Lou Gehrig’s Syndrome: Early Symptoms to Know
Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a progressive neurological disease that damages nerve cells responsible for voluntary muscle movement. Early symptoms can be subtle and vary from person to person.
Possible early symptoms
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Muscle weakness — often begins in one hand, arm, leg, or the muscles used for speaking or swallowing.
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Muscle twitching — repeated involuntary muscle twitches (fasciculations), especially when accompanied by progressive weakness.
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Muscle cramps or stiffness.
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Clumsiness — frequently dropping objects, difficulty with buttons, or trouble performing fine movements.
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Tripping or difficulty walking — weakness may make normal walking increasingly difficult.
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Slurred or slower speech — particularly when ALS affects the muscles involved in speaking.
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Difficulty swallowing — coughing or choking while eating or drinking can occur.
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Changes in emotional expression — some people develop episodes of uncontrollable laughing or crying (pseudobulbar affect).
These symptoms don’t automatically mean ALS
Many of these symptoms are much more commonly caused by other conditions, including nerve compression, nutritional deficiencies, medication effects, muscle disorders, and other neurological diseases.
There is no single symptom that diagnoses ALS. A neurologist typically evaluates the pattern of weakness and may use neurological examination, EMG/nerve-conduction testing, imaging, and laboratory tests to investigate the cause.
If you have progressively worsening muscle weakness, particularly affecting walking, speaking, swallowing, or breathing, arrange a medical evaluation rather than attempting to diagnose ALS from symptoms alone.
