I hope it's ok that I signed up on this website, I would just like to ask a question or two about a friend if that's ok?
Basically he is my best mate and has been for pretty much 40 years since we were kids, he is 47. Apart from being best buddies the other thing we share is that as we have got older we have both turned into terrible hypochondriacs however (Ill call him John) John's worries are now concerning me quite a bit and I really don't know how to help him.
About two and a half to three years ago John started complaining about twitching muscles, I believe that they call them fasciculation's. I'm not sure, but I think it all started with his eyelid and then slowly progressed to other areas of his body like the arms and legs and have progressively got worse. He visited a GP early on and apparently the GP blurted out that MND was a possibility but didn't mention any further tests, so obviously this sowed the seed with John and convinced him he has MND.
He did go to another GP about a year and a half later but that GP wasn't concerned due to the longevity of the twitches and the lack of other connecting symptoms. She did apparently set him up for an MRI I think but John didn't go because of his fear of finding out for certain.
As time has gone on we speak every few weeks and each time we speak he mentions that the twitching has got worse and he thinks he has developed other symptoms like aching joints, but at the same time John as he always has since I have known him continues to visit the local gym and as far as I know still bench presses similar weights that he lifted 15 years ago!! So could he do that with MND?! He is a big strong guy and still looks powerful these days with no weight loss or wasting as far as I can see. I am not sure if he experiences any weakness although because I suffer with arthritis I can imagine that any pain in a joint usually gives the sensation that it is weaker than it feels when no pain is present.
Obviously I am no expert but I try and console him with the fact that he is still doing the weights and that whilst his twitching has got worse there hasn't been any drastic changes regarding other symptoms bar the aches and pains. In fact I have tried to get him to go and have an x-ray of his back because I wouldn't be surprised if he had a trapped nerve or something similar by bench pressing weights he was doing at 25!!
However no matter how hard I try he won't go back to see a doctor. He feels, and I can understand his worries, that if it is MND there is nothing that can be done and would prefer to not know, (his words). Unfortunately it's hitting him hard with depressive thoughts and it is clearly affecting things with his family and I can see his mental state and demeanour are very low. I try to say to him that it could be something like Benign fasciculation syndrome and that it's very possible that he is worrying himself silly unnecessarily however he just won't go and see anyone.
So sorry for the long post but I was just wondering if anyone can advise anything because I just don't know what to do to help him. I have read up quite a bit on MND and some articles say twitching can be an early symptom and some say it's a late symptom, and some information suggest that he would have had other symptoms three years down the road but then you read another article and you hear about a slow progression in some cases. So obviously he needs to see an expert but he just won't go.
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated because I hate seeing my best friend suffer like this and he hasn't even been diagnosed!
Thank you.
PS I have read some articles here and I must say there are some incredibly brave, determined people on this site.
Basically he is my best mate and has been for pretty much 40 years since we were kids, he is 47. Apart from being best buddies the other thing we share is that as we have got older we have both turned into terrible hypochondriacs however (Ill call him John) John's worries are now concerning me quite a bit and I really don't know how to help him.
About two and a half to three years ago John started complaining about twitching muscles, I believe that they call them fasciculation's. I'm not sure, but I think it all started with his eyelid and then slowly progressed to other areas of his body like the arms and legs and have progressively got worse. He visited a GP early on and apparently the GP blurted out that MND was a possibility but didn't mention any further tests, so obviously this sowed the seed with John and convinced him he has MND.
He did go to another GP about a year and a half later but that GP wasn't concerned due to the longevity of the twitches and the lack of other connecting symptoms. She did apparently set him up for an MRI I think but John didn't go because of his fear of finding out for certain.
As time has gone on we speak every few weeks and each time we speak he mentions that the twitching has got worse and he thinks he has developed other symptoms like aching joints, but at the same time John as he always has since I have known him continues to visit the local gym and as far as I know still bench presses similar weights that he lifted 15 years ago!! So could he do that with MND?! He is a big strong guy and still looks powerful these days with no weight loss or wasting as far as I can see. I am not sure if he experiences any weakness although because I suffer with arthritis I can imagine that any pain in a joint usually gives the sensation that it is weaker than it feels when no pain is present.
Obviously I am no expert but I try and console him with the fact that he is still doing the weights and that whilst his twitching has got worse there hasn't been any drastic changes regarding other symptoms bar the aches and pains. In fact I have tried to get him to go and have an x-ray of his back because I wouldn't be surprised if he had a trapped nerve or something similar by bench pressing weights he was doing at 25!!
However no matter how hard I try he won't go back to see a doctor. He feels, and I can understand his worries, that if it is MND there is nothing that can be done and would prefer to not know, (his words). Unfortunately it's hitting him hard with depressive thoughts and it is clearly affecting things with his family and I can see his mental state and demeanour are very low. I try to say to him that it could be something like Benign fasciculation syndrome and that it's very possible that he is worrying himself silly unnecessarily however he just won't go and see anyone.
So sorry for the long post but I was just wondering if anyone can advise anything because I just don't know what to do to help him. I have read up quite a bit on MND and some articles say twitching can be an early symptom and some say it's a late symptom, and some information suggest that he would have had other symptoms three years down the road but then you read another article and you hear about a slow progression in some cases. So obviously he needs to see an expert but he just won't go.
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated because I hate seeing my best friend suffer like this and he hasn't even been diagnosed!
Thank you.
PS I have read some articles here and I must say there are some incredibly brave, determined people on this site.
Comment