Tingling or Twitches (Is this paresthesias?)

I am in limbo. I have been experiencing muscle twitches since last Spring but I am getting them in really odd places and now I'm thinking it might be something else.  

I had a sensation of "twitching" in my hairline last night above my ear. It was above my ear and only last a few seconds. I am questioning muscle activity there. (I wish I could recall which side of my body.)

The other "twitches" occur ALL over my body (and I mean ALL over) including inside my ear canal, face, near my nose and even sometimes and bottoms of my feet. I have also had extreme cases of tingling after working out a couple times but this feels "different" than the twitches. It kinda feels like bugs or bubbles (or something) are trying to pop out of my skin. It does not hurt. It is usually the area that I work out --- elliptical has produced the worst symptoms. I read that sometimes spasticity presents itself early on with "twitching" as well but I'm beginning to think I'm experiencing twitches and paresthesias.  I have a couple area's of skin that get extremely cold, feel wet or burn at times. Actually, now that I think about it the "wet feeling" came before the extreme cold.  

I'm sorry guys, I'm trying to get my head wrapped around the many symptoms I'm experiencing and not feel like I'm losing my mind. Thank you!

[jensequitur]

Not to worry - this can all be very confusing!

First of all, you should read this article:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/Paresthesias---Things-That-Go-BUZZ-in-the-Night/show/378?cid=36

Paresthesias are any abnormal sensations created by damaged nerves.  The nerves can be damaged from the affected limb to the brain, essentially, but if you're experiencing symptoms in a particular area (I think they call these focal symptoms), you can guess that it's because of damage to the spine.

They include cold, burning, tingling, buzzing, feelings of pressure or numbness.  The pressure thing is a little weird - I get this at the tips of both big toes.  It feels like the foot is pressed against something, like the table, but when I look down they're not touching anything.

Twitching is a little different.  I've never had a 'twitching' paresthesia.  I have had actual twitching in various places.  Mostly in areas that have a lot of small muscles, like the face, although my hands and my back also get into it.  Twitching indicates nerve damage, but it can also be a sign of extreme anxiety.  If you're not sure that it's twitching, put a hand on the area and see if it stops.  Or if it continues!  My twitches usually stop if I touch the area, but not always.  

Anyway, twitching and spasticity are two different things.  Spasticity manifests as unusual tightness and soreness of a muscle, but it actually is a resistance of the muscles to stretching.  

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple-Sclerosis/Muscle-Tone-And-Spasticity/show/159?cid=36

[Sidesteps]

I did read that article it's great! Thank you. :)

I think I'm getting multiple issues then as these all feel different to me.

The working out symptom feels more like an extreme tingling. It's a VERY strange feeling but I can't feel an twitching if I place my hand on the muscle.  

I have the twitching - it's occuring in my arms, near my eye, legs and back. Those I can sometimes feel with my hand. I can also see them.

I'm getting tremor's - I've had static tremor's off and on for some time but now I'm getting the ones where it creates a movement (jerks.) I'm getting paresthesias clearly with cold, wet, tingles, burning and zapping. I've also had a partial "band" in my waist of pressure. I rub it thinking that "something is there" but there isn't anything.


I had a MRI of my cervical. It came back no lesions in my spine. I have had a neck injury for 5 years but these symptoms are ALL newer (last 4 to 5 months.) My neck injury actually has been better since I started massage therapy too.

[jensequitur]

Have you ever had an MRI of your thoracic spine, or your brain?  If you're getting a banding sensation in your abdomen, it can mean that you have a lesion in your lower spine.  (Not in the lumbar, because there's no spinal cord - just a bundle of nerves.)

The extreme tingling sounds more like a circulation issue than a neurological one.

Involuntary movements are different from tremors.  It might be a myoclonic jerk.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myoclonus/detail_myoclonus.htm

[Sidesteps]

I haven't had a thoracic or brain MRI yet. My Neuro did a CT scan and a cervical MRI.

The CT scan came back with "many questionable area's of decreased density in the white matter." recommending a MRI if any clinicals reflect demyelination. I'm trying to cover my bases since I did not feel my Neuro was looking in the right direction. (I had to ask him about MS, he reviewed my file and said "It's not off the table. We need to compile the information and then treat."

I thought at first it was myoclonic jerks too... but it happens during the day and feels more like a "contraction" from an irritation (it's hard to explain) then I started being woken up with my hand movements (repeated jerking.)  I do get the myoclonic jerks when I lay down as well. I'm jerking everywhere... and it gets way worse the closer to my period I get. Oddness.  

I am definetly getting a feeling like I have a tight "belt" on the right side of my waist. It's only one side and not all the around though so I thought it was related to sitting weird. It comes and goes. Doesn't really hurt.

I'm writing a list of all my "strange" symptoms to address with my Neuro tomorrow. I am hopeful he will order an MRI --- if not, I do have an appt. with the director of our local MS Research facility the first of February.  

[jensequitur]

Ah, good - a list of your symptoms, and a timeline during which they occur and go away (if they do) is a good thing to have.

My jerks sometimes happen because of a paresthesia.  I would get a stinging pain in one of my legs, and it would hurt more and more, until my leg would jerk - kind of like a sneeze, where the itching gets worse in your nose, and finally a-choo!  

[COBOB]

I get twitches under my right eye (due to a Cranial Nerve 7 issue) and I get twitching in my left arm.  The twiching in the arm has nothing to do with peripheral nerve damage in the arm.  I also get burning dysesthesias (an unpleasant and painful paraestesia) in that arm.  According to the EMG and NCS, they are CNS symptoms.  

Many pain and motor symptoms are due to damage in the CNS.  Anti-Seizure meds seem to help some of my pain and twitching.

Bob