Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Twitching

I'm a 23 year old male with no history of family neurological problems.  After a stressful period I started having muscle twitches.  They have been ongoing for a month now.  I have them all over, arms, shoulders, back, abs, eyelid, butt....most of them happen in my thighs and calves.  They're not constant, and happen more when sitting or resting.  I have also been getting dull aches that will migrate around my body.  I get dizziness almost daily, usually when I'm worrying.  I often wake up with numb hands or fingers( not from sleeping on them). If I sleep on my side for too long parts of my body will ache.  lately my legs have felt heavy or tired, and my leg muscles seem tight.  This might be due to me doing daily strength testing on myself, walking on toes, heels, standing on one foot, squating, etc. I did some research and I have been constantly worried I might have als.  Went to my doctor, she dismissed it right away due to my anxiety/hypochondria issues, and recommended I see a physcologist.  She tested my strength throughout my body and said it was good.  She didn't check my reflexes. I have noticed my startle response is stronger than usual, don't know if this is the anxiety or not. I have to go get some blood tests now.  She said als is extremely unlikely even if I was older, but said might send me for and emg if they keep up.  Does this sound like als in the way my symtoms have appeared?  There is so much bad info on the net, but my understanding is als very rarely presents with twitching, and in the cases when it does the twitching stays localized for a while and then spreads later on.  I am thinking my twitching might be due to bfs, fibromyalgia, anxiety, or a combination of the three.  Any help would be greatly appreciated as I almost can't function regularly due to my als fear.
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
534785 tn?1329592208
I immediately thought of anxiety. It is extremely unlikely that you have ALS, made even more unlikely by the fact that all of this started after a very stressful period in your life. If I were you, I'd cut back on the amount of research/reading about ALS...this will only make things worse (trust me--I spent the greater part of my summer reading about all kinds of diseases I 'might' have after I started suffering a bunch of random symptoms, and it only made me feel worse and I ended up having none of the bad diseases I thought I might've had). Have you seen a psychologist/psychiatrist recently? I would talk to your GP about anxiety and the potential treatments for it. I'm not one to tout that medication is the way to go, but anxiety is a disease and if you do have it, you will probably feel a lot better if you are treated. Usually, this takes a few months and then your body is able to nurse it itself back to a normal state.

Fibromyalgia is typically associated with pain--intense, excruciating pain. If you're just having muscle pains and soreness, chances are you don't have fibromyalgia. A simple CT scan of your chest can rule this out, I believe.

Hang in there! I have a feeling you'll be better in no time. =)
Helpful - 0
620923 tn?1452915648
ur symptoms can be matched to many different conditions....lab work is a good idea...twitches and numbness can be from something as simple as low vitamin and mineral  levels.Also thyroid issues could cause some similaar symptoms....labs for thyroid need to be looked at, but not dismissed  because there appear "normal".
an ultra sound of the thyroid can dx issues not captured wiwth labs.
Stress and worry can make ur symptoms worse......try to relax and trust ur dr...if u feel ur dr is not working for u....find a new one!

Good luck
Godspeed
"selma"
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Neurology Community

Top Neurology Answerers
620923 tn?1452915648
Allentown, PA
5265383 tn?1669040108
ON
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
1780921 tn?1499301793
Queen Creek, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease