With ALS, you gradually lose control over. Muscle weakness is the main symptom, and this can affect breathing. It starts between 6 and 12 months. As the disease becomes severe, people with ALS-MND are unable to walk, talk or eat, and need a lot of care. My slurred speech gave the impression I was drunk, and in fact my boss was the first to comment, when he rang into the office one day and I answered with the usual company name (with two ell's in the word). It affected him very differently to Ken. It would feel like you'd got a bad case of butterflies in the stomach. I knew I'd never be able to express my thoughts and feelings with my family or friends in person. I feel I can walk better if I stoop.' Together, the three of them are on a mission to raise awareness of the devastating impact of the disease, but also how it's possible to live, and live well, after your diagnosis. Nerves (neurons) are like wires that carry tiny messages (electrical impulses) between the brain, the spinal cord and the rest of the body. Eating and swallowing become difficult when the tongue and the muscles around the mouth and throat become weak. Your muscles get weak and may cramp. I noticed in about June last, last year that I was walking a bit strangely, but I couldn't put my finger on it, I couldn't understand what I was doing. I took a swipe at it and I just fell over. For details see our conditions. But we didn't really think anything about it, you know, we just - I thought maybe he was tired or, or whatever. The most common presenting symptom (in 80% of patients) is progressive distal limb weakness. And then July, the following month, in July we went on holiday and we went down to have a drink after, after dinner. It mainly affects muscles in the upper arms and legs. It may rely on seeing how symptoms progress. Here's a look at some of the types of motor neuron diseases. But in truth she actually hadn't had a drink at all. Miller RG, Mitchell JD, Moore DH; Riluzole for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/motor neuron disease (MND). For some people the first sign anything was wrong was weakness in the muscles around their throat and mouth, leading to problems with speaking or swallowing (known as bulbar onset MND). Then I was getting the shakes like, like holding stuff with the drill and like and I was finding it harder to pick things up, like bricks and that, and that was, that was the first symptoms like. How Has Stephen Hawking Lived Past 70 with ALS? It can be difficult to reach a firm diagnosis of MND in the very early stages, so this process can take time. Can diet help improve depression symptoms? It causes weakness that gets worse over time. It became obvious that something was wrong in February of 2005 while she was out at her daughter's birthday. What is MND? I had a, a virus much like a flu that affects the nervous system, and it'll right itself in about six months.