Ask a doctor on the topic of Neurology

ALS fear

July 2, 2015 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Hello,

I have been suffering from an anxiety disorder for almost a year now. I have experienced various symptoms ranging from dizziness to headaches and muscle twitches here and there.

Since this morning, I have been experiencing twitching in my left thumb pad on and off with breaks of up to 30 minutes, then it twitches again for 1 minute, followed by another break, and it has been happening all day.

Now I am very afraid of having ALS, which I have been worried about for the past 5 months, as I also had a feeling of weakness in my arm that has since gone away.

I would like to ask for advice on this.

Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good morning,

ALS is an extremely rare disease that has only become known because it initially shows such unspecific symptoms, causing many hypochondriacs to spread their fears on the internet. Unfortunately, the Ice bucket challenge has also contributed to this.

Most of the time, the thumb twitches if it has been strained by texting too much. ALS would show more symptoms in different areas after five months. Therefore, I would recommend fighting the fear and relieving the thumb.

Sincerely, Dr. Höllering