Whole body muscle weakness/atrophy on right side
Posted , 57 users are following.
My symptoms are below:
-Mid 2006- Felt right leg week when I am exercising. Felt right hand weak and fine tremor.
-Did all possible tests and MRI,EMG, everything normal in 2008.
-2006-2017 - I let it go and nothing was bothering.
-But meanwhile all the length I have observed that my right side of the body was little weak in terms of muscle strength and muscle mass.
-I could able to do all the things and can able to do even now.
-But now whole my right side has a little less mass, face, shoulders, trunk hip, glutes,thigh , leg and foot.
-Little that it is not yet innterfering in the daily activities.
-Concerned, I went to neurologist.
-EMG done and it is normal.
-Neuro ordered blood tests.
- midly elevated calcium, aldolase, liver enzymes, album and positive ANA with < 1:80.
-ANA is positive but titer is normal (< 1:80)
-Planning to meet the neuromuscular specialist next month.
-Connecting all dots together till now, I am just wondering what this condition might be?
Given that it is present from long time and I could function normally now with normal EMG, can ALS be ruled out?
Thought this could be polymyositis but I have the weakness and atrophy mosly on one side of the body.
Pleas let me know your thoughts
0 likes, 430 replies
steve55737 kristy93914
Posted
Hey Kristy,
Very same issues. About 3 years ago, my then neurologist picked up on the fact that my right foot brevus muscle was missing on the top of my foot. He felt that it may have been caused
from wearing too tight of footwear.
Following that, I began to notice right foot thinning (atrophy) that soon, within a couple of months migrated to my right ankle. This was very obvious to me.
Within a couple of more months,
I noticed obvious atrophy to my right quad. Again, undeniable in view. I had another EMG done last year that showed some mild issues with a deep peronial nerve in my right ankle/foot. The neuro did not seem concerned at the time amd told me not to worry about it.
But now, more atrophy to include my foot, ankle, calf, quad, trunk oblique, forearm, tricep and face is all noticeable. Strength is not poor, but it is reduced on my entire right side.
Just had an MRI of the brain and spine that showed nothing remarkable. The neuro is scheduling a follow up EMG to look for changes.
I'm a 54 y/o male who has always worked out and been in decent but not super great shape. I fear the same nerve and muscles diseases as I believe everybody on this site does. I hate being dismissed by Docs thinking its no big deal and that I should just be living with it! HOPING you or somebody else on this site finds some definitive answers!
drew46955 kristy93914
Posted
my spine is in pain every day too. from the second i get up out of bed. its been a rough 4 months. i wake up every day just hoping ill be a little better but i just get a little worse
RJC3853 drew46955
Posted
I am so sorry. I hope you are doing better. I am also experiencing atrophy on the R side and find that hot baths offer a temporary reprieve. Hang in there! And, instead of focusing on muscles, check on the circulatory system. I've tried neuro and ortho and they are all baffled.
nitopun10112 kristy93914
Posted
hi i was wondering if anyone has any updates on this forum regaridng the one side atrophy problem. i have atrophy on my right leg and to a leas extent on right hand not sure why this is happening. but any response is much appreiated
jsett2205 kristy93914
Posted
love to hear updates on this. My son has right sided weakness and I'm afriad he a type of muscular dystrophy
t50469 kristy93914
Edited
Hi all!
Has anyone manage to improve their condition / gain any insights on a potential diagnosis?
This might not sound right but I definitely feel relieved to know that I am not alone in this suffering. I am 22 years old and believe I am largely affected by this "condition".
My story follows... I am a 22 year old male who has been moderately active since childhood. I first noticed my symptoms maybe 5 or 6 years ago when I started going to the gym regularly. Initially people brought this to my attention by noticing my right arm being less muscle dense than my left. I did not pay much attention back then until problems started arising. 2 years since I had started weightlifting I experienced a considerable pain in my right shoulder which lasted for around a month or so. I was not able to exercise during that time, matter of fact I had pain through everyday motions especially doing things that involved raising my right arm. Eventually pain subsided and I was back to exercising at the gym with no problems. However, this was the time when I started noticing my right AC join protruding a little bit. Did not pay much attention at the time as I was still quite young, uneducated and in all honesty cared more about getting in a very good shape than my general health ( if that makes sense, every 17 year old boy would understand ). Since then the same pain has been on and off lasting for about a week and going away when abstaining from strenuous exercise.
Fast forward to September 2018 when the pain was back at "at full force" and I had a hard time holding the fork when eating ( it was that bad ). Pain went away in a month or so but I feel like my right AC joint got even more pronounced after this period. Since then I have stared paying more attention to my body from head to toe and have noticed extreme differences in both sides. The whole right side of my body FACE, NECK, SHOULDER, UPPER & MID BACK, GLUTE, QUAD & HAMSTRING and my right CALF are noticeably SMALLER, and look as if LIFE IS DRAINED OUT of them ( my right side muscles have an atrophy-like look ). Blood supply to my LEFT arm and leg muscles in considerably better, range of motion of joints better, I have a strange PULLING feeling under my right armpit and a bunch of other strange feelings in my RIGHT side.
I feel the pain, discomfort and frustration of all of you I know how hard this thing is and how it affects your mental health, mood, energy, appetite etc. etc. its all connected. I understand and feel the lack of confidence this brings to one's life and can assure you it has affected me to a large degree.
The worst and craziest thing about all this is that NO ONE SEEMS TO NOTICE, family, friends, doctors.... NO ONE SEEMS TO GIVE IT THE SIGNIFICANCE THAT IT REALLY HAS judging by the effect that his has on our lives!
My plea is to anyone who might have found a way around this... PLEASE share your journey so this suffering could end for everyone.
Thank you for your time reading this.
Halfofme t50469
Posted
Hi T50469
I totally get you're predicament!
I have had an episode where my entire left side had suffered some form of atrophy - a sort of flaccidity really - pores are larger on left side of face and face and neck look visibly thinner.
I no longer fit into my clothes properly and compression of socks etc cause an indentation in the tissue of the left leg . The surface tension and thus the look of life has ebbed from that entire left side.
This started in 1988 and I still feel emotionally wracked by it - it appears self limiting is the good news I guess.
Worst part has been feeling as if i no longer recognize myself but worse is that only a handful of people have acknowledged any pathology - drives me nuts! A minor disfigurement as described by a plastic surgeon - minor for him maybe!!!
I'm going to see a vascular specialist soon and will update if i get any feedback.
Hang in there! You are not alone
Cpace Halfofme
Posted
Any update? This thread is scary because nobody has replied in months. Hoping you all are thriving.
Halfofme Cpace
Posted
Hi Cpace
Hope you are doing ok. Sorry to say I have nothing new to report. My condition appears stable but I am determined to get some answers. I see someone had a diagnosis of impaired flow in one of the carotid arteries as a result of neck issue .
I remember my gp telling me i have one less bone in my neck than most so i intend to pursue this line of inquiry with a vascular surgeon . Damn difficult getting anything done in these covid times though!
Hoping you are hanging in there .
Stay positive as you possibly can!
Cpace Halfofme
Posted
Good luck. I stupidly have drank liquor about five-six times in the past three weeks because I lost my self-control and spent time with some alcoholic ass friends. My right side shrunk just the same as my left side. Pathetic. It's like it happened over night and just 'switched,' instead of a slow change. I'm pathetic and weak now. Hope you get it diagnosed or fixed before I do! The only follow up I have right now is to see if my nerves are working like various others have tested for in this thread.
Cpace kristy93914
Posted
I am also losing mass/muscle/bone/possibly other things on the LEFT side of my body. I looked up Parry-Syndrome and if I have that I'm doomed. Anyone have any updates? I just got an MRI of my brain; have not received results back yet. This has seemingly been occurring for the past two-ish years and seems to have accelerated as of late. Even though I was exercising for 12 weeks straight.
Cpace
Posted
My face is now losing mass on the left side. My eyebrow bridge is considerably smaller on left side compared to right. I took a new thyroid dosage around three months ago and my atrophy has sped up. They took a blood test again and thought I needed a higher dosage because of my abnormal thyroid level. It's now sped up even more. My MRI of the brain/top spine is apparently ''normal.' I'm a long-term Diabetic as well. I used to be strong and fast, now my left side is disappearing and I wish someone would shoot me in the face and get this over with.
My left side is completely deteriorating. Lips, bones, muscles, etc. My face is now transforming on the left side to the ugly look of death. Help!!
Cpace
Posted
Want to add that I was getting some kind of spasm in the left leg in the summer of 2019. When I lied down to sleep it would spasm. I attributed it to my heavy (abusive drinking). I have quit drinking for over 200 days and my symptoms have gotten WORSE. I fear for my life. I also fear the many poor people who have been posting here and no longer reply are dead from this.
While I exercised for four months I gained strength etc. But, my left side was always off and not gaining as much strength as my right. I quit because of these symptoms not getting better. Right around when I quit I felt some kind of feeling in my leg/arm but I wouldn't describe it as 'needles' lying down. Something to do with the nerves I assume. Around February of 2019 my heart rate was beating very fast when I lied down one night. I haven't felt the same since. I blamed it on my new thyroid dosage. Then when I switched it seemed to have improved my heart rate. But, it's never been the same since, it's still faster when I lie down (at least appears that way, possibly faster while vertical too).
I fear for my life.
Cpace
Posted
This thread is a nightmare. Everyone posted here is dead. Guess I'll be joining you all soon because I'm experiencing the same thing! Before it was just my left leg and left forearm. Now it's ALL of my left side. My f*****g head and face are losing muscle/mass on the left side and I don't want to be around strangers anymore! Not that I have self-esteem issues. But; you know how it is, when you are looking like freak show people are going to try and take advantage. I don't want to have to pull a violent act for someone disrespecting me.
RJC3853 kristy93914
Posted
Ditto. I am experiencing atrophy on the entire R side of my body. I've been to Mayo, a physician w/NY Hospital for Special Surgeries and several docs from Cleveland Clinic. All are stumped. The ONLY individual who gave me insight and a degree of hope was Dr. Fred Hauser at Caring Medical in Ft. Myers Florida. I live in MI, but went there last November and they spent the entire day with me, reviewing my symptoms, unlike any other facility. I learned that my caratoid artery on the left side is blocked when (due to neck issues), I look up down and to the right. With the brain affected by less blood flow on the left, my right side is affected. It is the ONLY answer I have received after seeking input from at least a dozen doctors locally and at the prestigious locations I noted previously. I am beginning to experience pain and numbness in my R hand and all of my joints are compromised (broken R foot, torn miniscus, pain in hip and shoulder inflamed). All of these issues make it increasingly difficult to keep these atrophied muscles moving, but I must do so! After being bounced between neuro and ortho for the past 5 years, I am now focusing on circulatory/cardiac to find an answer. I hope this helps!
Cpace RJC3853
Posted
I just typed a huge summary of my experienced but my left hand slipped on the "mouse" platform of the laptop and it highlighted/deleted everything. I'm obviously disappointed because I put great detail into it. I'll reply in a lazy way.
I too am experiencing loss of mass on my left side. I say "mass" because it's not just my muscles. It's my lips, my gums, my bones, in addition to my muscles. It's obvious and has been going on since 2019. It's accelerated lately. I abused alcohol/smoking weed in my 20's. I'm now in my 30's. Used to be strong and fast, now I'm weak and slow. I'm Diabetic for 30+ years; take thyroid medication and antacids.
I have taken a lot of test since 2016 (though this particular problem I have only taken the test of MRI of brain and top of spine; both told to be normal).
Noticed when this first started happening when I became too low (I do not experience normal Diabetic lows because I've had it so long, instead I only feel low when I'm close to passing out), my left leg would collapse while I was standing and moving to a location to raise my blood sugar.
Since Feb. 2019 my heart rate has been noticeably faster while lying down in bed. One night it was beating the fastest I've ever had it beat, even faster than when I used to run low five minute miles. Ever since then my heart has been faster beating while lying down. And in 2018 or at this particular time is when the left side of me was losing mass. I first noticed it in my leg around Fall of 2019. Summer of 2019 my leg would tremor while lying down and I blamed it on drinking. Well, I went 200+ days without drinking/smoking weed until last week I mistakenly did it again with an old associate. The very next day my right foot was numbed in the middle and the big toe was numb. The left foot big toe was slightly numb too but not as bad. My left side of my body lost mass quickly in the summer of 2020. I exercised for four months beginning in March after I quit alcohol/weed (easily due to Covid-19). I gained strength and speed; but, not to what I would because my testosterone levels are low.
After drinking/smoking weed with my associate last week and the after effects of my feet (possibly due to my poor boot conditions and us standing for about six hours straight). Seems like it triggered an obvious shrinkage on my right side now too, OVERNIGHT. It was a mistake for me to break my 200+ day streak of not doing that garbage. I did it out of impulse and also wanted to see how I reacted. Now that I know for sure that that s**t is directly helping my deterioration, I'll never return again.
I'm also in MI.
Doctors recently told me I had low vitamin D so I'm taking a supplement. They claim it might help my symptoms, I have to laugh because it's like "yeah right."
rod00943 Cpace
Posted
Check to make sure you are breathing with your diaphrahm! if you use mostly your neck to breathe it will get super tight and pinch nerves!
Cpace rod00943
Posted
Thanks for the advice; though, I'm unsure what you mean about it. I'm weaker on all sides and all parts of myself (both sides of body/head/face) etc. It's depressing because I remember when I used to be real strong just two years ago.
Cpace rod00943
Posted
Also wanted to mention something I've noticed about my hands/knuckles. They seem aged or deteriorated even compared to those who are 70+ years of age. I've lost muscle in my hands and especially the part between the thumb and pointer finger. I am saddened that a lot of people who came to this thread have not returned for a long time. Makes me think they are dead. If so, R.I.P. And R.I.P. to you and myself as well. I had health hurdles before but to decay this way is making me think that life really is a joke x.x