My Zeo

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Lifestyle
  • Health
  • House
  • Pets
  • Fitness
  • Money
  • Contact

9 Critical Warning Signs of ALS

September 19, 2020

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressively degenerative disease affecting the body’s brain and spinal cord nerve cells. The damage over time leads to loss of muscle control in the majority of the body.

Currently, there is no known cure for this terrible disease and doctor’s still don’t fully understand how this disease comes about. But they are clear on one thing: looking out for warning signs for early intervention is the key to slowing down the disease and letting the sufferer live a better life.

Make sure that you’re keeping watch for these nine critical warning signs of ALS for the best treatment outcomes.

9 Warning Signs of ALS

Early intervention is important for ALS. Below we’ll go into key signs to look for a potentially ALS diagnosis. Keep track of approximately when you’ve started noticing these symptoms and how bad they are to help your doctor put together a treatment plan for you.

1. Muscle Twitches

One of the first early warning signs of ALS is muscle twitches. These are likely to begin occurring in the arms and legs but can also be felt in your shoulders and even the tongue. These can be easy to misdiagnose as Restless Leg Syndrome for leg twitches, chalked up to poor circulation, or vitamin or mineral deficiencies.

These twitches will be involuntary and more often than not are perceived as annoying and not painful. If you’re living a fairly active life and have had normal blood work then it’s worth talking to your doctor about.

2. Muscle Cramping & Weakness

Along with muscle twitches, you may notice cramping and weakness in your muscles. Although this can sometimes be attributed to a good workout at the gym, your muscles shouldn’t be cramping and weak if you’re not pushing their limits.

If you find that your body is frequently sore and weak without any real explanation, it’s worthwhile to bring up with your doctor to determine the root cause.

3. Changes In Posture

With muscle weaknesses, cramping, and twitching you may notices changes physically with yourself. Posture is largely dictated by muscle strength to hold your back and core from curving. Those with weak muscles tend to have a more curved posture.

If you’ve once stood tall and straight, but all of a sudden notice an unexplained hunch or curve to your posture it’s worthwhile to note the symptom and bring it up with your doctor.

4. Tripping and Falling

Do you notice yourself conducting random gravity checks? Maybe you’ve been walking on a flat surface and tripped, maybe even fell. Once in a while, this does happen to the average person but if this is occurring frequently enough to be noticeable it’s best to note it.

If you’ve noticed that you’ve been tripping and falling a lot more frequently be it on flat surfaces or uneven ones, it’s worth bringing up with your doctor to rule out things like loss of vision, and determine if maybe it’s a warning sign of ALS.

5. Speech Difficulties

Slurred and nasally speech is another one of our early symptoms of ALS. Since your tongue is a muscle, ALS may compromise the functional ability to speak clearly normally. You or your loved ones will likely notice changes in your speaking abilities.

If you’ve had clear speech before and notice or have been told there’s a change in the way you speak that isn’t related to cold, for example, be sure to bring it up with your doctor.

6. Weakness In Hands

Have you been dropping things more than usual? Maybe you’ve noticed your hand grip on things isn’t how it used to be. Maybe you’re having trouble holding your purse, or find yourself unable to hold a pot of food with one or two hands.

If you notice a difference in your hand strength from what your normal abilities are, you should definitely bring it up with your family doctor to rule out ALS as a potential diagnosis.

7. Difficulties Breathing & Swallowing

Have you been experiencing trouble or difficulty breathing? Has swallowing your food or even your own saliva become a bit difficult? You could be experiencing a symptom of ALS.

Breathing and swallowing require the work of your muscles, and since ALS attacks muscle function you may begin to start having trouble doing either of these.

8. Difficulty Doing Normal Activities

Are the activities you normally do wearing you down? Have your simple everyday tasks become more difficult? This may be an early warning sign of ALS.

Often times, sufferers will report that simple tasks like turning a key in a lock, or opening doors becoming difficult for them to do. It isn’t normal for a seemingly healthy individual to start struggling with their normal activities. If you’ve noticed a change be sure to tell your doctor immediately for further testing.

9. Fatigue

Last but not least, the final critical warning sign of ALS is fatigue. Like most diseases, ALS takes a toll on the body, which in turn makes sufferers feel much more tired than they normally would. Especially since your body will try to compensate for the muscle weakness by overcompensating with other muscles in your body.

If you’ve noticed yourself becoming more tired without any changes to your day to day, talk to your family doctor about your symptom.

Treatments For ALS

There are a few treatment options from pharmaceuticals to cannabis for ALS treatment.  It’s important to understand that because there’s no cure, the treatments for ALS are about symptom management.

The best approach found so far in symptom aid is a multidisciplinary one. This is where a team of health care professionals like physiotherapists, medical doctors, nutritionists, and speech pathologists to name a few, work together and with you to help you fair better.

Showing Warning Signs of ALS?

If you or your loved one is exhibiting any of the above discussed warning signs of ALS, it’s best to contact your family doctor to talk further about testing. Any changes from your normal everyday health should be noted and addressed with your GP.

Be sure to check out the rest of our page for a variety of information content!

Leave a Comment · Blog

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Me

Hello all!!!! I'm Darcy and I recently started writing on My Zeo about health and fitness (and part of that important health equation is sleep!). As we are all super busy with life, I try to integrate how to stay fit, relax and be healthy and happy through everyday life.

Facebook

My Zeo

NEWSLETTER

TeraHemp

What Are the Benefits and Risks of Dental Implants?

Installing a dental implant into your jaw could be a permanent way to replace a lost tooth. But are . . .

Read the Post

Choosing the Right Equipment for Outdoor Activities

Being active outdoors provides health benefits, including improved mental and physical health, . . .

Read the Post

Exploring Holistic Therapies for Efficient Healing

Home healthcare is popular for holistic healing, as a practitioner can come into one's home and . . .

Read the Post

Everything You Need to Know About Bedsores

Bedsores are a common yet debilitating affliction that occurs fairly easily. They can affect anyone . . .

Read the Post

5 Things To Add To A Prenup

Getting married is one of the most exciting times of life. Most people get married because they want . . .

Read the Post

Follow Us Online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Copyright © 2018 myzeo.com

Copyright © 2023 · Simply Pro by Bloom Blog Shop.