Full Body Twitching

[BoricuaJLR]

My Girlfriend has been diagnosed with Lupus and she is currently an End Stage Renal patient. She hasn't missed a treatment and she has been taking her medicine but for the past two weeks she has had a full body twitch. It started slow (just her left hand and her left leg) then i progressed to the rest of her body, (still mainly her left side). Its to the point now that she can't sleep and hasn't slept in the past week.we've been in and out of the hospital and they have yet to diagnose the problem. They have claimed it was her calcium or pottasium but her labs have came back normal. They also said it could be an axiety problem and she has an apointment with a shrink comin up. Shes been givin different types of medicine, some to help her sleep and some to calm her down but none of them seem to make it go away and when she sleeps its maybe for about 4 hours then the twitching would wake her up and keep her awake. I'm getting really fustrated with the doctors and im tring to keep my cool but there not doin anything she is allday crying and bumping into things which makes her mad and even more uncomfortable. The twiching is literally all over her body from her face to her arms and hands down to her legs and feet and its constant all day unless shes asleep. If any one has any advice as to what it could be or what she could do it would be greatly apreciated.
            Thank You
         Jose L. Rodriguez

[Carol in PA]

Jose,
One thing that may help muscle twitching is supplemental magnesium.
The magnesium oxide that is found in many daily vitamins is not absorbed well in the intestines, but it is cheap and often used.
Magnesium glycinate and magnesium taurinate are more easily absorbed.
Look at the list of ingredients on the bottle.
This is the one I've been taking:  Source Naturals Ultra-Mag, contains magnesium citrate, taurinate, glycinate, and succinate.
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=1415
The instructions on the supplements say to take 400 mg daily, but you may need more.  Taking too much will result in loose stools, so if that happens, lower the amount a little.

Almonds are high in magnesium.  You can buy a pound of almonds at the grocery store, and eat several ounces daily.
Soaking in a warm bath with Epsom Salts may help too.
Epsom Salts are magnesium chloride.  The magnesium is absorbed through the skin.
Soak for only 20 minutes.  Your skin will feel sticky afterwards, like when you swim in the ocean, so you may need to shower off the residue.

Magnesium is needed for all enzyme processes within the body's cells.
When the level is too low, the nerve cells may not fire correctly, and you get twitching and spasming.

Doctors usually order a serum magnesium test, which tests the level of magnesium in the blood stream.  This may be normal, yet the magnesium within the muscle and nerve cells can be depleted.

I'm sorry your girlfriend is so sick.  I hope you can use this information to ease some of her discomfort.

Wishing you the best,
Carol