Experiences with Symptoms
Hello all, I’ve been reading through posts on the ALSorNOT and ALS Reddits. I really dont want to bother anyone on the ALS Reddit since they are going through enough as it is. I am making this post to ask for first hand personal experiences with symptoms in relationship to reader’s diagnosis. I am not looking to diagnose myself, per se.
I am a 47 year old man that started experiencing difficulty grasping things in August 2025. I work in construction and work out somewhat consistently. I have been to several neurologists for varying reasons (first dismissive of me, second referred me, remainder at a teaching hospital so they are always rotating). I have had EMGs that have come back with the slightest signs of carpal tunnel in my right hand/wrist. The third+ neurologist did all of the tests and told me that the weakness is just carpal tunnel. I was good with this diagnosis.
I bought a splint for my wrist and went about life. All that, though, my right hand continued to weaken to weaken and I started to feel weakness in my posterior forearm. Additionally, I noticed that my ability to lift was slowly and progressively getting worse in my right arm. More specifically, there was a point I could lift 50lbs in a hammer curl with both of my arms. At first I chalked up the weakening to age, but eventually my right arm was lifting less than my left arm. I brought this up to the neurologists (in addition to weakness I was feeling in my lower right back) and they did a second EMG that showed the same slight carpal tunnel and they said the could detect no weakness when testing. At that point I was lifting 40lbs in my left arm and 30lbs in my right arm.
Fast forward to now and I am only able to lift 10lbs with my right arm while still being able to lift 40lbs with my left. I am falling down and feeling muscle twitches all over my body. The weakness in my back has spread up my right side and started down my legI think back to the clear EMG, though, and cannot imagine that it would show only slight carpal tunnel with the weakness I am feeling.
Can you all share experiences with clear or almost clear EMGs and nerve conduction studies? It may be denial, but I want to stay at a carpal tunnel diagnosis.