phillip21831
Member
Hello all,
So here's my story. Around one year ago, July 2012 I began having issues. . . went through a zillion blood test by my PCP and then read up on the Lyme diseases controversy on the internet and actually got diagnosed with Lyme disease by a "Lyme Literate Medical Doctor" in Nashville, TN. Then in September I broke my hip in my biking accident. After the fall my symptoms became much worse. I started noticing atrophy in my hands and shoulders around October and my shoulders would pop in and out of place more and more. Had tons of twitching all over, insomnia, continuing atrophy among a host of other things. I had a few fainting spells and ended up in the ER where I was diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation. I had surgery for the Chiari Malformation at the end of December and really felt better for several months, although I always could tell that my hands/arms/shoulders were continuing to atrophy. Recently, I have begun to go down hill again and the atrophy is really increasing in my hands and shoulders. I read this morning about "split hand" where your thumb side atrophies more than your pinky side and that this is a pretty specific sign for ALS. This is exactly how my hands look although on the back/top of my hand, all of my interosseus muscle between the bones appears atrophied. Now when I flex my thumb muscle I notice the muscle twitching, but only when I flex it really. I'm scheduled for an EMG on July 8th and then back to the neurosurgeon to check for problems with cervical compression on July 25th. I really freaked myself out this morning with the whole "split hand" thing, and my shoulders have been popping out of place more and more. The atrophy seems steady but progressive and I would like to avoid anymore more brain surgeries if this is all ALS, but I really don't want the ALS diagnosis. What do ya'll think about all of this?
Thank you so much!
So here's my story. Around one year ago, July 2012 I began having issues. . . went through a zillion blood test by my PCP and then read up on the Lyme diseases controversy on the internet and actually got diagnosed with Lyme disease by a "Lyme Literate Medical Doctor" in Nashville, TN. Then in September I broke my hip in my biking accident. After the fall my symptoms became much worse. I started noticing atrophy in my hands and shoulders around October and my shoulders would pop in and out of place more and more. Had tons of twitching all over, insomnia, continuing atrophy among a host of other things. I had a few fainting spells and ended up in the ER where I was diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation. I had surgery for the Chiari Malformation at the end of December and really felt better for several months, although I always could tell that my hands/arms/shoulders were continuing to atrophy. Recently, I have begun to go down hill again and the atrophy is really increasing in my hands and shoulders. I read this morning about "split hand" where your thumb side atrophies more than your pinky side and that this is a pretty specific sign for ALS. This is exactly how my hands look although on the back/top of my hand, all of my interosseus muscle between the bones appears atrophied. Now when I flex my thumb muscle I notice the muscle twitching, but only when I flex it really. I'm scheduled for an EMG on July 8th and then back to the neurosurgeon to check for problems with cervical compression on July 25th. I really freaked myself out this morning with the whole "split hand" thing, and my shoulders have been popping out of place more and more. The atrophy seems steady but progressive and I would like to avoid anymore more brain surgeries if this is all ALS, but I really don't want the ALS diagnosis. What do ya'll think about all of this?
Thank you so much!