Twitching.....ALS?MS? What is it?

[Danielle718]

A little about myself. Im a very nervous person and my doctor feels I have a good case of anxiety (he's known me for almost 20 years)  Still, Im not convinced.

Ok here it goes.

Its started when I was on vacation. I had a small twitching in the crook of my right elbow. I thought nothing of it. When I came back from vacation, I noticed ALOT of small twitches throughout my body. The ones you can feel but not see.  When fast forward a month,...twitching has gotten significantly better with calcium and magnesium.  

Earlier this year, I when for an MRI which showed spots in the corpus callosum and other white spots on the brain (I have history of severe migraines).  The report said "Corpus callosum involvement does suggest demyelination but the other folci are not specific for this"......my neuro said that it doesnt mean MS. Ok,...fine.

Well till this day, I still get twitching some I can see and some I cant.  I have had ESR, ANA, ACA test....all normal. I had an nerve conductive test done 2 years ago (when I didnt have twitching), and that was normal. I had a BAER test - normal.

Well since yesterday and today, I feel weakness in my right pointer finger which feels like it goes down to my arm....only up to my elbow.  I can still grip and hold cups and can write with a pen......but still being the nervous person I am, I have convinced myself that I have a serious disease like ALS or MS!!!

What is happening to me and what should I do?? I can still work out like I used to but I dont know if this is all in my head or an anxiety issue. Please help me. I need advice badly.

[ra17]

I had a lot of twitching all over my body. eyes, inside my ears, legs, arms, all over my face, almost every place you could think of. I was so scared reading different people's comments that they were saying its a symptoms of MS. I was so afraid that I didn't even wanted to go to the dr. finally after 2 years I went to the dr and she told me its anxiety and told me to spot googling my symptoms but I wanted to do a MRI so I can be sure its nothing. I did the MRI and it all came back normal. all I want to say is most of the twitching and tremors are due to anxiety and stress and the best thing you can do is either stop thinking about it and relax or go see your dr.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
Since all your tests have been normal, it does not seem that you are suffering from a neurological problem like MS or ALS.
Please do not be anxious and do some self relaxation exercises every day like breathing exercises. Mild tranquilizer may also help.
BFS is a possibility that needs to be ruled out. I would suggest you to get control over your anxiety and you will feel much better. Take care!

[Rachelinpain]

they are going to tell you it is BFS...benign fasciculation syndrome.  i have been having many problems for the past 2 years and they suspected i may have MS...all my testing cam eback noraml.  about 6 months ago i started with some twitching in my foot and hand after a long bout of severe muscle spasms and myoclonus (jerking of the limbs).  after that i started having constant muscle twitching that has progressed to now my entire body, mostly in my thighs and upper arms.  my doctor did not associate this with anything else and said it was BFS.  i now take neurontin for the twitching and pain meds for the spasms.  i guess it is helping but i still lay awake at night.  good luck with whatever is going on with you.  personally i would recommend getting another MRI.

[Danielle718]

I really dont feel that its CTS. I have twitching throughout my WHOLE body :*(  I had a few tests done: CPK - Normal, B12 - Normal, ACE - Normal, Lyme - Normal, ....the only thing that came up on the high end of normal was RF. The range is 0-14,...well my number came up exactly 14.  

Im super nervous and I dont know what is causing this feeling :( any other suggestions?

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
Your symptoms could be due to nerve compression as rightly mentioned due to carpal tunnel syndrome. This syndrome occurs due to compression of median nerve at wrist resulting in pain and numbness in index and little finger. Other possibility is peripheral neuropathy due to B12 defciency. Please discuss these possibilities with your treating doctor.
Good luck!

[Coop3333]

Have you ever been treated for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?  Those are the same symptoms, especially in the day and age when we're at computers all the time..just my opinion since I have those symptoms too and I know I have CTS.