Is this ALS?

@dashboardben
Cervical radiculopathy can feel like pain, numbness, weakness and pins/needles/tingling. It could cause muscle spasms/tremors due to communication breakdowns between brain/body and body/brain.

1.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22639-cervical-radiculopathy-pinched-nerve
2.
https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/cervical-radiculopathy-symptoms
3.
https://www.boneandjoint.org/patient-education/cervical-radiculopathy-cervical-nerve-compression/

@dlydailyhope Thanks a lot.

I'll check that out.

BTW, is there any information on how the "feel" of the ALS related fasciculation feel different compared to radiculopathy, or BFS? As much as I can read, it says ALS would be in all areas, and *follows* muscle weakness, i.e. that it does not start with twitches and then muscle weakness etc.

Is there any confirmed information source on this? Honestly, I am a bit concerned.

@dashboarden
I definitely think your doctors need to rule out everything else before landing on ALS. It is important to look at symptoms and diagnoses that mimic ALS.

I thought I might have ALS and my neurologist ruled out MS. I had a lot of autoimmune and neurological blood work to check for deficiencies and toxicities plus autoantibodies.

Take a look at the links below. I needed to work through 8 years of diagnoses to get to iron deficiency, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, cervical degenerative myelopathy and radiculopathy plus lumbar spinal stenosis/disc degenerative disease and neurogenic claudication which was behind my long list of symptoms.

1.
https://www.healthline.com/health/diseases-that-mimic-als
2.
https://www.als.net/news/als-mimics/
3.
https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.90.15_supplement.P4.465
4.
https://scarysymptoms.com/2017/09/22-diseases-mimic-als-symptoms-can-lead-misdiagnosis/

@dashboardben
See response above. My @address got shortened.

Hi @dlydailyhope

Many thanks, I would need to book an appointment with the doctor.

At least reading through Cervical radiculopathy, I don't seem to have much in that sense, e.g. (sensory), there is no numbness or reduced sensation in the skin, no motor weakness, no reflect losses. Doctors appointments here ... just a GP, no idea even how long it takes. Emergency medicine (A&E) can land one with a 7-hour wait!

What I have is twitching ... just the muscle twitching in the biceps – I wanted to really rule out the worst ALS.

Wondering: In ALS cases, let's say absolute initial, is the twitching throughout the day? Or sometimes only?

Is there an idea of "micro-twitching"? E.g. I can sometimes see visible movement in the bicep, other times, I feel a "tremor". Again, not through the whole day, like today, nothing until 18.00 ... the whole day, I went about my work – nothing.

Can it start with just one muscle only?

@dashboardben

A pinched spinal nerve in your cervical spine can cause muscle cramping and twitches. Read the information here.
https://www.medicinenet.com/when_should_i_worry_about_muscle_twitching/article.htm

@dashboardben

You may want to have a neurologist do EMG/nerve conduction studies to see how your upper limbs receive signals from your brain/central nervous system to move your muscles in your arms.

@dlydailyhope thanks a lot, I have to try that out in the near future. As I had mentioned, I am based in one of those hyper socialist incompetent medical systems where the first route (exaggerated) is always "take an NASID or acetaminophen (Tylenol)" x 3 months!

I can see that you are justifiably concerned, and anxious, and worried! My reaction was very similar to yours, so I truly understand, and can surely empathize with you! If a patient is concerned about symptoms, that they perceive to be possibly serious, suspecting an extremely debilitating condition like ALS, it can cause overwhelming anxiety. So, when I had fasciculations with my forearms, in particular, on and off, for around 6 months, I was concerned too! In the small town I lived in, there were no neurological specialists, and so my General Practitioner gave me an EEG test, and brain scan tests, at the local hospital! Nothing was found to be out of order, according to the results. So, over the next several years, the fasciculations eased up a bit, but I had several other neurological symptoms, like freezing and falling episodes. After one bad fall, where I lost consciousness, and had a concussion, 2 black eyes, and blunt force head trauma, with further testing, the GP couldn't determine what was wrong, Frustrated, my daughter decided that we should move from our small town, to the bigger city, where there is a major regional hospital, with specialists, where she and her family lived. We moved there, and she made an appointment for me, with an Internist! After examining me closely, he said that he found some troubling neurological signs, that went along with symptoms I was experiencing, so, before I could leave the office, he called a neurologist and made an emergency appointment for the next day! The neurologist, a very experienced clinician, suspected that I was suffering Parkinsonism symptoms. After testing, including a trial run, of my being prescribed Levadopa, the neurologist diagnosed me with Parkinson’s Disease! I was glad that ALS was ruled out; however, Parkinson’s has it’s own set of neurological signs and symptoms, that can be very challenging, especially as the disease progresses! I was diagnosed 7 years ago, and progression set in the last several years, where now I have great difficulty walking, and my autonomic system is sometimes, compromised! I’ve had physical therapy, which helped, and my levodopa dosages have been increased, but, especially this last year, mobility has become a big issue for me! Wishing you good luck, as you are seeking a diagnosis, for your fasciculations!

I have had the same symptoms for about 2 months. I did an MRI and turns out i have cervical radiculopathy which means i have disc bulging and compression which could lead to a pinched nerve that causes bicep twitching. But i have zero pain or other symptoms so im still a bit concerned it’s stemming from something else and have been extremely anxious. Did you ever find out what was going on w yours?