Anxiety is causing physical symptoms. ALS/MND mimic.

Posted , 7 users are following.

Is it possible for anxiety to mimic diseases like ALS/MND? For close to 8 months now (nonstop) I've been having symptoms that I have chalked up to anxiety, but keep fearing that I have ALS, at the young age of 20.

It started in January when I got a cramp in my hand and went on to google to see what it could be, low and behold I came across ALS. I looked through all the symptoms and none seemed to match except the cramp symptom, which went away in the next few days.

A few days later I developed

-Difficulty Swallowing (which has subsdided a little now)

-Nasal Voice, although whenever I ask a friend if it's nasal they say no

-Percieved Slurring, I have recorded myself and it appears there is no slurring, but my mind keeps thinking I am slurring.

-Twitches all over my body, normally big throbbing muscle twitches, almost like a heartbeat.

-My right arm FEELS like it's weak but when I test my strength I can still lift the same amount of weight as I could before.

-I am always clearing my throat, it's constant

-Thick, sticky and stringy mucus that is clear

-The feeling of Mucus at the back og my throat and in my throat

Basically what I'm asking is - are all these symptoms possible side-effects of anxiety or is it more likely that I have ALS/MND than have all these 'anxiety' symptoms at once. As I said I am only 20 so the chances of me having ALS are literally in the 1 in a million category but you never know. I just can't seem to shake the fear of this disease. I wish i could because I feel like the symptoms would finally go away if I persuaded myself it wasn't ALS.

Any Advice??

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    Hey Wakefield,

    I've been through the exact same thing as you. I got really bad twitches all over my body and weak arms - googled symptoms and was presented with the same information as yourself. I lost it. Big time!

    My advice to you is STAY OFF GOOGLE! It will always give you the extreme worst case scenario which is rarely accurate. Go see your doc and explain your symptoms to them. It is highly likely that you had cramp for a simple reason but once you googled, anxiety set in and gifted you with all the other symptoms.

    As I'm writing this now, my throat is closing up as I'm remembering just how awful I felt at that time. The mind is such a powerful tool.

    You might want to get your thyroid checked as an overactive / under active thyroid can cause muscle weakness, aches and pains in joints (cramps) and the thyroid can swell in the throat making it uncomfortable to swallow. I have thyroid problems and am always clearing my throat because of it. Please don't panic, it's nothing that can't be treated easily and it's only a thought due to personal experience. Chances are yours is just a case of anxiety.

    So yeah, don't hesitate to see your doc and put your mind at rest.

    Take care xxx

  • Posted

    Sounds like you may eat to many PUS, MUCUS, AND ACID-FORMING FOODS(Blood of Animals.

    Eggs

    caffeine(coffee,tea)

    Lard.

    Meat (Beef, Chicken, Horse, Dog, Mutton/Lamb, Turkey, Veal, Pork:

    Bacon, Ham, Sausage, Gammon, Chitterlings, Pig Feet; Wild Game: Bison, Buffalo, Ostrich, Rabbit, Venison, etc.)

    Margarine (Made with Animal Fat)) all these things clog you up,and you need some or less iodione for your thyroid to function properly.

    Eat more raw fruits and vegies with less acid, mucus and puss forming foods.I believe youll be just find. live it or diet

    smile

  • Posted

    I been dealing with everything you said and more from the start. I have seen over 6 neuromuscular specialist. When they see me they brush it off as anxiety. Even after all their tests.
    • Posted

      Shadow have you ever thought to see an tegrqted MD? Holistic doctor..alternative doctor. Traditional medical doctors are not the only doctors out there. 
  • Posted

    ALS is unheard of at your age. You would make the world record as the only one lol. Literally. You'd be famous because it its extremly impossible based in what it actually is. But clearly you have no medical knowledge, experience or dealing with it to really know that. Just an intrusive fearful thought and good old loser dr. Google to guide you. Stop.. Its a progressive thing in older people and rare in and of itself. Scratch that off the list immediately. MS mimics 18% of anxiety issues. And can be diagnosed thru a series of events, mris and a spinal tap. What you have described you can scratch this off too.

    You  have health anxiety/ocd and a therapist can hopefully work with you to help you learn to dissmantle these intrusive obsessive thoughts.

    • Posted

      In all fairness you should probably visit an allergist. It does sound like you have an allergy with all that think mucous, nasal drip and such. 
  • Posted

    Hi guys...dont be panic plz...thanks to medical advantages...the treatment of ALS hav found since 2016 with stemcell therapies which is done in some countries. And the good news is that until 5 years the powerful treatmebzt will stop the progression...so dont google the net so much and be relax.

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