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Undiagnosed Muscle Cramps, twitches, and spasms. Need relief...
Hello,
I am a 22 year old female. My illness started just under a year ago. I woke up in the middle of the night with a severe "charlie horse" cramp in my right calf. It lasted 15 mins, and returned again for a second time half an hour later. The next morning i had sever bruising where the cramp was from what appeared to be torn muscles. I was fine for a few days, but then began experiencing a shooting pain whenever i stepped on the outer pad of my right foot. This lasted a week, and from then on my symptoms began to expand.
I started feeling a constant twitching in my right calf muscle, like when you're tired and your eye twitches. It was not visible to the naked eye as it was far enough under the skin to not be seen. I began to notice that any strain on the muscle at all would cause it to seize into a charlie horse cramp. I slowly over the next month began to notice this up my entire right side. A yawn would cause my neck to seize up. Bending over would cause my side to seize up. Writing too long would seize my hand up. And even the slightest movement of my foot would send my leg into the most severe of cramps. When my calves cramp up it looks as though there is water boiling under my skin. It bubbles, pops, ripples, and spasms in an utterly painful and disturbing display.
I had bloodwork done which revealed everything was normal and I was sent to a neurologist. My neurologist preformed an EMG and NCS, which came back normal. I was then sent to have a c-spine MRI done. It revealed that my spine was begining to curve in the wrong direction which i'm told is common for people presenting with muscle cramps. I had an MRI done, with and without contrast, revealing nothing. I had an angiogram done which also revealed nothing.
I was sent to physical therapy which only proved to make my condition worse. By this time the sypmtoms had progressed through my entire body, not just my right side. they tried several medications, none of which helped. I also began to notice rapidly decreasing vision, incontinence, abnormal hair growth, difficulty swallowing, inability to concentrate, ringing in my ears, exhaustion, inability to fall asleep, and stiffness in my joints.
I saw a neuro-muscular specialist at a large presitigous medical college who suggested i inject botox into my legs to stop them from cramping. I have seen so many neurologists now that i'm beginning to feel its hopeless. This illness has comepletely taken over my life and I am so tired from fighting it 24/7. It affects every decision i make and follows me everywhere relentlessly. I am currently on a trial of baclophen which seems to be making things worse, as did most the muscle relaxants i was put on. My new neurologist told me that my best bet is to simply try medications untill i find one that treats the symptoms well enough to make it from one day to the next. This was the most devistating blow yet. I cannot accept that i may suffer from this for the next 60 years of my life with no answers. It cant be normal for a 22 year old to pray to god every night that they find something in her blood work or MRIs... so that the mystery can be solved.
Please, if you have any notion as to what may be causing these ailments, or if there is another doctor i should be seeing, please let me know. I am so despirate for answers.
-Adriane
I am a 22 year old female. My illness started just under a year ago. I woke up in the middle of the night with a severe "charlie horse" cramp in my right calf. It lasted 15 mins, and returned again for a second time half an hour later. The next morning i had sever bruising where the cramp was from what appeared to be torn muscles. I was fine for a few days, but then began experiencing a shooting pain whenever i stepped on the outer pad of my right foot. This lasted a week, and from then on my symptoms began to expand.
I started feeling a constant twitching in my right calf muscle, like when you're tired and your eye twitches. It was not visible to the naked eye as it was far enough under the skin to not be seen. I began to notice that any strain on the muscle at all would cause it to seize into a charlie horse cramp. I slowly over the next month began to notice this up my entire right side. A yawn would cause my neck to seize up. Bending over would cause my side to seize up. Writing too long would seize my hand up. And even the slightest movement of my foot would send my leg into the most severe of cramps. When my calves cramp up it looks as though there is water boiling under my skin. It bubbles, pops, ripples, and spasms in an utterly painful and disturbing display.
I had bloodwork done which revealed everything was normal and I was sent to a neurologist. My neurologist preformed an EMG and NCS, which came back normal. I was then sent to have a c-spine MRI done. It revealed that my spine was begining to curve in the wrong direction which i'm told is common for people presenting with muscle cramps. I had an MRI done, with and without contrast, revealing nothing. I had an angiogram done which also revealed nothing.
I was sent to physical therapy which only proved to make my condition worse. By this time the sypmtoms had progressed through my entire body, not just my right side. they tried several medications, none of which helped. I also began to notice rapidly decreasing vision, incontinence, abnormal hair growth, difficulty swallowing, inability to concentrate, ringing in my ears, exhaustion, inability to fall asleep, and stiffness in my joints.
I saw a neuro-muscular specialist at a large presitigous medical college who suggested i inject botox into my legs to stop them from cramping. I have seen so many neurologists now that i'm beginning to feel its hopeless. This illness has comepletely taken over my life and I am so tired from fighting it 24/7. It affects every decision i make and follows me everywhere relentlessly. I am currently on a trial of baclophen which seems to be making things worse, as did most the muscle relaxants i was put on. My new neurologist told me that my best bet is to simply try medications untill i find one that treats the symptoms well enough to make it from one day to the next. This was the most devistating blow yet. I cannot accept that i may suffer from this for the next 60 years of my life with no answers. It cant be normal for a 22 year old to pray to god every night that they find something in her blood work or MRIs... so that the mystery can be solved.
Please, if you have any notion as to what may be causing these ailments, or if there is another doctor i should be seeing, please let me know. I am so despirate for answers.
-Adriane
this is the 1st time i come on this site for the same reasons u all have done so. I've read all ur comments and have touched me deeply. I noticed that it has been 2 yrs since u have wrote about ur medical symptoms but i'm intrigued to learn of ur outcomes . Is it possible that u may write and let me know what has happened since and/ or has anything been resolved. If ur unable to log on because ur user name has exceeded the amount of letters or words allowed by this site, use another user name but do let me know it is u. I hope u did not stop writing because u have lost all hope . And for u Sergio was ur wife ever able to return to med school. How is she doing, what's going on wit her. Sincerely, Annette
typo there but not sure how to edit
I am NOW looking into Botox I wrote not by accident.
I am NOW looking into Botox I wrote not by accident.
I have had leg cramps as a kid and now that I am 34 for the past 3-4 years they are VERY bad. I am on Gluten free diet as well so even if I do have celiac that isn't the cause. I don't eat processed food either or if I do it is 2 times a week like a packaged organic soup. Rest is raw veggies, greek yogurts, eggs, etc. I suffer from very sore muscles that spasms a lot and sometimes even roll around my legs during the day. I have no vitamin or mineral deficiencies, been test for MS, Cushings, PCOS, Adisons (sp) disease, Doppler done to my legs, no blood work is off basically and muscle loss blood work show I am not losing any as well. I went to a chiro for 2 years almost for small curve in my lower back but nerve tests show it doesn't effect my legs. There is no answer and every neuro or doctor just ends up saying I have symptoms of Fybromialga and that's it, suffer from sore legs. Well this answer is not good enough for me. I stretch daily, very active and drink fluids.
I am not looking into getting BOTOX injections since I have read it releases muscles in stroke patients and other muscle spasms people have. Since my leg muscles never release basically maybe I can have this done. I am waiting to hear back from a doctor I found in Atlanta that specializes in just this since my doctor might not use BOTOX and actually starting to doubt they do much at all...
I am not looking into getting BOTOX injections since I have read it releases muscles in stroke patients and other muscle spasms people have. Since my leg muscles never release basically maybe I can have this done. I am waiting to hear back from a doctor I found in Atlanta that specializes in just this since my doctor might not use BOTOX and actually starting to doubt they do much at all...
I am a coeliac and am on a gluten free diet..
if I eat gluten/wheat it stops my body from taking nutrients, however.. I am on a gluten free diet and I take calcium tablets everday and I have been suffering with sevear cramps for the past 6 months...
Never had them before and now I get them all the time. if I so much as point my toes my toes would get sevear cramps!! I wake up with cramps in my legs but its the toes ones that I cant handle.. they last for so long and the only thing that helps is heat
So much so that when I was in Sainsbury's the other day the toe cramps started and I ended up putting a hot chicken on my foot in the car just so i could drive home!!! how rediculous is that! but it helped!
I also get strange feelings in my veins from my hands to just beyond my wrists and my fingers go fuzzy sometimes to.
lately i have also had my left eye feel weird and it keeps twitching!
Basically I feel like im falling apart and im only 42.
I have been to the docs but they said the blood test came back fine and i am already on calcium.
So what next ? coz i cant live like this its depressing.
if I eat gluten/wheat it stops my body from taking nutrients, however.. I am on a gluten free diet and I take calcium tablets everday and I have been suffering with sevear cramps for the past 6 months...
Never had them before and now I get them all the time. if I so much as point my toes my toes would get sevear cramps!! I wake up with cramps in my legs but its the toes ones that I cant handle.. they last for so long and the only thing that helps is heat
So much so that when I was in Sainsbury's the other day the toe cramps started and I ended up putting a hot chicken on my foot in the car just so i could drive home!!! how rediculous is that! but it helped!
I also get strange feelings in my veins from my hands to just beyond my wrists and my fingers go fuzzy sometimes to.
lately i have also had my left eye feel weird and it keeps twitching!
Basically I feel like im falling apart and im only 42.
I have been to the docs but they said the blood test came back fine and i am already on calcium.
So what next ? coz i cant live like this its depressing.
if you havent found the cause yet ... or even if you have I would still get tested for celiacs disorder (might be spelled wrong sorry im dislexic) its basicly a wheat alergy but it can cause so many health problems you wouldnt believe it. I use to have the following problems
cramps ... not small ones ones that would start off in random parts of my legs and then spread untill my hole lower body and part of my lower back were ridged. I still get cramps but they normaly stay localized to the area they started in.
headaches, migrains, cluster headaches ... compleatly gone exept the rare headache.
lack of energy, omg you wouldnt believe the difference ... one of the reasons celiacs can be so harsh is that it destroys your ability to take in the things it needs to stay healthy resulting in a perminant feeling of being run down.
cysts, havent had any lately
general joint and mussle pain ... still not gone but it is way better than it was.
eritable bowel, I didnt have this one but my mother did and it went away within 2 weeks of not eating wheat.
mussle twitches, agian they havent gone away but they use to keep me up for 3 -4 days at a time now its 2 - 3 hours at the most.
and this is just my list ... you should look up the disorder ... its crazy what it has been known to do to people
take care,
cramps ... not small ones ones that would start off in random parts of my legs and then spread untill my hole lower body and part of my lower back were ridged. I still get cramps but they normaly stay localized to the area they started in.
headaches, migrains, cluster headaches ... compleatly gone exept the rare headache.
lack of energy, omg you wouldnt believe the difference ... one of the reasons celiacs can be so harsh is that it destroys your ability to take in the things it needs to stay healthy resulting in a perminant feeling of being run down.
cysts, havent had any lately
general joint and mussle pain ... still not gone but it is way better than it was.
eritable bowel, I didnt have this one but my mother did and it went away within 2 weeks of not eating wheat.
mussle twitches, agian they havent gone away but they use to keep me up for 3 -4 days at a time now its 2 - 3 hours at the most.
and this is just my list ... you should look up the disorder ... its crazy what it has been known to do to people
take care,
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