ALS is terrifying and brutal. The three letters still give me the shivers. This guy has a very positive and brave outlook. I wish him the very best.
I was misdiagnosed with ALS by four different doctors. I had essentially all of the symptoms, so for once I couldn't really fault the doctors. I was also misdiagnosed with Parkinsons, MS, and Alzheimers earlier in the whole process - based on brain lesions, tremors, memory loss, paralysis, etc. Misdiagnosis of complex, multi-systemic diseases is much more common than one would expect. I would encourage anyone diagnosed with any of these diseases to get a fast second (or even fifth ;-) opinion before you start any treatments. Not to be in total denial, of course, but because some treatments - if wrong - can exacerbate the underlying problems. Steroids, for example, were prescribed for me at one point and they nearly killed me.
It's a long, complicated story...so even my abbreviated answer will be very long. I'm going to make a new post about it, because I don't want to hijack this thread.
I was misdiagnosed with ALS by four different doctors. I had essentially all of the symptoms, so for once I couldn't really fault the doctors. I was also misdiagnosed with Parkinsons, MS, and Alzheimers earlier in the whole process - based on brain lesions, tremors, memory loss, paralysis, etc. Misdiagnosis of complex, multi-systemic diseases is much more common than one would expect. I would encourage anyone diagnosed with any of these diseases to get a fast second (or even fifth ;-) opinion before you start any treatments. Not to be in total denial, of course, but because some treatments - if wrong - can exacerbate the underlying problems. Steroids, for example, were prescribed for me at one point and they nearly killed me.