Twitching

[lisaalyssa]

I started experiencing twitching in my legs, feet and arms about 7 months ago. I have had twitching in other muscles too, butt, abdomen, hands,face,  but mainly legs. I saw a neuro who did a full evaluation, and said everything was normal, and therfore would not order an EMG.  The twitching only occurs when my muscles are relaxed, as in I never notice it when I am walking or anything, only when I sit still.  I have not noticed any weakness, and the neuro said no atrophy or reflex change.  I had my reflexes checked again today by a PA, I work with, she said they were normal.  I have noticed that my right bicept is significantly larger than my left, although I have not noticed weakness in my left. The twitching seems to wax and wane, as in it is much worse on some days, and other days I barely notice it at all.  How long does it usually take for someone to start noticing weakness if a neurodegenerative disease is present. My fear is ALS, do you think I should push for an EMG, or should I rest assured that the neruo exam is enough.  Oh I am a 25 year old cacausian female.  Thanks

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

There is a condition called benign fasciculation syndrome which results in intermittent muscle twitching. It is labelled benign because it does not progress to any other disorder. Regarding the possibility of ALS. If your neurologic examination is entirely normal, it is unlikely. Other things which can cause muscle twitches include stress and occasionally electrolyte disturbances. I hope this helps. Good luck.

[kwag]

As far as I know, ALS is rare in females.  Also, weakness and muscle atrophy are prominent signs of ALS.  For what it matters, from what you have said, I do not in any way think you have ALS.  Do you drink pop?  Any caffiene consumption?  Look at your diet, stress level, water consumption, activity, nutrient intake, flexibility and the overall picture.  How many carbs do you consume daily?  Concentrate on what you can do to better your health and above all, please don't stress out over ALS.  Please go to a health food store near you and search their books on healthy living and focus on that.  Not that I don't think that you shouldn't check it out but TRY VERY HARD not to stress out.  I wish you all the best   God Bless

[lisaalyssa]

Thanks kwag for your response.  I drink only about 1 soda per day, but I do have a very high stress level. Anxiety runs in my family, and I have inherited a pretty serious case of it.  I have also tried taking magnesium and potassium supplements, which don't seem to have helped much.  The all over resting twitch is pretty much my only symptom, I think I know that it is probably not ALS, but the twitching won't go away, which makes the ALS hard to forget about.

[kwag]

Anxiety can tear you up.  It will too if it goes unchecked.  How well do you sleep?  Do you have any muscle pains or tender spots?  Do you exercise?  I have had very similar symptoms to yours and more and I lost a lot of precious time to worry and fear.  I don't want to see anyone else do that.  May you take a deep breath and release all worry right now and enjoy the life you've been given.  Have faith

[shamrock]

I think you have BFD benign facilation disorder.  I have had this for years, mainly in my calves.  Once in a while it happens in other parts of my body.  It's nothing to worry about.  And yes, when you're standing or moving you can't feel it because your muscles are taught.  You usually only feel it when relaxed.  Sometimes I think I feel it more when I'm stressed or over tired.  Millions of people have this.

Shamrock

[alph.]

Hallo Lisaalyssa,

Here is someone who is living far away from your home
(Netherlands) and i can tell you that i have the same
problem as you,a lot of muscule twitches over my
whole body when i am sitting,when i am standing
sometimes a little twitch.this also depends on
the day. (sometimes nothing)
But i must tell you that i was suspected for ms because
i had a negative lp,but know i have something that has
the name to be postviral in my spine (back) and when i am
sitting i god strange feelings in my legs too.But to make
a long story short,i had a long conversation whit my ms
specialist and one of the things he told me.stress,stress
stress,what it can do ! (It can give you L’hermitte)
Don’t worry to much i do not think this is necessary.
If you  don’t have  muscle twitches and you think all day i would
like to have them,”you will get them!”
And to answer your question: I have them for 20 months
and i do not have weakness.

Good luck,alphie.

[paulak]

I HAVE HAD MUSCLE TWITCHES SINCE SEPT. IT FIRST STARTED IN MY ARM IT WAS TWITCHING SO HARD IT WOKE ME UP. THEN FOR A WHILE I HAD NOTHING THEN MY FINGER STARTED TO TWITCH EVERYDAY FOR A FEW WEEKS. THEN IT JUST SPREAD EVERY WHERE UNDER MY RIBS,LEGS FEET,ARMS,AND EVEN IN MY HEAD. ABOUT 5 TIMES SINCE DEC. IT HAS WOKE ME UP WITH A FEELING OF TAPPING IN MY HEAD AND IT REALLY SCARES ME. MY DOCTOR SAYS HE THINKS IT ANXIETY. I DO HAVE ANXIETY PRETTY BAD I'VE BEEN ON XANAX FOR TEN YEARS. SOMETIMES I WONDER IF THAT COULD BE THE CAUSE. BUT MY QUESTION IS HAS ANYONE FELT THE TWITCHING IN THE HEAD.

[lotsacats]

Paulak, the comment just before mine asks if anyone has ever felt twitching in the head.  I had this experience when I was on the drug Paxil.  I could feel the nerves twitching in my head at times.  Now I have brain damage (they are not sure from what exactly, it is suspected that it is from a herpes virus transmission infection).  When I take any kind of medication, I feel a pulling in my head.  Hope this helps.

[twitchynurse]

Hi,
This is new to me. I have been experiencing twitiching all over my body for about 10 months now. I am a nurse and have of course been totally freaked out about possible MS and/or ALS.
I have been to a neurologist had an MRI of which was negative for MS. I don't think I have had "weakness" as such. Although I now have read on some websites in reference to ALS weakness more described as "fatigue" in the arms or legs. Of which I have noticed such way back in the past once in a blue moon where if I went up a flight of stairs it felt like the blood would kinda go out of my legs and they would feel extremely tired like they were going to give out but never did. I have that same sensation still and it seems more often then I used too but wonder if I just don't notice it more since I've had the twitching. It happens more so when I am carrying something heavy up stairs etc.
Has anyone experienced this?? My neurologist says if any of my symptoms get worse we can do a LP. I also find that I trip more. Of course all my friends say they do the same thing. I have also had an emg of which was negative also.
SCARy.

[davidlisaalyssa]

Hi twitchynurse.  As the original poster of this twitchy sequence, I know what you are going through.  I too have been twitching for about 8 months, and at one point was totally freaked out.  I think that worrying only makes it worse.  I too think that I experience weakness, but I think it is only because I am looking for it, as in I think it is in my head.  I wouldn't have even thought of weakness until you read on the internet that weakness is the hallmark "bad" sign.  I too trip and freak out, and even think that I catch my self slurring my speech occasionally.  If it makes you feel better, from what I have read and researched (which is quite a lot), if you had a serious neurological disorder associated with weakness, the weakness would have presented before the twitching, and usually by the time there is twitching, the nerve damage will show up on the EMG.  A simple rule is that muscle twitching in a relaxed muscle is never indicative of a neruo disease unless associated with weakness, atrophy, or reflex change.  I would assume that your neuro cleared you of those 3 things, and if you were truly weak you wouldn't be tripping, you would be falling to the ground.  I hope this helps, of course you would want to be reevaluated if symptoms of weakness worsen, but there are millions of people who just twitch, no rhyme or reason to it, and it never turns into anything more serious that an annoyance and a source of most likely unecessary anxiety.

[davidlisaalyssa]

oh yeah, I'm not sure how old you are or if your male or female, but 80 percent of cases occur in people over 50, and in younger ages ALS, which is rare to begin with is even more rare in younger females.

[john3434]

Im a 19 year old male I have been experiencing twitches all over my body for 9 months.i just want to try and find out if my twitching is the same as yours. When i have twitches my whole muscle does not twitch it feels more like a part of it does and when i look at it, it looks like a line which is pulsing rapidly and with no specific rhythm and when i put my hand on it does not stop. i get around 20 to 40 a day. I went to my doctor and he said it wasn't ms or any muscular problem. I had a few blood tests done and it just indicated that i have slightly elevated liver enzymes. I have got over my worrying stage and now i just want to figure out how to get rid of them cause they cause great discomfort and also break my concentration. i dont think i have any anxiety problem because im pretty much a relaxed person. So if any of this rings a bell or if anyone has any suggestions id be grateful for some counsel.

[P. K. Slayton]

Hi. You all have it quite worse than I do. I only have a slight twitching in the outer corner of my left eye and I was wondering if there was anything I could do about it. It has only been twitching for about 3 days and doesn't cause me any problems. It's just a bit annoying. I hope someone can help. Thank you very much. I hope you all feel better. Bye for now.

[s. sara]

Hi.

I began having twitching (fasciculations) about a year ago (around last january). It began in one area, and spread all over (on the face and lips also, but not in tongue though). They appear both at rest, and sometimes when I am active, such as if I had done a lot of walking, my adominal (abdominal) muscles will twitch-this is where they first began. The only meds  I take is birthcontrol for 8 years. I am 30. I seen my nurse practitioner in december 03 because the frequency and locality of the fasciculations had increased.  She had no Idea what they even  were. She ordered blood test, everything(and thyroid) came back normal but my cholesterol. So she pulled a doctor from another room and he told her they were fasciulations.  He checked my reflexes: I have brisk reflexes in my legs, arms, and finger.  He told her to order an mri, and mentioned to her something about motor neuron disease. After I had the mri, I got a call from the nurse that the MRI was negaitive and that was the END of that.  She made no mention of what could cause them. She didn't say anything at all, just normal mri. I've read about the benign fasciculation, so it is my assumtion of this is what I had.  But now, 3 months later, I feel my muscles getting tired quickly. To decribe, if you were to lifting weights for quite awhile, the muscle gets tired and weak. This is how it feels to me.  So I began reading about fasciculations again, it seems the choice of testing is an EMG. I never had one.  Should this be something I should go an ask for?  Or if a clean mri is the ultimate testing for motor neuron disease.  Part of me says wait it out and see if nothing progress so I can conlude to myself that nothing could be wrong, but I sit here typing, and my left arm goes weak on me, I have to shake it every now and then.
  to mention, I have a lot of "crackling" sounds in the back of my neck.  I'v read about bone spurs.  I've also read about pinched nerves in the spine to be the cause of fasiculations.   Does anyone with fasciculations of known pinched nerves?
   I hope all is well with everyone.

[tootle]

I'm a 28 year old male, and start to experience a twitch (more of a tingle at the beginning) in my right foot about 2 months ago, this has now progressed to both my legs twitching whenever I'm not moving, especially bad in bed, whilst driving, or sitting at a desk, and now this week my arm and shoulder twitches now and again.

After reading the posts here I'm off to see the doctor to see if they can confirm what's wrong with me, and put my mind at rest, not knowing what's wrong seems to be having a worse effect on me than the actual problem.

[s. sara]

just a comment.

Fasciculatons that I was having, I barely have anymore.  They are not as strong, and the frequencey isn't all day any more.    I had stopped taking birthcontrol 3 months ago, started taking supplemental vitiamns (b-6,12,etc)and notice a huge difference. Hopefully, that it remains that way.

[labman]

Hello,
I have been twitching since October 03. Mine started in my hand on the right side and soon moved to my forearm. It has since moved to all parts of my body. I have had 2 MRI's one on my brain and 1 on my cervical spine both being totally normal. Numerous blood tests all of which would take 2 pages to name. but all totally normal.  I have had a nerve conduction test on my right side (arm and Leg). I have seen a rheumatologist and have just seen a second neurologist today. He has prescibed an EMG to rule out ALS but he does not suspect it. My physical exams with all 5 of the doctors I have seen have been good. No answers and no relief.. My question to all that are experiencing the same thing is have any of you had pain and fatigue associated with your fasciculations. Most of my pain is in my feet and leg joints and in my shoulders. Oh i forgot to mention that it seems like my twitching started after I had a bout with a virus that took me a couple of weeks to kick.

Hope everyone is getting over this....

[pbear]

About 4 months ago I was really concerned about my health( abnormal pap, which came back normal after second visit) and my whole head, face, and arm went numb. For days after my had was tingling and now I get muscle twitches everyday! Sometimes it feels like my legs are vibrating. This mainly occurs when I am at rest. I got an mri which came back normal, just cavum septum pediculum, which is a normal varient. I was told I have severe anxiety with panic attacks!!! It seems like such a vicous cycle!! Any advice! I am 23 year old female.. Please help!!!!

[photo-guy]

I’m glad I searched the web and came across this forum because I have been a little worried as of late. I’m a 37 year-old male, very active. I hit the gym four days a week, jog or mountain bike two to three days a week and eat healthy.  About a year ago I started noticing muscle twitches or muscle jerks. They just started one day. They’re weird, infrequent and each one is different. Sometimes my upper torso actually moves, the jerk emanating from my mid back muscles, other times it’s just a slight twitch in the arm or leg or finger. There is usually a slight electrical feeling that accompanies the twitches.  I did see a neurologist the first week I noticed them and he did the reflex tests, strength tests, balance tests, looked in my eyes, etc. He said I showed no signs of neurological diseases and said that some adults just get twitches, their very common he said. He told me things to worry about are tremors, muscle atrophy, weakness, balance problem, none of which I have. These twitches come and go, some weeks very bothersome, other weeks practically non-existent. This last week they have been particularly annoying and I was getting kind of nervous and was debating going back into the doctor’s office. I don’t have any other signs, just the twitches. They are noticeable when sitting or laying in bed and only occasionally when standing. Sounds like I’m not the only one here experiencing this. I have been under a tremendous amount of stress this last year, I wont go into the details, but my life was pretty easy going until a little over a year ago. So I’m convinced that there is a relation between the stress and the twitches.

[Renestrange symptons]

THis is the first time I have seen anything where some else has had the tapping in th ehead feeling! I too have had this on and off for 12 months! IT is mainly at night when I am in a midlevel of sleep! When I thoroughly wake up the feeling goes away but I may have a head ache for a short while! Mine started with tremors/vibration feelings in legs. My Nuero at research facility had said it may be restless leg syndrome that can settle in any part of the body. When I don't have it in the head I may have slight in legs or arms. Low serum ferritin levels have been to be an indicator of RLS. I had low serum ferritin level/special iron test by my general practitioner. I take Mirapex for tremors which seems to help. If I eat healthy and take my iron/magnesium/B12/calclium I fell alot better. Stress brings the symptons on so stay calm or destress your life as much as possible.pS I have had MRI/EMG with no negative indications. Check out all medical posiibilities Good luck!

[adrienne40]

A related discussion, muscle weakness was started.

[healthproblem1]

A related discussion, Tremor / Twitching thumb was started.