Muscle Twitches and Hand Pain/weakness

[DonnaE]

Hi,

Last fall I started having muscle twitches in my legs, mostly when my legs are at rest, either while in bed, driving my car, or sitting at my desk.  Now I  get them all over, but probably about 85% are in my legs.  I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in '99, and and read recently that twitching can be a symptom of Lyme. Shortly after the twitching started, many of my Lyme symptoms returned, and my Infectious Diseases doc put me back on Amoxycillin in January. (I never had twitching before--but I did have "Lyme Meningitis" and a lot of other neurological symptoms) The meds helped all the symptoms BUT muscle twitching. But in the last six weeks, (it started in one day in both hands) I've had a lot of pain and weakness in hands, especially my first fingers on each hand.  The fingers feel like they are "sprained" and really hurt to lift things, twist (like turning a key in the lock, and I find it difficult to use things like a manual can opener. (I am 42 and usually strong) It somehow feels different than the joint pain I've had in the past with Lyme disease. I can't really tell if it is muscle, joint, tendon, or nerve pain. How concerned should I be? I am a computer technician and it is affecting my job somewhat.

One other thought---I had a nightmare the other night and awoke twitching all over--it felt like thousands of muscles twitching, don't know if this helps or not.

Thanks for your time,

Donna

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS]

You should have this evaluated by a neurologist. This may simply be related to stress, sleep deprivation, ecessive excercise, electrolyte abnormalities, or a condition called benign fasciculation syndrome. However, given your history of Lyme disease this should be evaluated and excluded. Good luck