Signs & Symptoms
ALS is a disease that typically involves a gradual onset. The initial symptoms of ALS can be quite varied. One person may have trouble grasping a pen or lifting a coffee cup, while another may experience a change in vocal pitch when speaking.
The progression rate of ALS can be quite variable, as well. Although the mean survival time with ALS is two to five years, some people live five years, 10 years or even longer.
Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing or in the hands, arms, legs or feet. Not all people with ALS experience the same symptoms or the same sequences or patterns of progression. However, progressive muscle weakness and paralysis are universally experienced.
A gradual onset of progressive muscle weakness – which is generally painless – is the most common initial symptom in ALS. Other early symptoms vary but can include tripping, dropping things, abnormal fatigue of the arms and/or legs, slurred speech, muscle cramps and twitches and uncontrollable periods of laughing or crying.