fasticulations

[lizbeth219]

I STARTED TO TWITCH IN MY LEGS IN MID AUGUST- i had a normal neuro exam and emg two months later-since then the twitching is everywhere, then to the stage i can feel the twitches moving my hair and even twitching in my vagina- its bad enough the ones I CAN FEEL BUT IF MY CLOTHES HAPPEN TO TOUCH ME IN A CERTAIN WAY i then can feel the twitches and they move MY CLOTHES but when I LOOK AT MY SKIN i can not see any thing. YES i have plenty i can feel and see but the ones i CANNOT EVEN MOVE THE DUVET. i went to the neuro for a check up yesterday after three and half months and he examined me and said i WAS AS FIT AS A FIDDLE- HE THEN BOUGHT A PSYCHIARIST IN TO SEE ME AND STILL INSISTS ITS EXTREME ANXIETY i CAN HONESTLY SAY NOT ONE PATCH OF SKIN IS NOT TWICHING- CAN THIS BE NERVES AND ANXIETY PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR OPINION AND ADVICE
tHANKYOU
ROLLY

[gradschoolgirl]

Hi Everyone,
I am 23 years old and have recently started experiencing spasms in my calf muscles on both legs,in my arms, and in my left leg above my knee. I've also had an infrequent tremor in my thumbs on and off for about two years now. These spasms are really starting to freak me out but I have doubts about going to my doctor. These spasms occur sporatically but frequently throughout the day but knowing my luck none would occur when I go to see her. I can't see them on the surface of my skin but I can feel them when I put my hand on the spasming muscle. While I have insurance, I, like all of you I'm sure, really don't want to go through a battery of tests. Preparing to move and planning for graduate school has put me under a lot of stress recently and I'm hoping that this is the cause of these tremors. Many of you seem well read on this chat board and it seems that you've gone through the diagnostic process that I would desperately like to avoid if possible. At what point would you suggest that I seek a medical opinion? I'm really afraid that the only thing that going to a doctor would do right now is leave me with more unanswered questions and increase my anxiety. The thought of having some early stage of a degenerative neuromuscular disorder when I'm preparing to leave all of my friends and family and "begin my life" is really scaring me. Any comments or advice you have to offer is welcome please! This board has offered some hope that I don't have some terrible disease and I thank you all immensely for that!

[gradschoolgirl]

Hi Everyone,
I am 23 years old and have recently started experiencing spasms in my calf muscles on both legs,in my arms, and in my left leg above my knee. I've also had an infrequent tremor in my thumbs on and off for about two years now. These spasms are really starting to freak me out but I have doubts about going to my doctor. These spasms occur sporatically but frequently throughout the day but knowing my luck none would occur when I go to see her. I can't see them on the surface of my skin but I can feel them when I put my hand on the spasming muscle. While I have insurance, I, like all of you I'm sure, really don't want to go through a battery of tests. Preparing to move and planning for graduate school has put me under a lot of stress recently and I'm hoping that this is the cause of these tremors. Many of you seem well read on this chat board and it seems that you've gone through the diagnostic process that I would desperately like to avoid if possible. At what point would you suggest that I seek a medical opinion? I'm really afraid that the only thing that going to a doctor would do right now is leave me with more unanswered questions and increase my anxiety. The thought of having some early stage of a degenerative neuromuscular disorder when I'm preparing to leave all of my friends and family and "begin my life" is really scaring me. Any comments or advice you have to offer is welcome please! This board has offered some hope that I don't have some terrible disease and I thank you all immensely for that!

[mykie128]

Why does the Social Security Administration discount degenerative disk disease as a legitament disability? Especially when it's located at L-2,L-3,L-4;which is right at the hip/pelvic area that is a major weightbearing area???Are they that stupid/ignorant/or just plain greedy??
The pain gets extremely bad,and worse when much physical exertion is done.How can a below(extremely)the national poverty level person be expected to live in such physical pain?

[queeniee2002]

Hi. I have been twitching now for 3 years. It started in my legs but spread over time. Mine was all caused to taking an antibiotic...either from the quinolone Trovan I took or Macrobid. I took them 3 weeks apart from one another. All of my symptoms are due to an antibiotic. Have you ever taken a quinolone or macrobid? Just curious. Thanks. Sharon
***@****

[JSK]

I too have had twitching for 2 1/2 years now.   Started with a total loss of strength in my thumb.  I couldn't flip a coin, turn a key, etc.  Then I had numbness everywhere, especially my face.  Buzzing in particular spots that would last for days.  I had to urinate 20 times a day.  I was a basket case.  a month after the loss of strength the TWITCHING began.  My Neuro & family physician thought I was ready for the loony bin.  So did I.

Well, I still have twiching everywhere (doesn't bother me because I know it will stop) BUT,I've had a continuous, non-stop twitching in both my in-steps of my feet for 2 years now.  Looks like a bag of worms.  Also, looks like some atrophy.  Doctor says probably due to an irritated nerve and/or my back operation for a herniated disc (L5-S1).

I've had 2 MRI's, all the work-ups, seen several different doctors (even a foot doctor who says he's never seen that before).

All tell me not to worry.  Hard not to. But, I don't let it freak me out anymore.   Time will tell.

[CONSTANT TWITCHES]

i HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING MUSCLE TWITCHES FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS.  THEY HAVE PROGRSSIVELY BECOME WORSE.  i HAVE THEM MAINLY IN MY UPPER ARMS LEGS AND BUTTOCKS.  THEY ARE SO IRRITATING. SOMETIMES WHEN I'M ON THE COMPUTER THE MUSCLES IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD CONTRACT QUICKLY.  I HAVE NOT HAD ANY TESTS DONE SINCE I DON'T HAVE INSURANCE.  LATELY THEY HAVE BEEN VERY SEVERE, ELBOWS, THUMB , ARMS, LEGS, BUTTOCKS.  LIKE MOST PEOPLE I HAVE NOT NOTICED ANY MUSCLE ATROPHY.  I AM BECOMING MORE CONCERNED.  LIKE EVERYONE ELSE THE MORE I THINK ABOUT THEM THE MORE SEVERE THEY ARE.  I AM NOW BEGINNING TO HAVE TROUBLE SLEEPING BECAUSE THEY ARE SO BOTHERSOME.  ANY ADVICE TO EASE MY MIND?  A LOT OF WHAT I HAVE READ HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.

[feence]

I'm really surprised to hear others report the same strange problems I have been having. Numbness and tingling, right sided weakness, visible widespread fasciculations, esophageal spasms, scattered painful muscle spasms, right eye visual disturbances, urinary frequency with inadequate bladder emptying and now an episode of syncope with subsequent injuries from the fall.
Saw a neuro with a great reputation as well as rheumo doc. The malar rash I have is probably nothing... Lupus labs neg.. MRI neg no MS thank GOD. Some cervical spine disc disease, no big deal.  I was given zoloft for depression, not sadness, you know the difference if you have been there. I have a very nice life otherwise.  The zoloft helped a great deal, but did nothing for the physical syptoms. I've lost 30 pounds recently, eating is unpleasant, but I have plenty to spare.  My poor husband is worried sick and so am I. I feel like I can't plan a future because there is a shadow of a doubt that this won't get better.
If this was a psych thing I think I would know deep down inside. I'm truly sorry there are others who suffer too but glad for the support.

[Crazyman]

I have some of the same problems you have.  Cervical pain, MRI show bulging disk with mild disk degenerative disease.  I am thinking that is a generic reading because my neck doctor says that report comes with most MRI's of the Cspine.  I have constant twitching in my buttock and arm.  No weakness yet.  I have pain in my neck and face which swells up and causes pain in my temples. I still worried about ALS because of the trememdous amount of research I have done on the subject.

[katiebug]

last summer around june or july i started having left eye twitching, in december i had a weak spell with my leg then a my rt arm felt weak since january i've started having muscle twitching all over more in my upper arms than anywhere. but no more weakness or strength loss. the only other thing is my cervical area is very painful with both arms feeling tired. of course i'm concerned about als but recently had a mri which my neurosurgeon says i have cervical myelopathy at the c4,c5,c6,c7 with 50% narrowing caused by degenerative osteoarthritis and could by the cause of my twitching. he suggest surgery. i'm not sure.  i have an aunt who had this muscle twitching and was found to have mecury poisoning from her almagam dental fillings and once her teeth were removed, the twitching has almost gone away. i have 9 almagam fillings and am in the process of having them replaced with resin fillings. i don't feel all that bad except the constant chronic pain in between my shoulders and the muscle twitching is always worse at night and when i relax. i'm wondering if anyone else has had this????

[Reenie]

Hi.  My name is Maureen McLaughlin.  I am a 41 year old Mom of three and an acupuncturist with this BFS thing (6 years running...).  E-mail me if you want to talk off line. ***@****

[twitch_city]

Do any of you have problems with your throat?  swallowing diffuculty?

[twitch_city]

One more question.  Do you fasc move you body part when they take place?  How extreme are they?

[skipatro]

Please visit the MGH neurology forums under the NEUROMUSCULAR thread:
http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true

There are many twitchers there with the same complaints.  You can also check out the aboutBFS.com web site:
http://www.nextination.com/aboutbfs/faq.php

This has alot of information about this weird and annoying condition.  Good luck.

A fellow twitcher

[frenchbread]

I wish I had read these comments 5 years ago. Over a period of several months I had twitching throughout various parts of my body. A neurologist assured me i was fine. Of course I did not believe him. If I had known there were others with the same exact symptoms and no neuro problems I would have felt much better. The best advise I received was from a different neurologist, who I met with at a social engagement, that was to drink a glass of red wine at night. It really seemed to help. I have not had this problem for some time. At the point when it was happening i was very very stressed out. Once I took care of the things that were causing me so much anxiety the twitches vanished. Good Luck

[Hythe]

Two years ago I was extremely stressed at work and then got bad flu.  I became exhausted, muscles aching when I hung out the washing, climbed stairs etc., felt like I was wading through treacle in a lead suit, and worst of all, twitching.  Muscles in my calves, I can see them move under the skin nearly all the time, especially when I get up in the morning and sit quietly having a cup of tea.  In the evening my legs feel tense, almost like pins and needles in my feet and I feel twitches all over me.  Sometimes they are quite big, slow, prolonged nerve twitches, and sometimes little ones, anywhere, like when your eye twitches. Horrible, lip, chin, arm, anywhere.  I sometimes wake up with both forearms twitching.  Anyway I had three months off work two years ago, regained strength but I am still twitching, and my muscles feel tired, even brushing teeth can make my arms ache mildly these days.  I did see a neurologist 2 years ago who diagnosed post viral fatigue exacerbated by stress at work.  Hopefully he is right but I cannot get rid of the sword of Damocles over my head that I might have ALS.  It is good to communicate with fellow sufferers, because I do feel alone with this.  Does anyone know what exactly is meant by muscle weakness?  I can walk in the country for 5 - 6 hours and only be stopped by sore feet.  Yet my arms can ache brushing my teeth and legs ache going upstairs.  Is it just ageing?  I am 56.  Is it stress - my job is stressful.

[mwb]

i know exactly what you are going through- same symptoms- muscles popping which can be seen through my clothes, cramps, and exercise intolerance.  I've seen 2 neuros- has 2 emgs(1 said i had an unknown neuropathy, 1 said i was fine).  i had a spinal tap, mri of spine, blood tests, and strength tests.  I thinks ive ran up over $20,000 in all these tests and they all say i'm the healthiest person in the world.  my last nuero seemed disinterested and tried to get me off the phone.  he said that since i still seem to be worrying that i can see one of his colleagues but i am fine and am just one of those people who develop benign fasticulation  syndrome and will just have to deal with it for the rest of my life- i am at my wits end with all this and have basically given up- not a single person on these forums or chats have ever had any satisfaction from any of their docs and still have these symptoms, im sorry for this negative response- but i know what you are going through and i know what kind of **** your docs are putting you through and i wish you the best of luck in your quest in getting better.

[drc1520]

Hi!

Can someone PLEASE help me. I have been everywhere and seen just about everyone (I think). I am suffering from muscle fasciculations in every part of my body...my head,hands, legs, shoulders,feet ect and don't know what to do. My neurologist gave me Depakote, but since I know the side effects  I don't really want to take it. I had the muscle and nerve weakness tests as well as an EEG? and they all came back normal. I'm really frustrated and don't know what to do. I am a normally healthy 32 y/o female with no health problems but this has been going on for about 1 year and it seems to get worse not better.

I can watch my muscles twitch, and in some parts of my body they twitch harder than others my legs are the worse, lately the muscle in my head (left side) has been jumping terribly. I also watch my pants jump regularly since my legs never get a rest from this. I've read the message boards and it seems like a lot of you have this....my doctor mentioned ALS to me but since this is the only symptom I have I hope it's not that. If anyone can give me some input I would appreciate it. Thanks

Dianna

[lizbeth219]

thanks for your comment- but i still am scared.

[Joanna.B-T]

Hello

I thought people might benefit from hearing my story. About 6 years ago I started to experience twitching in all of my muscles (and when I say all, I mean everywhere including my vagina!). Soon afterwards, I started to have electric shock type sensations which are like pins and needles only more painful, severe and irritating: again, these were felt all over my body. Eventually, I got to see a neurologist who performed EMG and blood tests which were found to be normal. After a few months, the symptoms went only to return after a couple of months or so. I saw another neurologist for an MRI scan (of brain and neck) which more or less came back normal (a few 'white patches'were found on the brain scan but these were felt to be within normal limits). Of course I was concerned at this point that I might be suffering from all those horrible neuro diseases such as MS etc. but to be honest, my major concern was to just get a diagnosis. Anyway, the neurlogist said that I was suffering fron Benign Fasciculation Syndrome and believe me, it took a lot to convince me that it was nothing more sinister. As a Clinical Psychologist it was easy for me to access relevat journals but, not surprisingly, this just made me worry more. Now, all this time later, I am again in the middle of a relapse: symptoms are (what I call) "electric shock" sensations all over my body which can be extremely painful especially if they are in the palm of my hand, in my eye or in my head; twitching in my muscles (incidentally, these used to 'stick' in the same place for about 3 days, especially just under my rib cage, but fortunately that pattern seems to have stopped now)and a deep pain felt in my bones. However, I have learnt that the gaps between the relapses are getting longer(it is now 5 months since my last one) and each episode only lasts for 4 or 5 days. I have found that symptoms are worse in the evening, when I am feeling run down and tired or otherwise stressed (which we all know is a viscious circle). This is the first time that I may have communicated with another sufferer (isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?) and recognise that the sense of isolation and needing to be believed is of huge importance. So, I hope this helps. If anyone wants to know more I'd be glad to help and would appreciate any advice from any of you out there too.

Joanna B-T

[B-Man]

This is EXACTLY what I have.  I have been doing this for about 5-6 months now and I was so worried.  I went to 2 Neuro and had an EMG and physical exam and all were o.k..  My twitching has progressed, but no weakness or reflex changes.  Let me repost what my Neuro told me on my last visit.  This might put your mind at ease:

I went to the Neuro on 01/29 and brought him a dozen donuts from Dunkin' Donuts.  I told him that it was taking up so much of his time with my panics.  He laughed and went on to ask me what was bothering me.  I told him about the tongue twitching and all of my other twitches again.  My thumb hasn't stopped for about two weeks now.  It twitches about once every 30 seconds or so.  How annoying!!!!  I had a list of questions for him this time and I hope this will start putting an end to this misery.  My questions were as follows:

1)  Is tongue twitching any more of an indicator of ALS?
    His reponse:  No, not at all.  Twitching isn't an indicator of ALS at all.  The indicator is weakness, reflex changes, spaticity, and so on.  MANY people have twitches.  Some are more tuned in to them so they become more bothersome.

2)  What causes this twitching stuff?
    His response:  No neurologist can answer that question.  It is not known what causes this benign form of twitching.  Don't try to get an answer because you probably won't find one.

3)  How many people have you tested with ALS?  
    His response:  Aproximately 15 to 20 people during my practice.

4)  And you did the preliminary diagnosis?
    His response:  Yes.

5)  How many EMG's do you perform weekly?
    His reponse:  Myself....I do about 5 per week.

6)  My EMG indicated Diabetic Neuropathy and Carpel Tunnel in my right hand.  Can this diagnosis be mistaken and it actually could be the start of ALS?
    His Response:  No.  Theresults of these findings are entirely different than ALS findings.  Your needle portion of your EMG was squeeky clean.

6)  Can you say with 99.9% certainty that I do not have ALS?
    His response:  You have no signs of ALS. Yes I can.

After these questions, he went on to check my tongue for complete certainty and he said everything looks fine.  Bulk looks good and no visible twitching.

His suggestion was to see the Psychiatrist again and adjust the Buspar or add something to it.  He really feels there is the true problem of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the things I am going through right now are VERY common in this disorder.  He said this is not my fault and that there is a mix-up in the brain which is making me get in such a panic about these twitches.  He said to try and take his word and go and live some of my life.  Don't let  it slip away worrying that I have some dreadful disease when absolutely nothing points to such a thing.


Doesn't this sound familiar???

Rest easy,
Brian

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

It would be unlikely that all this twitching would represent true fasciculations if they remain undetectable.Before chalking it up to anxiety (which certainly could be the reason for the symptoms), it may be helpful to check some routine labs such as electrolyes and thyroid function. Otherwise, a normal neuro exam with normal strength, muscle tone and absence of fasciculations would point away from a neuromuscular problem. GOod luck.