What were the results of your neuro exam? Was it carried out by your family doctor only? Do you have weakness? Numbness?
Both als and ms are more about weakness. Als shows mixed upper and lower neuron signs in the same limb -- so your leg could be weak and show spasticity (upper motor neuron), but it also has twitching and fasciculations (lower motor neuron sign).
To confuse the matter further, sometimes other things can cause symptoms. My neurologist was very concerned about ALS (the above was a description of my own right leg), but my LMN signs ended up being symptoms of a magnesium deficiency. Once my magnesium levels were normalized, fasciculations disappeared and I rarely twitch unless I get lazy about supplementing.
I wasn't worried because I had twitching and fasciculations "all over", which would not be the case for early ALS or MS.
MS can cause symptoms anywhere affected by the CNS, but there would be no all over symptoms until you were much further on in the disease. RRMS tends to start with visual symptoms from optic nerve involvement, or weakness in a single or two same side limbs. Sometimes severe dizziness or vertigo. Bladder problems can also be an early symptom (although there are many non- ms causes for that). Pain is "most likely" due to spasticity, or from an awkward gait causing structural issues. Or from a relapse of a facial neuralgia.
It's unlikely you would have parathesias in your cheeks and pain in both hands and legs due to either condition. Big breath.
I do wonder, with the coming and going you are experiencing, if it could be nutritionally related? Something for you to address with your doc. Does your stress level, work pattern and diet stay completely constant, yet you still experience these on and off symptoms?
Just writing this in case it ends up not being Lyme (I have no experience with Lyme save for a brief acute and treated Lyme infection), and also to reassure you about MS/ALS. I'm not a doctor though; hopefully yours is helpful as you try to untangle this!
Hi and welcome,
I'm not sure what 'AS' actually stands for but if you mean "MS, ALS or something else?" i think it would have to be the something else.....whether or not the something else would be lyme disease i honestly don't know enough about it to comment but it does seem odd for your dr to diagnose and treat you with lyme disease if there is zero basis for you having lyme disease. I wouldn't think the antibiotics would have any toxic effect, the yo yo symptom pattern is likely to be more to do with the nature of lyme disease...
I'm not sure how active the medhelp lyme community is but it might help to connect with the lyme community and see what advice they can give you.
hope that helps....JJ
I have Lyme. Lyme symptoms come and go at times and a lot of them are numbness and pins and needles. But I think a lot of that nerve issue is from the damages caused by the antibiotics killing off the Lyme Disease. The belief is that the die off of the Lyme Bacteria releases a toxin that the body is not able to get rid of efficiently in a timely manner, therefore causing toxin buildup and more damage and symptoms to the body. It's called a Herx reaction. Short for herxheimer reaction.