Something to worry about?

[Juliaphilinchen]

Hey guys,
First of all, I thank you all so much for the precious work that you do here, I cannot express how much I admire you all.
Secondly, I apologize for posting. I have read all the "before posting" and I tried to not post, but I don't find the strength in me. I know that only doctors can give an official evaluation or even tendency but I don't have health insurance at the moment and with the current situation, I don't know when this will change. At the moment, going to a neurologist is so far out of reach because of that and since I know about all that you do fot others here, I wanted to share my situation with you to know what you think in order to eventually reevaluate my next step.. I sincerely hope this is somewhat ok.

It all started in the beginning of this year when I (34,f) started to experience body wide twitches that made me concerned (I know, rabbit hole) since I never had them before and they were and are quiet frequent and persistent and still are. I started to experience weird feelings in my left hand, it seemed more difficult to cut some things with a knife for example but that has since gone away and I know that points away from ALS. I experienced cramping as well in the calves excessively for a few weeks as well as a feeling of not being able to move my toes guiet well but that went away as well. Idl started to drop things more frequently but then again this is the case since a few years (5 or so). I have a few tingeling sensations in hands and feet and a one sided tremor that appears from time to time - I have a history of Parkinson in my family and should probably be more concerned here, but I think the sensory and the sometimes here sometimes not points away from ALS, right?

What makes me concerned is my jaw area. I haven't found any information around bulbar ALS that I could rely on regarding this but this is why I post know, as well as other points mentioned here. Since more than 6 months, I experience jaw spasms. Mostly hypnic spasms that occur right before I fall asleep, my husband points out that I jerk with my jaw from left to right multiple times. During the day, my jaw feels extremely tight and that has now affected my ears that feel constantly blocked like during a flight and I cannot get them to open again which drives me crazy. My jaw is slow as well and I bite my tongue or cheek from time to time, it locks up as well. I have no slurred speach or trouble swallowing, only when I actively think about it I sometimes cannot do it but that seems to happen since it's a reflex, right?

With all the weird things happening to me. Since a few months, should I be concerned it is ALS?

Thank you so much for your help and again I'm so sorry for taking your time.. Bless you all!

 

[lgelb]

Yes, tingling and tremors point away from ALS. And I would not expect Parkinson's to present as you describe, either.

Even without health insurance, it doesn't cost too much to see a dentist to look for uneven tooth wear and whether your jaw opens/closes as it should. If they see an issue, they would probably do a payment plan to get you a bite guard.

Not everything may be related here -- weird things often feed on each other.

 

[Juliaphilinchen]

Thank you so much for your reply! So you don't see any reason to worry about ALS?

 

[lgelb]

I do not. In addition to the above, I would track your sleep with a wearable, and, if anything looks amiss, consider even an at-home sleep study, which, again, if ordered on line, I think you could pay for in installments. But if you are in the UK, I would think you have access to the NHS? If you do see something abnormal at any point, you still need medical help to address it.