Twitching for over a year

[B-Man]

Doctors,
I aplogize greatly for the twitching question, but I need to hear it from a qualified person.  I have posted questions here before regarding my ALS fears.  I am now past the one year mark with my twitching.  I twitch EVERYWHERE.  Feet, calves, hands, TOUNGE (most distressing), arms....you name it.  My feet and calves are 24/7.  Being that I am only 33 years old, coupled together with me twitching for a year w/o any clinical weakness, do you think i can put this ALS fear behind me?  I know doctors can never answer a medical question with 100% certainty because there are exceptions to every rule, but could you be 99.9% certain?  Living in constant fear for over a year is the pits.  I have seen Psychologists, Psychiatrists, MD's....all about this twitching stuff.  No matter what I do.....it still hangs around like one of those unwanted guests at a party.  I appreciate any input/reassurance you might be able to send my way.  Thank you so much for you and your collegues services....they are invaluable.
Best regards,
B-Man

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

With a normal EMG, neurological exam, and no weakness or other neurological signs/symptoms for a year the twitching is very unlikely to represent ALS. You may have what's called benign fasciculation syndrome which can be made worse with things such as stress and exercise. If the twitching is greatly affecting your life, there are treatments both prescription and over the counter meds available for cramps and fasciculations that may help you. Vitamin E, magnesium and soda water (contains quinine) are simple treatments that some people have found effective. Quinine as a medication needs to be cleared by your doctor as it can be dangerous in certain cardiac problems, but the amount in soda water is very little and should be ok in normal amounts. Behavior modification therapy or biofeedback may also help and can be discussed with your psyche docs. Good luck.

[babyshoes]

I understand how you feel. I too have twitching in my mucsles sometimes over my entire body.  I was told by a neurologist that my condition was benign.  I am using this product.  Maginesuim Magic.  BMan it is working good for me.  I would twitch and itch constantley, with no relief insight.  I urge you to go to this website and order you a bottle of this.  (19.99) Maginsuim magic.  You will need a credit card for the order, and the nice people there will send you the stuff in 3-4 day. It does not taste good, but hell it will relive some of the anxeity and twitching.  let me know how it works for you.


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[freerider]

i suffer from constant twitching,and with mri&eeg finding no cause,my neurologist diagnosed spinal myoclonus(proprio).this was real scary when it first started,as you imagine allsorts of things,but now that i am getting used to it,its not so bad.i now realise,two and a half years on,that i am just gonna have to adjust my life accordingly.Clonazapam is worth talking to your doctor about,if you havent already.

[itwitch]

I've also been experiencing quite a few fasciculations over the past year or so..  It started with my feet.. (I thought I was sitting on my wallet)  and then stopped.  Then it started up again last year in my lower eyelid.  It's been progressively worse for the past year but something sort of amazing happened about 5-6 months ago.  Fasciculations at that time were in the 250-300 per hour range with anxiety and some weakness increasing into teh core of my trunk area, and they were affecting my work.  Particularly in my eyes and feet.  Saw the nuerologist, got the MRI, EMG, EKG, etc....  About 6 months into this the Doctor took a little vacation and the other doctor in the office saw me.  Asked him about a growth on my hands and elbow he said Viral wart... HPV..  He said we should remove that..  Got any others I said yes on my knee.  He removed that one too ..  Guess what??  In two hours fascics almost completely gone.  In aday completely gone for hours on hours at a time.....   Worst case was I'd say they were up to 5-10 an hour...  That was about 4 months ago.  My doc says it was a coincidence, kind of like acupuncture.  OK then lets go with acupuncture!!! Anyway warts or HPV are difficult to get completely rid of and the fascics were still just barely there.  but.........  I've almost eliminated my fasciculations and they are only occuring at what appears to be the percentage that I have these left on my body.  Somehow I and maybe you have become sensitized to something on the skin.  The docs may tell you this is impossible and that these warts only grow on dead skin but since they are a virus they shouldn't be dismissed as a possible cause.  All I'm saying is to be sure to look on the surface too!  What has helped me may help you.  I've made a few mistakes over the past 6 months in treating these and have been a little over zealous in after treatment...  (Don't use salicylic acid.  It just spreads them around.)  Which is where I'm at now still finishing up treating these and hoping this is the final answer to my fascic problem.

My fasciculations are a little heightened (maybe 20-40 /hour and I have a little twinge on my tongue for the first time that I'm attributing to my visit to the doctor today-because they (fascics) will flare up for a day or so after a treatment on the warts).  But,  Like many of you I've worried about ALS MS etc. but for now I'll try this route as it is working pretty well and I'm hoping that I'm at the end of this thing  (head to toe eradication) within a month or so....  I'm not a doctor but maybe someone is in the same boat as me and if this helps one person improve their situation i'll be grateful for what I've learned.  

Take Care... I'll update this in a couple of months as you have to go back for treatments every couple of weeks to make sure what they treated is gone...Hopefully this is the end of this.... God Bless.....

[t_anunson]

Hi, I had a baby 3 months ago, and after having her I started having odd symptoms. Tingling in hands and feet, burning sensations on the skin, and my right wrist tingled and burned upon over exertion, my tendons in my ankles would tense up when I bent down, and twitching in my body. Some of my symptoms have gotten better. The twitching would come and go, but it has moved to my left knee. I`ve been twitching 24/7, and it`s driving me nuts! Has anyone else had twitching in one particular spot for days, and has it went away? What can I do for this? Thanks...

[scaredy cat]

TaBa

You could be exactly describing my symptoms. from top to bottom i have exactly the same problem...twitching buring tingling.I have been living with the twtiches for over 5 years (the buring and tingling followed 2 years later) (Lucky me). They come and go. Have you seen a neurologist yet?? You should have them test your B-12. I went through a battery of tests and the only thing they found ws a major b-12 problem. Seems my body can not matabalize this vitamin at all - and b-12 is responsible for development and health of the nervous system. I have been getting b-12 shots monthly for a few years now and the twitching has abated a bit. It comes and goes but I can go a month or two with little to no twitches. If I'm stressed it can come back alittle bit.Also - make sure your sleeping. If you're not sleeping at least 7 hours a night (cuz I know those darn twitches can freak you out enough that you can't sleep) -go to the doctor and get something to help. I am on trazadone to help me sleep. It's a mild antidepressant that is used to help people sleep - it doesn't really work as an anti-depressant - they seem to only give it out for sleep.

I'm still on the hunt for answers - because I will have flare ups of the burning and tingling and ocassionaly the twitches. I am just hoping to find a diagnosis - as living with a mystery illness is no fun - which I am sure you know.

[t_anunson]

Hi Scaredy Cat,

No, I`m not B-12 deficient. They checked my blood and it all came back normal. They did a brain MRI - Normal, strength test - Normal, nerve conduction test - nerves conducted slightly slow, but basically normal. They recently did a neck MRI, but I haven`t gotten the results yet, I hope it`s normal too. All of this started after the birth of my daughter. I think it`s mainly from the stress that the pregnancy put on my body. My twitching seems to be improving. I`m hoping it`s just benign. Thanks for your comment, and good luck!