Struggling

[hankduff]

Hi,

This is my first post. I've suffered with foot pain for about six months. I gave it no thought for about three of them other than it annoyed me (thought it was from too much exercise...I workout 4-5x/wk). During the ice bucket challenge, a coworker mentioned that he knew someone whose dad passed away from *** and it started with foot pain. I've never had any hypochondria tendencies or stress about my health but this sent me for a tailspin. Shortly thereafter, I started noticing twitches all over and have developed hand (below pinky, middle of Palm) and increased foot pain (arches). I know that because I never had this happening before it was mentioned that this is likely all in my head but I can't get the twitching to stop. I'm 100x better mentally than I was in August but my symptoms won't go away. Does this sound like bfs? If so...

Any help?

[Yuliasir]

look, someone told you that he knew someone whose dad...

how do you know this report was correct? How do you know that the pain this remote person had experienced (If any) was the same as yours?
In terms of histopathology people who suffer ALS have degeneration of neurons in the motor cortex and in the anterior horns of the spine. In the first case they have so called spastic paralysis (like in stroke), so if this comes first, the pain is possible, but it is spastic pain, and the whole limb shows severe rigidity which one can not miss. However most often the disease starts with spinal neurons destruction, and in this case it is a weak paralysis (paresis) which is not painful, and just implies a foot drop.

One can expect a foot pain as a result of 4-5 workouts in a week, really. Some slight trauma which you decided not to care about, or new sport shoes with improper soles, or increased load, or just new excercise - and your tendons become inflammed, and this causes pain - first only during workouts or after, and then it becomes continous, and the whole leg suffers and becomes "stiff' becasue all muscles are tensed in a wrong way. This pain tends to continue until foot position would be corrected or until trauma would be healed.

Have you had any medical investigation of your foot? Any Xray (pain might be caused by crack in one of the dozens of small bones it consists of), ultrasound to check tendons, etc?

As for how to stop twitching, according to the experience I got from three years of my own twitching is - there is no way to stop them. Once you get twitching, you will continue having them occasionally here and there (as you may probably have had before and just did not give any notice). Practically the only way is just to live with them

[RGB]

I know that because I never had this happening before it was mentioned that this is likely all in my head but I can't get the twitching to stop.

You used the word 'likely' when you meant to write 'certainly' Plenty of reasons why...


1.Lots of reports here of people starting to twitch only after reading about this as a symptom of ALS. Your timeline suggests a very high probability that this is all that has happened in your case.

2. Probably best to think again if you are planning on an illustrious medical career -- Jumping from foot pain to ALS is a strong indication that your diagnostic skills would need a lot of work!

3. You don't report any of the cardinal symptoms of ALS (such as weakness).

I could go on but it is only a long winded way of saying, yes, 99.99999% not sinister.

The best way to deal with this? Tell yourself that you twitch but they are harmless, then get on with enjoying life (ideally with a better appreciation of your good health).

RGB

[hankduff]

Thank you both...I appreciate it and will heed your good advice