A glimmer of hope

I went to the neurologist yesterday.  The doctor gave me a very thorough exam.  I was in the exam room for almost a full hour with the doctor.  I took my devotion book in which I had written down all the symptoms I have been having.  I told him about all the symptoms, and he asked a lot of questions about Mom.  I fought back tears as he asked questions about her feeding tube, and I told him how quickly the disease ravished her body.  It was not until the end of the hour that he told me what he thought.

He said I did not have any of the symptoms of ALS, and I probably had Benign Fasciculation Syndrome.  He said everyone does not have it, but it is more common than ALS.  Benign Fasciculation Syndrome (BFS) does not turn into ALS; they are two separate things.  It is not something that will go away, and my muscles will always twitch.  He did not want to do the nerve test again because he thought it was not necessary.  He was not saying I will never have ALS, but right now I do not have the symptoms that would indicate I have ALS.  I need to get my blood results from by regular doctor to see if they checked my thyroid and another test to check my muscles.  If my blood was not checked for those things, I have to go Friday and get more blood work done.  I told him the reason I wanted to see him is because he is a Christian. 

He did want to rule out MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  So Friday afternoon at 4:45 p.m., I have to have an MRI on my head.  He was telling me things they typically find that aren’t a big deal to prepare me if they found those on my brain.  I told him there isn’t anything up there anyway (in my head).  He asked me if I was getting weaker, and I told him I thought so.  I told him I could not objectively assess what was going on because I know there is something wrong, and I am very in tune to my body.  Basically, I was telling him I over analyze everything.  He said a phrase I had never heard before.  He said, “You know there is an elephant in the room.”  Meaning, I know there is something wrong, therefore it may seem bigger than it really is.  He wants to see me back in three months.  So in December, I have my next appointment.