Panicking over ALS

[DizzyPixie]

Today I was feeling better, although I still had some finger weakness, and I thought I was finally over it. I was happy and proud of myself. In the evening though, my hands started feeling really weak and uncoordinated, my fingers were "locking" and "popping" instead of moving smoothly, and I started to worry very much again. I had an online conversation with my best friend, and I decided to tell him about my fears. He replied that I'm just fine, but if I really was ill he would take me on a long trip with the trans-Siberian (it's my dream to do that trip) and then I could commit suicide to die easier, and probably he wouldn't stand the sorrow and would kill himself too. He had good intentions but he upset me so much that I cried a lot and now there's no way I can sleep.

[Kirk]

Try to remember the more you think and dwell about your real or imagined symptoms, the worse you will feel.
Try to repeat the phrase to yourself, I am fine and healthy when you are feeling poorly.

[Anne1221]

Don't ever be afraid of what a doctor will say or think. They work for you. You pay them, they are not paying you. So they are there to serve you. I"m one of those that is not afraid of what the doctor will say or think. I only want them to tell me I'm okay and as soon as I drive off, oh my gosh, I feel so much better. They have seen and heard everything so who cares what they think? Just get reassurance if you need it.

[threelittlbirds]

I'm been in your shoes, DizzyPixie, For almost a year, I suffered from severe anxiety due to ALS fears. I had every symptom in the book, including exactly what you described and then some. I was convinced I had ALS. I remember days when my anxiety would spike - my fingers were weak, my forearms were tight and sore. My muscles twitched all over. Nevermind that some of those symptoms have nothing to do with ALS, my crazy mind had taken over. I went to multiple neurologists and had a battery of tests, but it took me a long time to accept that I didn't have ALS. Trust me when I say my symptoms -- like yours -- were real. My fingers did feel weak and were slow to respond. My muscles twitched. But it was all caused by anxiety and a misunderstood-yet-totally-harmless condition called BFS.

Anxiety can cause very real physical symptoms. That's difficult for some people to accept, but it's true. Every now and then, you'll get distracted and the symptoms will disappear. That's a telltale sign of anxiety. ALS is an extremely rare condition, even more so considering your young age. ALS weakness is not subtle, it is profound. It does not come and go. If it's causing you anxiety, you should visit your doctor. But hopefully my story -- since I had very similar, even worse, symptoms -- gives you some reassurance. Because many years have gone by, my symptoms have faded away, and I'm still here.

[DizzyPixie]

Just got in to say thank you for the patience and advice one more time, and tell I got over it, finally.
I'm going to post another thread about an unexpected thing that helped me a lot.

[aml0017]

That is great Dizzy! Thanks for coming back and saying that "hey, the fear passed and I'm ok now". A lot of us come on here when we are in the midst of anxiety to vent, but don't always come back to say that we are better now. It is a great thing for other sufferers to hear and gives them hope, especially the younger members and people new to the anxiety experience.