Twitching and cramping muscles

[MissmyMarine]

  Hi, I am a 22 year old female. I have been having the strangest symptoms and they are starting to become bothersome.
-Shooting pains throughout my whole body that feel electrical. They are not very severe but they are quite annoying.
-My muscles keep twitching slightly, like not visible but I feel it and it is constantly. I can feel a twitch coming sometimes and it's like kind of rhythmic.
-My neck and upper back are extremely tight, you can literally see the neck tension when i turn my head.
-My left foot feels numb sometimes, not 100 percent numb but like heavy and a weird sensation of numbness that comes and goes on almost a day to day basis.
-My throat feels tight and sometimes I feel like the water I am drinking gets stuck in it.
-I have weird muscle pains, like dull- and when I touch the muscle it feels even weirder and kinda weak.
-And my face feels stiff and slow and it hurts! But that kind of comes and goes as well.
- I have developed this new ring finger tremor. It's when I reach my hand out to the front or side of me. This is more sever with my left hand and it happens a little with my right hand as well.
- I have developed a new level of tiredness, and my heart beats weird and fast sometimes just randomly then will stop. I feel like I can't take a full breath at times- just at the end of an inhale, it feels unfulfilled, like I need to yawn or something weird.
-THEN I got this stupid knob on my wrist.. very hard little cyst right on the corner.
-Lastly.. my hands are so crampy, and my feet a little bit too.
I exercise and eat well. I've always been pretty healthy until now, I feel like I've been poisoned- I just can't stand it help!
It's been about 2 months and hasn't gone away, my doctor gave me blood test and said that everything was good- so she said I have stress and anxiety but I truly don't think that is correct. Can anyone help?

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

You have multiple symptoms many of which would be difficult to tie together into one unifying diagnosis.
Regarding your muscle twitching one possibility is benign fasciculation syndrome, which I will abbreviate as BFS, it is a condition in which there are involuntary twitches of various muscle groups, most commonly the legs but also the face, arms, eyes, and tongue. The twitches may be related to anxiety/stress, caffeine, and often occur after recent strenuous activity or muscle over-use. It is important in such cases to reduce stress/anxiety levels and to reduce caffeine intake.
Muscle cramps with twitching may be due to myopathy. A myopathy is basically a generic term for a muscle problem. Myopathies can be inflammatory, as is the case with a disorder called polymyositis which is an autoimmune disorder. Also, there are genetic myopathies, of which there are several, each with its own characteristics and features. Finally, and probably most commonly, metabolic causes such as thyroid problems or low potassium can be the cause of muscle cramping. The latter 2 can be diagnosed with simple blood tests.

Regarding your muscle pains, another possiblity is cramp-fasciulation syndrome, a benign disorder (with no serious clinical implications). The diagnosis of myopathy vs. BFS vs. cramp-fasiculation syndrome would be made using a study called EMG/NCS which tests who nerves conduct electricity and how muscles respond to this.

Regarding your fatigue and palpitations, things to consider include thyroid problems (testable by a simple blood test called TSH), anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency (also testable by simple blood tests). Your breathing troubles are unlikely to be neurologic.

Regarding the shooting pains throughout your whole body that feel electrical, there really are not very few and rare diseases that cause whole body pain. Taken together with the variety of other symptoms you have, one possibility is fibromyalgia. Fibromyalagia is another medical condition that leads to whole body pains. Its cause is unknown, but it is characterized by diffuse aches, sometimes GI symptoms similar to irritable bowel, sleep abnormalities, low pain threshold, and other features. It is best treated with medications such as lyrica and neurontin, exercise, and physical therapy and the good news is that it does not progress into a more serious or degenerative disorder. In some patients, multiple symptoms such as your may reflect emotional/psychiatric problems related to stress (what is called somatization disorder). The latter is a true medical condition whereby instead of a patient experiencing depression or anxiety, they experience physical symptoms, and once the stress is addressed, the symptoms resolve.

Continued follow-up with your primary doctor is recommended with referral to a neurologist as deemed necessary by him/her.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.

[MissmyMarine]

Thank you for answering my questions, I have a doctors appointment coming up to ask for a neurologist referral per your advice! My worries have been eased for now, I appreciate it!