ALS in people in their 20s?--Worrying like crazy

[Benny8444]

Hi,
I am new to this forum and I have been suffering bad anxiaty my whole life and have since now since been worrying everyday that there is something wrong with me. First it was my lungs and they checked out fine, then kidneys, they checked out fine now it is me worrying that I have ALS. This just because all of a sudden i feel numbness in my foot while i am stitting in an wired position but when i start walking there is no numbness and it goes away. I dont feel anything when I am sleeping and rarley feel it when I walk but it usually goes away when I take my mind off of it.

I always worry that the worst is wrong with me.f

So my question is,
How normal is it for someone who is 24 to get ALS?

Thanks
Ben

PS. I look forward to contributing on these forums as I suffer from bad anxiety and want to share my stores and here some other peoples success stories.

[mantooth]

ALS doesn't stop when you walk, it doesn't stop for anything. I'd bet money you're fine.

[Czad]

Yeah it's pretty much unheard of at young ages. Sounds like the awkward position you're sitting in is just cutting off circulation or something. Happens to me too.

[Benny8444]

Thank you for your replies, any other insight will be appreciated.

I hate being like this.

[mollyfin]

What you're describing is absolutely normal, not a symptom of anything.  It's your foot falling asleep.  Happens to everyone if we sit in certain positions. 

[JER2911]

ALS "expert" here. Wasted a year of my life on this worry..

 Numbness is NOT a symptom of ALS.  It doesn't "get better", no matter what you do.  And it's virtually unheard of in your age group.

You said it happens when you are sitting weird. So, sounds like your foot is falling asleep..which is right in line with why it goes away when you walk. 
Haven't you ever had your hand or arm fall asleep while you were sleeping and you wake up and have to shake it around to get the feeling back?  Same thing, but with your foot 

Do not waste another minute of your time on this worry...You are just fine 

[kactusflwr]

Yep, it sounds like your foot is just falling asleep! Sometimes my big toe randomly goes numb when I'm walking. I have no idea why it does that, but it has been happening for as long as I can remember and I'm still alive and well, so I'm not too worried about it.

You said the numbness goes away when you change positions, so I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. :) You probably just sit weird and cut off circulation to your foot a little bit.

[aliciaicila]

Just adding further affirmation that ALS should be the furthest thing from your mind. It is NOT positional. Numbness is not a symptom. Those seem to be your two main complaints, so we can just strike that one off the board. :)

[upupandaway]

I've had ALS worries myself. But that doesn't sound like a symptom at all. Just a nerve being pressed which is totally normal.

[Benny8444]

What about the whole pins and neadles feeling in my foot or twitching? It is the same thing thought where it goes away when i walk or move

[mollyfin]

What about the whole pins and neadles feeling in my foot or twitching? It is the same thing thought where it goes away when i walk or move

Again, just your foot falling asleep or similar phenomena.  Happens to me all the time if I don't move around enough. 

[Benny8444]

I am BAck
The numbness and falling asleep in my foot is gone for now BUT now i have a new fear, i have a minor pain in my right hand and it may be from be moving it a lot on purpose in various ways trying to prove to my self that I dont have ALS, my right for arm hurts a little but I am able to lift weights and work out my for arm on my right side without a problem or weakness.

Is this something I should be worried about or is it just my anxiety acting up again??

[Kookey]

If you had IT (I dont want to say or write the letters...) I dont think you'd be able to lift a weight, let alone even open a doorknob. I dont believe IT has pain, either.. If so, muscle cramps from dying or already did muscle..

[Benny8444]

Thank you,

I am trying to do things to prove to my self that I dont have "IT" I worked my for arms and hands yesterday and this morning with the weight increasing each time. I also typed a 1000 word essay in 35 minutes and have played with my blackberry sending messages to my self to practice my finger skills.

With all of that do you think I am fine or should I still be worried?

Please respond as the more responses the better i feel.

[Kookey]

How do they feel? And when you tendto focus on a pain or ache, it can get magnified. Like, the more you focus on it the worse it gets. I do that all the time... Try not to think about it. If you can take your mind off of it, then it probably isnt "that" lol. I think you're fine.

[ColdHands]

First off, the rest of people are right.  Aside from familial als its rare in the 20s

Als is muscle wasting disease and the weakness is progressive.  You wont recover from exertion.

Stress can cause all the symptoms you have.  Add in anxiety and your there