have my mum telling me all the time it’s just anxiety but the hard part is the symptoms feel so so real, well I mean they are real but it’s like they seem too real and intense to be anxiety you know. I’ve had health anxiety for so long but I’ve never experienced anything this bad before, if all this really does just turn out to be anxiety I will be actually shocked haha.

Well I’m glad you found something that works for you! Even if it comes back from time to time it’s gotta be way better than waking up every day constantly in fear of how your body feels. This whole thing is just so terrifying.

[geoff]

Hi Bunbun, thanks for your comment and ALS stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the symptoms aren't very pleasant at all, and if you've had all the necessary tests then it would indicate to your doctor that you may not have ALS, I can't say or diagnose you as I'm not qualified.

I'm just curious whether your doctor has diagnosed you with something else as well as anxiety.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Bunbun]

Hey! Well my doctor and actually multiple doctors have diagnosed me with psychosomatic illness, but I’m just finding it really hard to accept it could be something like that as my brain keeps telling me they are wrong