Originally Posted by Atxlaker

Hey guys,

Been lurking here for a couple of weeks. Never thought I’d create a thread about my health, but life happens fast. I’m a 25 yo male; prior to my health issues, I lifted weights 4-5x a week and ran/played sports 1x a week.

Symptoms started earlier this year, not too sure, but I do recall having a hypersensitive neck/throat earlier this year. That came and went, didn’t bother me much. Here are my symptoms:

Mid-April - Had episode while driving where my hand felt disconnected, felt like it wasn’t totally mine. This went away.
May 7- Noticed tingling on my chin, and then it went numb bilaterally. Noticed nose and neck had reduced/altered sensation as well. The following week, I felt a loss of bowel control kinda like during food poisoning.
May 23 - Left hand same issue, now felt numb and weaker. During this day, numbness and weakness spread to left leg as well. I noticed trouble with balance on that leg.
May 24 - Right calf and right forearm started burning/buzzing? Numbness followed right after. By the next morning, my entire right arm and legs became numb. Walking became slightly more difficult, but I adjusted.
May 25 - Numbness spread to chest, back, and buttocks. Rest of face and neck went numb as well.

I went to the ER, got a full body CT which came back clear. I relaxed a bit, but noticed continued progression. I have lost dexterity in my hands - typing and other fine motor movements feel stiff and off. Also had a brain and full spine MRI that also came back clear. Negative ANAs as well and bloodwork is normal. EMG is in a couple of weeks.

Since then - Pains in legs from strenous activity. Feels like muscle pain. Standing/walking seems to make it worse. Ticklish feelings, slight burning, some nerve pain, but not severe yet (all over).
-Took a couple weeks off work, and improved when I went back home to stay with my parents for a week; sx came back again after I went back to my city and resumed work
- Feelings of bowel incontinence have gone away. However, full body, every inch, is still numb, with certain extremities worse than others.
- Sensation seems to be returning in front and back of neck, and recently, rest of body is starting to feel slightly more sensitive (might be in my head, instead of feeling like a cloth over my skin, it feels kinda like a sunburn w/out the pain)
- My strength seems to be fine throughout all this. I stopped lifting for a month, lost my appetite, and lost a good chunk of weight. I’ve been back in the gym, and I’ve lost very little strength (5-10% overall) and can do most of the reps/sets I used to.

Current supplements:
Vitamin B12, ALA...also started smoking a lot of cigarettes since this began. Also have used adderall on occasion and smoke pot every day.

I’ve read through multiple forums and I’ve yet to find someone with such acute onset that didn’t have GBS. Given the progression, GBS is unlikely. Honestly, I have no idea what to do now. My neuro and family think it’s likely anxiety, but fat chance in my opinion. I’ve had depression/anxiety my whole life, and the worst times didn’t even get close to this bad. Not sure how I’ve kept it together all this time, it’s been rough. I feel like my future was wiped out in an instant.

Has anyone heard of similar stories? I spent all day during my work leave researching forums to see if anyone had anything similar. At this point, I feel like I’m the rarest case ever or 1/billion of cases or something. It’s almost unbelievable, surreal even. I’ve been suggested to visit large research hospitals and I live next to a large university, but I’ve yet to receive a referral there. Any other action items I can take in the meantime?

Thanks guys