Developed New Symptom

[frowngirl]

I have been experiencing a new symptom over the last four days. I have muscle twitching all over my body; from toes to my fingers. It's one twitch and then in the next minute or two I get another twitch in another area and this goes on all day long. I really notice it when I am still such as laying in bed.
Has anyone ever had this and could it be connected to M.S.?

[Quixotic1]

FG - I meant to include an answer to this when I answered your first post, but this is a good topic that comes up often.

If you are talking about little muscle jerking/twitching that you can usually see under the skin, but that don't make a limb move, then these are called fasciculations.  If you are talking about big muscle jerking that do make limbs move then these are usually myoclonic jerks.

Now, fasciculations do occur in MS.  HOWEVER, they do not occur in the all over pattern that you are describing.  Fasciculations are a problem of the peripheral nervous system - those nerves that originate outside of the spinal cord.   In MS they occur only in muscles that have lost most of the motor nerves.  As the muscle atrophies it may fasiculate very prominently.

The phenomenon of twitching all over the body is usually due to a system problem - typically a viral infection like the flu or others that cause msucles aches.  There are other causes, too, but I would have to look them up.  They may start just here and there and within a short time - days usually - the person feels them everywhere.  It is enormously distracting and actually terrifying for some people.  This is not due to MS, though it can happen to people with MS.

Doctors often say that stress and anxiety cause these.  I disagree.  I believe that some systemic upset - infection, metabolic, whatever - starts the twitching and then anxiety "amplies" or worsens them.  This certainly happens.  Other things that increase fasciculations are caffeine and other stimulants, muscle overuse then relaxation, high thyroid states and other things that rev up the adrenaline or stimulate nerves.

So, from your description I don't think this fits with the picture of MS.

By the way - if you are prone to googling, and you look up fasciculations you will come to ALS.  Yes, fasciculations do occur in ALS, but there are far too many things in your history that point strongly AWAY from ALS.  I wouldn't spend a second worrying about it.  (Just a little heads up)

I would recommend along with Sarah, that you make a timeline that shows the pattern of your symptoms, along with any improvement, adding the test results and doctors' impressions.  We have had several posts describing how to make a timeline, but here is one.  I hope other people chime in and point you toward the timelines that they have made so you get a feel of what goes into one.  Try reading this:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/The-Importance-of-the-Timeline/show/765?cid=36

Another thing that I wanted to mention in the other long epic discourse is that you should see a neuro-ophthalmologist if your vision is still jerky.  If it happens only some of the time, try to take a video of your eyes when it is happening,  A cell phone would do.  Then the doc can see exactly what you are talking about.

Off to bed

Quix

[HVAC]

It is called fasiculation and it is not harmful. Sometimes other people can see the muscles move. I say gee another sensation others do not get aren't I lucky? Lol. Wait til you get the internal vibrator. I thought I had my cellphone in my lap one day.