do i have als!!? please help

Posted , 5 users are following.

Hi there im a 20 year old female with health anxiety nd for the last 2 days ive had this twitch in my thumb the sort you get in your eye lid, i didnt think much of it at first but when it kept returning expecially when my hand was at rest i started to worry nd google search my symptoms, where i came across als motor neuron disease, my anxiety has gotten worse and rhe twitching is all i can think about, my hands feel shaky nd somewhat stiff from all the worrying, i find when i dont actually think about it or when im not anxious about it for a short time my hands and fingers feel normal, i dont have any weakness or any other symptoms for that matter, is this all anxiety related nd have any of you experienced this before? I feel so scared and on edge right now :-(

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Posted

    Maisie, 

    I'm sure you don't have ALS. It is an extremely rare disease and you seem to be a healthy girl. I've diagnosed myself with a hundred diseases and have yet to have any of them. KNOCK  ON WOOD. Anxiety takes such a horrible physical toll that people don't realize. Sometimes when we twitch it can be due to dehydration or purely anxiety. If you're symptoms get worse as you think about them chalk it up to the oh so fun anxiety. I feel like my mother right now talking to myself. I come to her and bug her about a new ailment every week and she always has this same answer: you've got a great life, you're healthy and you're loved so please try to not worry about things that aren't there. It's so much easier said that done, especially for someone who doesn't understand what we go through on a daily basis. I hope this helps. 

    • Posted

      Thanks morgan for your reply i too have self diagnosed myself with a whole range of awful illnesses and ita only ever turned out to be somthing really minor or just anxiety related symptoms, i no im over reacting about this twitchy thumb but all i do is think about it nd notice it everytime it twitches, but when im out and about doing things i dont even feel it its only when im resting it seems to twitxh, also a week prior to the twitching ive been under alot of stress and anxiety im 36 weeks pregnant with my second baby nd hes not in the right position nd rhats beeing stressing me out alot, i also have a 2 year old who has been under the weather with hayfever at the time i didnt even no she had allergues nd just assumed it was somthing more serious so yes ive been under alor of stress this past week or so and then the twitches have appeared and now im even more anxious :-( ive read alot on the net that twitching is a stress/ anxiety symptom so i feel like that is why i have these symptoms bur my mind says different which is always the case as u well no yourself, any reassuring advice would greatly help thankyou x
  • Posted

    I always have twitches in my body ever since 2010. ALS would have killed me by now right? Anxiety causes twitching. I've felt it in every orifice of my body. I bet you don't have ALS. No way! smile
    • Posted

      Thanks for your reply gabbi, ive experience twitching before mainly my eye lids or calf nd have experienced it in my thumb also its just ita lasting longer than i woukd have expected, (tomoro being the third day) i understand that conatantly worrying about the twitching will only make the problem lasr longer or make ir worse,ive suffered with health anxiety for many years so i no how ir works but i still cant relax my mind into thinking its nothing more than just a harmless twitch
  • Posted

    I know someone who past away from Als the way u feel is not als, fact!
    • Posted

      Hi rachel really sorry to hear about that, i dont fully understand the disease only from what ive read on the internet, im aware that weakness is one of the first symptoms followed by twitching whether that was the same for the person you knew i cant help myself but feel so worried i no im being over dramatic about my twitchy thumb but i cant seem to switch off the fear, any reassuring advice would be much appreciated thankyou x
    • Posted

      A lot of the time u will get really bad cramps and u will start limbing unable to use a limb. It would be more noticeable. The fact you are so worried shows u have anxiety. I know its hard I really understand the pain anxiety causes sad
    • Posted

      Thanks for getting back to me i dont have any other symptoms associated with the twithing but i cant sleep well and i feel sick with worry i can use myhand fine with no weakness or cramps at all, i sometimes get twitchy eye lids aswel, i just feel so on edge right now and everytime my thumb twitches i get this sinking feelingin my stomach its just awful, what are the first signs of als?
  • Posted

    Hun I have twitching everywhere head cheek lip leg bum ! It's been nearly 7 months of it now I'm not on medication but it started when I took ciatrpram for the first time I took two tablets which caused a variety of symtoms then I was left with the twitches / spasms I don't know if they caused it or anxiety I haven't been to doctors about it yet I'm too scared but if it's only in your thumb I wouldn't be worried xx
    • Posted

      Thanks steph for your reply i wish i didnt worry so much, ive been on loads of als sights and the main symptom is weakness which i do not have, i just dont understamd why the twitch in my thumb has lasted for 3 days already its probs cus i keep thinking about it, it onky seems to twitch when its resting or if im texting but when im busy doing rhings it dont twitch at all x
    • Posted

      I get twitching in my thumb a lot and pins and needles got to think now we are all on phones and mines a Samsung s5 and big so imagine the strain of my fingers constantly it's going to cause something isn't it lol

      But try not to look at the sights I did and could not use my hands hardly but there back to ok now you read too much into something and it's crazy how your body and your mind responses I'm glad you haven't got weakness and I hope it gets better soon for you xx

    • Posted

      Thankyou steph i go on these sites to try and reasure myself but come across worst case senarios and go into o complete panic attack! When im out i dont even feel twitching, i have a samsung also nd always using my thumb so maybe your right nd my thumb is just being over used nd my anxiety is making the twitch stick around, i do hope it goes away soon as tomoro will be the 4th day, do u think i should go to the doctor about it or just wait it out, also my arm feels abit achy aswel dunno if that has anything to do with it or just another anxiety symptom x

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