Benign fasiculation syndrome??

[nervous41]

Hi.  I am a 41 yo internist who in Jan 08 was dx with mild cervical spinal stenosis after episodes of left arm numbness and weakness.  In late March I started developing fasiculations which have escalated in frequency to about every 15 seconds (while resting) and will even note them when I wake at night from sleep (usually from my kids ages 1 and 3).  They are everywhere (arms, legs torso, eyelids) and only last about one to two twitches worth.  It is driving me crazy mostly with worry...I do know several people personally with ALS, even wonder if I could have contracted it (viral??) from one of them?   I know this is really crazy but I do worry about it.

I don't think I have any real weakness and am very active.  Is this BFS...do I need to work this up further or just try and relax about it all.

I doubt mild spinal disease could account for my symptoms.  There was sagital plane that revealed a hypodensity that was not viewed in any other planes.  A brain and spinal MRI with gado was done, the brain was fine and the spine still revealed the same image which I was told by the neurorad was nothing...

Any thoughts appreciated.

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

It will be very hard to discount the possibility that these symptoms can actually come from the spinal stenosis since you already have an anatomic abnormality of the spine to start with.  It is also very hard to tell if this is ALS or not however I agree that it may sound unrealistic to think that this can be contracted from another person.  Some other cause of fasciculations that you can discuss with your doctor are stress, micronutrient deficiency (vitamin B, calcium), and muscle fatigue.  I suggest you discuss this with your neurologist and report to him or her any changes that may ensue.  Regards.