Does it sound like I have CJD???
 

Hello, my name is Sarah. I am 31 years old and have always been a severe hypochondriac.

For a month, I have been worried about CJD. I started worrying about it for no 'real' reason besides the ability to see walls/floors move when staring at them (I assume this is relatively normal? Think of the popcorn ceiling effect). It was only after I worried about it that I started to develop symptoms. for instance:

*frequently texting the wrong things/spelling incorrectly (develope instead of develop, of instead of on, etc)
* frequent speech errors (saying word wrong, or substituting consonants, more tongue twisters. Reading is not impaired tho)
* shakey hands/legs/ upon extension/against gravity
* Having more tip of the tongue moments
* hearing things I swear are real when falling asleep or waking up..only to find it never existed.
* last 2 nights i had minor night sweats (all night long tho)
*seeing things in the corner of my eye (sparkle or flash)
* body parts jerking involuntarily sometimes while awake (not a twitch, think when a doctor hits your knee with hammer)
* Temporarily forgetting which minor control in my car did a specific action (which knob was for fog lights)
* went from 120 to 112 lbs in 2 weeks
*waking up in the dark thinking I am in a different room sometimes
* clumsy/fumbly/ almost tripping over things
* depersonalization
* doing some regular things backward or wrong..only to quickly correct myself.
* I read somewhere that the 1 in a million estimate is grossly incorrect cause of misdiagnosis? That it is actually 1/9000? Thats 40,000 new cases in the US per year.

My husband is tired of me talking about it. I am a big hypochondriac, and he doesnt notice anything wrong unless i point it out. He told me to get tested for it so I will shut up...but I told him that the only way to test for cjd is postmortem biopsy.

Does this sound like sporadic CJD? Can stress really cause ALL OF THIS?


If you have anything that will give me some reassurance that it likely isn't this. Anything at all. I would be so incredibly grateful.

Hi Sarah

Welcome to NeuroTalk :).

At your age it is extremely unlikely that you have sporadic CJD.

You could contact the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center (National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center | Pathology | School of Medicine | Case Western Reserve University | Case Western Reserve University).

They can arrange for assessment of you and, if indicated, run some clinical tests. These involve taking a sample of your cerebrospinal fluid.

Best wishes.