Worried about tingling/twitching

[collegeftblfan]

I am a healthy 26 year old male. I admit to having a bit of health anxiety and also have a habit of trying to diagnose myself with various diseases when minor symptoms are present. For about 4-5 years I have had muscle fasciculations throughout my body (arms, legs, trunk, face, etc.). They come and go, sometimes being absent for 6 months or so and then reappearing. They are never associated with any weakness or atrophy. Lately I have had a fasciculation around my hairline on my temple. It doesn't always twitch, but it seems to do so for an hour or two every other day -- usually around the time I wake up. I noticed this about a month ago.  Is this twitching in a localized area a cause for concern?  You cannot see the twitch, but I can feel it if I put my finger on it.

Also, for a few years I have also had issues with my ring and pinky fingers on both hands "falling asleep" at night, and tingling during the day. The "tingling" I describe feels like a vibration or buzzing in my fingers. I have been weight training for the past three years and have gained about 45-50 lbs in muscle. Could my numbness/tingling be due to the muscle pressing on the ulnar nerve?

Finally, my most pressing concern. I have had three "attacks," for lack of appropriate term, in my head. It only lasts for a couple seconds and it feels like a vibration in the back of my head. It makes me feel a bit lightheaded, and then instantly goes away. It doesn't last any longer than a minute. My good friend is a GP and he tells me it's nothing to worry about. Thyroid is normal. What do you think?

[Etiean]

A related discussion, Yay mechanical twitching was started.

[Pstew]

Hey everyone, Im a 31yrs old and recently, Ive had this twitching of my fingers on both hands especially when stretching open my hand completely for about 6-7 months now. The past two years, ive ran my uncles shipping company and mostly this involved picking up heavy load such as barrels and other heay boxes with my hands. I noticed that my fingers became extremly sore and felt slight pain and soreness on both hands and fingers during this time. Ive since left my Uncle's shipping company  about almost 10 months now. But the twitching remains and recently, ive had tingling sensations on my fingers and felt a shooting sensation accross my arm. Also at the bottom of my left palm towards the left, I can actually see my pulse moving upon closer inspection of the palm. I have a weekend job which consists of constant standing and picking up semi heavy loads . I've recently experienced this tingling running down my legs and unto my toes and at times, I felt i was lil of balance when standing still. Please help, i hope to see a specialist in the upcoming weeks for diagnosis. Please assist me in seeking a diagnosis to this problem. Thanks

[jejeel3]

I am at wits end and would like some help. About a month ago I went for a walk and developed pain in my lower back. Instead of stopping I carried on. The next day I had tingling sensation in legs and hands. I also noticed that the vision in my left eye was blurred. Since then it has been all down hill though most of the problems are probably anxiety related. Brain and Lumbar MRI, VEP and all the other tests came thruogh clear except for DDD in L3/4 L4/5 L5/S1 but I still have nervous twitching, especailly after exercise and especailly around the buttocks and down the leg. Now today I put my elbow on the table and felt a massive electric shock up my arm. I have no muscle weakness or coordination problems and most of the problems seem to be in the lest side (I am left handed so notice this more). I must admit that all these problems start when I slouch in my chair at the office and whilst standing I have no problems. I also get some twitching when I am lying down but nothing like this. I was not taking any medicine before this but I have recently taken Velosef and Xanax. I have had no backache since the night I went for a walk.

I am also under alot of strain these days but nothing abnormal.

Can all this be due to a damaged back/nerve damage. All of this came on suddenly but it is worrying me to death.

some comments would be welcome

jejeel

[Hogcrazydude]

I feel silly asking for advice on what now seems to be a relatively small problem compared to some of the suffering I have read about in these forums, but I would appreciate some help.

I have been having fasciculations ONLY in my right lower outside thigh for the past 2 weeks now. I have finally seen a doc and he has me scheduled to see a Neurologist tomorrow for tests EMG and others). I have read WAY TOO MUCH in the last few days on everything from ALS, MS and Parkinsons to essential tremors and BFS and obviously am hoping for the latter if given a choice.

I do find that this "condition" is driving me crazy and making me very irritable and at the very least, causing me to lose sleep and some productive work time.

I am 42, mostly fit (although fighting a bit of a spare tire these days) and have never experienced this before a few weeks ago. It started out as feeling as if my cell phone was vibrating in my front trouser pocket, ONCE IN A WHILE. It then went to a rythmic tremor which felt like it was moving to my heart beat. Although it was happening most of the day, it was more noticeable and then less noticeable at different times (and also while sitting, standing and laying down. The only thing that seems to make it lessen is when I walk a bit). It has now progressed to a more steady tremor now beginning in the late morning and the only way I can escape it is when I finally fall asleep. Then I start the same way all over again the next morning, hoping it will not reappear. At first, there was no pain or fatigue associated with this, but now I am experiencing fatigue and stiffness in my right leg, from my calf all the way up to my hip. I am assuming that this is due to the muscle being so worked up, even at rest?

It has not affected me anywhere else that I am aware of. I have frequently had eye twitches, but was able to recognize that this was when I was under heavier stress or while having migrane headaches.

Does this sound like BFS? Something else? Are there any questions I should be asking my doctor during his examination tomorrow? Or will the exam and EMG themselves tell me (and the doc) all I/we need to know?

Any advice you can lend would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Hogcrazydude

[Floxie99]

For anyone who has been experiencing these sensations: have you, in the past year, been treated with a fluoroquinolone-based antibiotic (levaquin, tequin, cipro, floxin, etc)? If so, you are likely suffering from a severe adverse reaction to that drug. These reactions can come on long after you are treated, and cause long-lasting pain and other symptoms. Very often those hurt think they have MS, or ALS, or fibromyalgia, or a host of other maladies. They spend thousands of dollars getting MRI, blood and other tests done. Doctors just give them more drugs and tell them it's all in their heads.
The reality is, they have been poisoned by an antibiotic that wasn't thoroughly tested before being released on the public.

If you are suffering these weird symptoms, I suggest you check out the following sites:
www.medicationsense.com
www.fqvictims.org
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/quinolones

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

Fasciculations in the absence of muscle weakness and wasting are unlikely to be due to ALS or another serious neurological disease. They can also be caused by exercise, cold, certain medications, an overactive thyroid gland, or as a benign syndrome.

Numbness in teh ring and pinky finger is in the distribution of the ulnar nerve, which is most commonly compressed at the elbow, and can be compressed during sleep. Rapid weight gain or loss can predispose someone to compression of peripheral nerves more.

Its hard for me to comment on the 'attacks' without knowing more information, and I cannot give you a clinical diagnosis over the intnernet. On the surface it does nto sound particularly ominous.

Good luck

[Mr. Doe]

As to the leafblower vibration: I have had the same thing happen many times after running equipment with vibration that are hand held. Gas powered hedge trimmers, chain saws, air chisels, gas powered compactors, jack hammers and roto-hammers all cause my fingers and hands to tingle for about 10 minutes afterwards when I have operated them for any significant length of time over a minute or two. I have also read this is a common occurrance and is to be expected after hand operating high vibration tools.
  I can't offer you any help on your other symptoms as they are unfamiliar to me. Don't worry about the leaf blower.

[dcmur21]

I am a 26-year-old white male. I have a number of questions related to pain I have experienced recently. The pain began in the left thigh as a sort of dull ache after walking short distances. I also had a feeling of tingling and numbness and tearing or electrical tingling radiating around the knee and outside upper thigh. I also had what I thought was Restless Leg Syndrome initially, waking up and kicking at night. Pain seemed to worsen when sitting and riding in the car, and better when moving and keeping warm.

Thinking I had a problem with my lower back, I went and got an MRI, but the results came back negative for herniation or any other related problems. Since then, the pain has gotten worse. I get numbness and tingling in my legs (both right and left), down to my toes, though this comes and goes. I also have sporadic tingling, itching and pain in both of my hands and forearms. I also have random muscle twitches all over body. I believe the clinical term is fasciculations. These occur mostly in the thigh after walking short distances, but also occur more randomly in the triceps, calf muscles, and torso. This also comes and goes, mostly with anxiety. No significant signs of wasting or atrophy in the hands, arms, feet, or legs that I can notice. Some weakness in the left leg where the pain started about two months ago, but no loss in muscle tone, weight.

I am worried about ALS. I have an appointment for an EMG in two weeks.

Having said all of this, it is also important to note that I also have cerebral palsy, which I contracted at birth. I am hypertonic and often have trouble with cramps and extremely stiff muscles, including toe drop since birth. I also have had several surgeries. Early in life, I had my hip flexors and adductors loosened. I have since had two surgeries where microscopic holes were cut in my hamstrings to loosen them further and my hips were adjusted to turn my pelvis out. I recently had my appendix out. I have a large amount of scar tissue on and around my pelvis from the last hip surgery. Could this be contributing to my pain? Could scar tissue be pressing on a nerve? Could the pain I'm experiencing be the result of extremely taught muscles and shifting of my trunk as a result?

I found it odd that the pain presented itself first as similar to back pain. Again, I actually had shooting pains down my leg and a dull ache in my hip after walking short distances. This was sometimes accompanied with lower back pain. I wasn't even considering ALS until the EMG was brought up. Other factors worth noting: It has been extremely cold the last several months, a factor that has greatly increased my overall stiffness and, at times, decreased my mobility. Sometimes I get so cold and taught that it is difficult to move at all. This stiffness happens most when sitting at my computer for long periods of time. I am a journlist and spend much of my day hunched over in front of a monitor.

For me, much of this stiffness and many of these other symptoms is a simple fact of life--and has been for years. Cramps, stiff muscles, painful joints, muscle twitches (benign fasciculations) and other symptoms similar to ALS and MS have been present in my life since as far back as I can remember, due to the CP, of course.

I also have had lower back, thoracic, and cervical spinal injuries in the last couple of years. In one case a few years ago, my back was hurt so badly that I had to take steroids, lost most of the use of my left arm and was laid up for a week, or more. The strength eventually returned to the limb after phyiscal threapy sessions, though I've since reinjured the back and repeated the process. Some numbness and tingling has remained in my hands ever since. As for the fasciculations and tingling, in my legs, these sypmtoms have gotten worse (anxiety?) in the days since I started thinking about ALS. Since that time, I have had trouble sleeping, feelings of having knots in my stomach, and increases in the amount of twitching, and stiffness that I often feel. My joints also have been aching more than usual.

Any ideas? Obviously, the EMG is the next logical step. Does this sound like ALS or something related to CP mimicking ALS through excessive tightness and residual effects from past surgeries, injuries?        

[collegeftblfan]

I forgot to mention something.  After mowing the lawn, as I did today, when I use the leaf blower to blow away the clippings my fingers tingle for 5-10 minutes afterwards, then it goes away.

[Insearchofinfo]

Any history of infections or use of antibotics prior to the onset of the symptoms?

[Citizen T]

It's hard to say for sure about your symptoms over the internet.  But, as far as the ulnar nerve symptoms, first ask yourself are you leaning on your elbows alot perhaps at the computer?   This can cause that you describe.  It is also possible that your weight training is contributing in some unknown way.    Finally, it is also theoretically possible this could be caused by ulnar artery thrombosis and there are various blood tests for diseases that can lead to this.   I would not be especially worried about your muscle spasms unless they are accompanied by other or disabling symptoms