MS? ALS?

[Sna433]

I have a family history of MS.  I used to get migraines with aura until I hit puberty.  I have been diagnosed with panic disorder and have had depressive boughts starting in adolescence through the present.  I am in my early 20s.  I was training for a half-marathon in which my longest run at the time was 6 miles.  One day, I ran 8 miles and walked 1.5 miles.  I sat on a plane for 3 hours after that.  I noticed twitching in my left foot/toes that night.  The next morning, I had pain around my achilles area in the same foot.  It went away within a day but the twitching became worse.  It only twitches at rest.  EIGHT WEEKS later it seems like the twitching is getting worse.  I have started school again (we sit down almost all day) and now my toes always twitch at rest (sometimes a more forceful contraction than other times) and my glutes, quad, and calf (all on the same side) have all started twitching.  I have recently had back pain that went away in two days.  One strange thing is that if I think about it, I can stop my foot from twitching, but not my quads, calves, or glutes.  I notice my leg getting more tired everyday.  My calf is tight all the time.  I don't notice the twitching when I'm walking.  My opposite foot starts twitching in the arch sometimes but as of right now, position changes seem to work on only that foot and the twitching goes away.  I am extremely frightened that I have MS or ALS or some other debilitating/fatal disease.

Any comments would be appreciated.  Thank you.

[ChrisJan]

A better form of magnesium is magnesium citrate. It should be balanced 2 to 1 with calcium citrate.  (i.e., 1000 mg. Calcium and 500 mg. Magnesium.)  Muscle twitching and weakness can also be caused by calcium deficiency.

A history of migraines and depression, muscle twitching, and a family history of MS suggest to me the very strong possibility of Gluten Intolerance / Celiac Disease. There is a very informative forum for that on www.braintalk2.org . Please take a look at that site.

Also, Vitamin B12 deficiency may play a part in your symptoms. The best form of that is Methylcobalamin.

Best of luck to you.  Please check out braintalk2.org.

Chris

[Carol in PA]

Magnesium deficiency can cause twitching.
There are many articles online about this, and whole books have been written about magnesium.

Almonds are high in magnesium.  Almond butter is good too.
When you look at supplements, look for magnesium taurinate or glycinate.  These absorb better in the intestines than mag oxide.  

Magnesium can also help headache and migraine.

Wishing you the best,
Carol

[Sna433]

If I'm not really experiencing any pain, would that discount fibromyalgia?

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
These twitches can be due to fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is more common in women as compared to men. It causes muscle twitches and spasms and pain.
As of now it does not seem like MS but the possibility needs to be kept in mind.
I would suggest you to take it easy for sometime. Please take rest and make sure you are sufficiently hydrated and if the pain and twitches becomes too much you can take OTC pain killers.
Take care!

[Sna433]

And I'm not really having any pain.

[Sna433]

I have since stopped running.  I took two weeks off after the initial foot twitchings started and only ran twice every week thereafter for about a month.  I have not been getting any physical activity since about a month ago except when I walk places.