Twitching, tremors and more goodies, right here!

Hi folks, quite a riddle for you!

For some time (months, not years) I've been experiencing a host of very unusual symptoms. I'm a fit, healthy, 21 year old male. I have been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and have been gluten free since april with a complete turnaround in my Coeliac symptoms since then.

I first noticed a tremor in my index finger, left hand and then right. It is not present on rest but does appear if I lay my hands flat on a surface and raise my finger upwards. I'm very confident it isn't "pill rolling". This is a rapid tremor. This tremor can range in severity from not noticeable to highly noticeable, especially after exercise. Also I seem to get a pretty violent tremor when I pick something up and squeeze it tight (moreso in my left hand than right) or try to hold any posture really. Examples of this would be squeezing full shampoo bottles or attempting to hold my eye shut (winking).

Also, I've been getting fasciculations all over. Started in my backside! Moved everywhere else. Their favourite haunt is my right shoulder. These don't worry me if I'm entirely honest, they just annoy the life out of me. I can go for days with none and then have days with loads!

Finally - the one which bothers me most. When I move any muscle in my body, and I mean any, I get this jerky, almost uncontrolled feeling. Best example of this is going up on my tip-toes and attempting to come back down slowly. I come back down in a sort of "jerk, jerk, jerk" motion which makes my whole body shake! I can also replicate it by raising my arms and lowering them (the jerkiness being present in my shoulders), raising my hand and lowering it etc. I'm reluctant to call it "cogwheel" but that does describe it best. My joints also make horrendous noises which they never did before (hips especially), no idea if that's related. I also can no longer hold a crunch (abdominal exercise) without shaking like an old man. This bizzare symptom appeared everywhere at once. It didn't appear in one limb and then move around; it has been like this from the start - as far as I can tell, anyway.

I must admit, I've had no real muscle weakness that I've noticed, my walking hasn't slowed down, my weight is steady, no pain whatsoever and my overall posture hasn't changed. Bit of background - family has a real history of anxiety, depression and strokes and the last year, being my final year of University, has stressed me out no end. My GP tested me for every nutritional deficiency he could think of as well as diabetes and hyperthyroidism - everything ok, RBC high, though. I take a daily multivitamin, magnesium and B12 as well as drink around 2 pints of milk. I've not seen a neuro but it's not quite as simple as that in the UK, we need a referral which most GPs won't do until they've exhaused every other avenue - the joys of the NHS!

Any ideas? And should I go back to the doc and push for a referral to a neuro?

Cheers folks!

[Red_Star]

Common causes of RBC increase:
Polycythemia, dehydration, respiratory distress (asthma, emphysema)

Less common causes of RBC increase:
Acute poisoning, cystic fibrosis, adrenal hyperfunction

From that list, i'd have a look at adrenal hyperfunction - excessive production of one or more adrenal hormones (aldosterone, corticosteroids, androgenic steroids, epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) and norepinephrine). Adrenal gland hyperfunction symptoms include weakness, muscle spasms, fatigue, muscle weakness, increased muscle bulk, tremor, reduced muscularity.