Somatic Tension/Weakness - worrying about ALS/MND
Posted , 4 users are following.
i'm having a bit of a nightmare at the moment with worrying about ALS/MND - if anyone has any input, i'd be very grateful.
the context is that i've had a stressful year with my dad being unwell and deteriorating with dementia, as well as a relationship breakdown, and one of my friends dying from MND - i was with him and his family when he passed away, and possibly checked out emotionally from the situation and maybe didn't really process it.
i've been experiencing health anxiety this year quite a bit, it was about cancer initially, but in the last month it's been MND. I've been experiencing tension and weakness all over my body - i have seen my GP and am in weekly contact with her, but she's been on holiday for a couple of weeks. she has expressed a lot of confidence that it isn't MND, and that what i'm experiencing is health anxiety and somatic tension and weakness.
what i'm struggling with presently is that my left ankle feels both tense and weak - up until now, i felt relieved that my ankles were behaving, even though all the rest of the muscles in my legs were feeling weird at various points. what's bothering me is that my left ankle is usually stronger than my right ankle, but currently my balance is slightly worse on my left - though i can still hop on my left foot without falling over or anything.
also, my right hand is often stiff in the morning, and sometimes the thumb is actually painful. i've seen the nurse about this, she seemed to think my tendons were all ok, and has run some blood tests to check for blood sugars and B12 deficiency.
my shoulders also sometimes feel heavy or slightly strained, though my GP has examined my shoulders and has said they are fine. I will speak to her again next thursday when she returns from holiday, but i'm struggling at the moment, possibly also because i'm moving house over the weekend to a city, and i'm definitely more of a country person.
i'm just really struggling to maintain faith that these things, particularly the ankle, could be somatic - but if i use my logical brain, i suppose i can see that there's no reason why ankles should be immune to things like this.
it's making sleep very difficult, and my anxiety is really quite bad a lot of the time. if anyone has any insight that would be great appreciated.
0 likes, 8 replies
oliver48725 Rob0203
Edited
@Rob0203 mate ur not thy only one experiencing this l myself has gone through this and ik its kind of scary thinking abt death leaving behind ur loved ones...but l myself have these symptoms ...my right leg at times feels kind of like its carrying a weight but it doesnt prevent me from doing what l like and also i used to check for atrophy in my legs and whenever l look at my legs my right leg seems to be a bit thinner compared to the other ...so uk it freaks me out and all these symptoms are not constant they recurr with these l have some more sketchy symptoms twitching ,burning sensations in my legs ,random pains etc these r the symptoms l have worth mentioning and l just wanna say dont panic mate ur totally alright and l m sorry for ur dad .....l hope u will get over them soon
Rob0203 oliver48725
Edited
thanks man, that's really helpful - although i wish you weren't experiencing this, it always helps to give context when you find out other people experience the same things. hope you're ok too, and that whatever has brought you on to this forum stops bother you soon!
just one other thing - i've noticed a lot of people worry about twitching and stuff, it's interesting, i think i've always experienced twitches and so on, but it's literally never bothered me or been something i have ever given a second thought to.
jan34534 Rob0203
Edited
i’m so sorry for everything you are going through. And I know how it feels to be concerned about health and diseases etc. but I want to tell you that I really believe you are OK. Think about how much you are going through with your dad and everything else ! The body can only take so much stress before it has a breakdown and I believe that’s what you’re going through. And I can tell you that I went through the exact thing when I was in my 20s! I had so much built-up anxiety and stress prior to this breakdown that it was like the straw that broke the camels back. I was weak in every single part of my body!! I could barely get up off the couch and all of this came on suddenly. I had floaters in my eyes, muscle twitches everywhere, weak arms legs and everything else, ringing in my ears, shortness of breath, Tight muscles everywhere that were painful, and several more horrible sensations. I told my parents I thought I had some horrible neurological condition. All my testing came back perfectly normal and I was shocked. These sensations went on for a while until I started really addressing what was causing them. I had to deal with the issues causing me stress and anxiety.
these somatic symptoms or sensations can get really scary but remember one thing and that is they are not harmful! If they were I wouldn’t be here and I am in my 60s! So speaking from experience, the best thing you can do is relax your mind and body on a regular basis as much as you can.
don’t believe everything you think because anxiety tends to create negative false thoughts!
always remember that whatever you focus on in your mind, it will expand! Whether it’s positive or negative.
people react differently to stress. Some people get neurological sensations, other people get ulcers, some people get chest pain etc. I get the neurological symptoms.
stay off of googling symptoms because it won’t pertain to your individual situation.
Get your mind settled down by doing breathing exercises for anxiety, meditations for anxiety to calm everything down. Do you things that are going to help you.
it’s no wonder you are experiencing these sensations. Sounds like you have bottled up your emotions from your dad‘s situation. I would really suggest that you speak with a counselor so that you can let go of those emotions and feelings. And also learn how to manage the stress. You’d feel a lot better!
I just wanted to share these things with you and feel free to private message me anytime. Take care
Rob0203
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thanks so much to both of you for these replies, it's really, really helped me get through moving stuff into my new flat. hope you're both doing ok!
oliver48725 Rob0203
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@Rob0203 anytime mate l visited this forum when l had this horrible fear of als l was literally scared as f and at that time when l posted my trouble here (it was 3 paras ig lol) l got 10 replies from those good people out here and l got reassuring from them and now l m kind of fine btw tnx for u concern mate ....hope u would soon come over ur fears good luck 😉
Rob0203 oliver48725
Posted
thanks man, really glad to hear you're doing ok.
i was just wondering, did you ever get a feeling that your symptoms were 'progressing'? that's what's slightly torturing me at the moment, particularly with my ankle, as that is a new one - i'd been getting tension down both of my legs, into my calves, then into my ankles, and now it seems to have settled on my left ankle, which now also feels weaker than the right - it's really scary.
oliver48725 Rob0203
Edited
@Rob0203 mate its part of ur imaginations when l used to suffer from these sketchy symptoms l used to feel as tho it would only leave me after death but it nvr was progressing nor constant when l m out hanging out with my girlfriend it does not bother me but when l m all by myself it causes catatrophies in my brain my symptoms lasted for 4 months and then it suddenly disappeared ...my advice to u is that not to think more abt this take some time from ur life and spend it with friends and hope that u would get over these soon ...
Sofi4563 Rob0203
Edited
Hey Rob how are you feeling ? First, I'm really sorry for your loss:(
I've been panicking about having als for the past 2 years(28f) , and although my symptoms come and go, it doesn't get any easier . I have bouts of muscle twitches, internal tremors, feeling weak and tired, pain on my legs, or feeling like iI I'm walking or talking differently. It had been calm for months, but Yesterday I started having pain on my thigh, and now the als monster is back. The doctors have told me it's anxiety, tests show all is well, although I have vita D deficit, but I don't believe it, and going to the doctor is so stressful that I just stopped going...then I try to convince myself iI don't have it by being rational, but my irrational anxious side sees "patterns" for example and as for a donation for als on Facebook, or a person on a wheelchair and iI think it's a sign iI must have it. When the als symptoms calm down, the gastric issues arise and I'm back on pancreatic cancer. Sometimes iI even think iI have both... How are you coping?