Muscle atrophy on the right side of my body
in Health ·
Jessica Baker69 said:Best regards,
My issues started about three years ago after I tried some sort of herbal parasite cleanse. It involved certain plant oils and bitter salts. The very next day, I developed this weird swelling under my armpit and pain that radiated up into my neck. My lymph nodes in my neck were hurting too. I went through all sorts of tests, and everything came back perfectly fine. During an ultrasound, the doctor noticed a tiny enlargement of a node on the side that was hurting, but they didn't even put it in the report because they said it wasn't considered a reactive node. At the time, I was under immense stress and lived in constant fear that I had lymphoma. After a few weeks, I started experiencing muscle twitching all over my body, and the muscle in my right palm, just below the thumb, seemed slightly smaller. That’s when the real panic set in—I was convinced I had Googled my way into an ALS diagnosis. In that same week, I felt twitching in my tongue; I looked in the mirror and could actually see sporadic twitches and a few indentations that hadn't been there before. I began obsessively monitoring my body and, within a couple of weeks, noticed my right foot was changing shape and looking more bony. So, I went in for an EMG of my arms and legs with Dr. Marija Šoštarko. She didn't find any pathological changes. Reflexes are normal—maybe a little brisk at the knees, but symmetrical. Nerve conduction is excellent, and the myographic findings only pointed to a mild, compensated L5 lesion. Now, three years later, I am still dealing with the exact same things. A few weeks ago, I had another follow-up with Dr. Šoštarko, who noticed asymmetry between my left and right calves and measured it at 0.50 cm. I showed her my right palm and my tongue as well (which now feels weaker on the right side), but none of it was deemed clinically significant. Reflexes remain the same, the EMG results are similar to what they were three years ago, indicating a bilateral L5 : S1 lesion, and nerve conduction is still excellent.
The atrophy remains mild; the doctor says I am strong and could complete every physical test she gave me.
The doctor tells me there is no reason to worry. I’ve had blood work done over the last three years and everything is normal (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, B12, folic acid), as well as my thyroid levels. The only thing that was slightly below the reference range was my serum copper. I just went to have everything re-tested—everything is still fine, though I haven't received the copper results yet.
Please, if anyone has advice, what should I do? This is destroying my life; I can't find any peace.
I asked Dr. Šoštarko if there was any possibility of something like progressive muscular atrophy—which is also a motor neuron disease. She said no... but I still can't relax. She is a wonderful doctor, dedicated, and above all, a decent human being; I can see how much she empathizes with what I'm going through, but she simply cannot give me the answers I need.
I am 29 years old.
I get muscle twitching in my calves and sometimes it twitches all over my body.
Tingling and burning sensations in my legs.
I have nerve damage at L5, if that's even relevant.
Also, an MRI showed a herniated disc at L5.
To add to that, I notice the muscles in my calves have weakened.