Hi...I am a 26 year old male...I have been experiencing troubling symptoms for the past two years now. Sorry if this post is very long, but I have gotten no answers from doctors yet, so I figured I'd give it a shot listing my symptoms here...most doctors I've seen seem to just be dismissive that something could actually be wrong because of my age.

I will also list tests I've had below my symptoms

My symptoms

1) First thing I noticed was that I could not take a deep breath on my daily run, as if my breathing hit a wall rather than being able to "swallow" by breath. This has continued to this day and I definitely cannot take as deep of a breathe as I have been able to before this day, making me get out of breathe easily on exertion.

2) I began getting muscle twitches and cramps. They weren't too many at first, but it's been very bad most recently. I have twitches everywhere, arms legs forehead, chin, lips, butt, back, abs, etc. I also have cramps where it feels like my arm or leg is being twisted sometimes.

3) I've also been having myoclonic jerks, both before going to sleep and in the middle of the day. I've had episode where I'd be sitting at my desk at work and my knees slammed together involuntarily. I've also had my fingers close on their own, my legs and arms jerk, etc.

4) Over the past few months, as I fall asleep, I've been having dreams where it feels as though I'm almost half awake during them, and have been acting out motions from these dreams. For example, last week during one of these, I swatted a fly, and I had ended up swatting my bed in the exact motion as from the dream, and woke up.

While trying to go to sleep also, before I do fall asleep, my body just goes nuts. The twitching multiplies and I'm jerking and twitching everywhere.

5) (sorry for graphic nature but these are some of the more troubling things that have developed) Over the past month or so, I started having bladder and **** sphincter weakness. I haven't had as strong of a urine stream, and I am unable to push the last bit out after urinating, it's as if I strain the muscle for it to happen and nothing happens. This usually ends up leaking out on its own over the next few minutes. This has also effected my ejaculation, with it not coming all out correctly, and staying inside. I also cannot "clench" my **** like I used to

6) Lots of excess saliva during the day and night, a few times I've woken up recently with my mouth open and my pillow soaked.

7) Mallet finger on my right pinky finger, which I never remember injuring. The end of my pink finger droops down at almost a 45 degree angle when I hold it straight. The adjacent fingers (ring and middle), if you run your finger across the knuckles on top, are concave...this is not like this on my left hand.

8) The first being maybe 18 months ago, and several times since, I've had a few episodes lasting 30 seconds to a minute or two where I all of a sudden have a very weird feeling in my head and feel like I'm having an out of body experience. I have no coordination during these episodes, such as once I tried turning the light off during one of them, and I couldn't touch the switch, I kept hitting the wall several inches away.

Tests I've had

1) 3 EMGs on my arms, legs, and tongue. The most recent was in January, about 18 months after my first symptoms, and at least a year after the twitching started. All came back clean.

2) MRI of brain and spine...brain MRI came back clean. Original spine MRI came back with lesions...I went in for a 2nd and they did not see them again so they determined they were artifact

3) Catscan of Brain - normal

4) sleep study - mild sleep Apnea

5) Barium swallow - normal

6) ENT visit - acid reflux (also had another doctor when looking at my throat tell me i had it, so there must be some scarring or irritation there)

7) EKG, stress test, echocardiagram - all normal


ALS is the biggest thing that has scared me and the anxiety I've put myself through worrying that I have it has been almost as bad as the symptoms themselves.

Thanks for any help, comments. I really would like to know what/if anything is wrong.

Forgot to add one test I've had.

- Had the breathing test where you blow as hard as you can into the machine and such...all of my values were 89-92