Overcoming BFS: Hope Needed

is there anyone here who had BFS and eventually overcame it?

i suppose those who did wouldnt need to be on a community but i just really need to hear about some success stories or something to give me hope that i wont be living with this thing for the rest of my life. im 20 and had them since i was 16, i try not to let it get the better of me but sometimes it feels like my youth is being affected (sounds stupid i know)

so anyone who overcame it? how many years did it take? did it stop naturally or were you taking medication etc for a number of years?

Che, perhaps some of those that overcame their BFS don't come here any longer.

yeah i figured that, just would be nice to hear some good news with this for a change. even if i never overcome it myself, its good to have some hope. i never let this thing get me down but lately its been getting to me

che, sorry to hear your struggles. I can relate... 4 months now. Hard to avoid feeling down sometimes. One thing that has helped is to focus on things you really enjoy doing, whatever it is. For me, it's goofing around with my two young daughters, or working out, bike riding, attending a sporting event, show, etc. Don't sit around at home watching TV or looking at your computer because it will only remind you of how annoying this disorder is. Concentrate on anything positive in your life and that will reduce some of your worry. And hope for a miracle, that one day it goes away, like a bad case of the flu. Hopes this helps.

I am a teacher and I found that my symptoms almost vanished last summer. Unfortunately, as the stress of the job has set in along with a lack of sleep and a variety of seasonal colds, the bfs has returned. It is not nearly as intense as before, but the twitches, pain, buzzing etc are back.

I was diagnosed with BFS about 3.5 years ago, twitches constantly and anywhere and everywhere on my body.

I haven't had a single one for at least nine months.

I can't say I really know what made them go away. At first I thought that when I got on a more normal sleeping pattern (always sleep at least 4-6 hours at night vs. sleeping sometimes in the afternoon sometimes in the morning etc) this caused them to go away. While that may be a contributing factor, I realized later I'd gone through periods with normal sleep patterns where BFS never went away.

I've done other things like start to eat a more balanced diet, exercise more, try to reduce my anxiety (though I can't say I've really succeeded there), and cut out caffeine. I don't know if any of these things led to the end of BFS but it was probably good to do anyway.

So it does happen.

I started having BFS symptoms in my early 20's & took an anti-seizure medication called meberal. Over the years it has gone away for many years, (at least to the point where I don't pay attention to symptoms.) I've had several "relapses" where the symptoms are too severe "not to notice.) I'm now 56, have had two children, a successful career, happy marriage and, in spite of the BFS & fears that have gone along with it (especially in the beginning), I consider my life as having been quite happy and very blessed! It's never really kept me from doing anything I've wanted to do. Best Wishes, Denise

My BFS has certainly got better with time, although it has not disappeared. I think you should takle comfort from the condition's name, "beign" fasciculation syndrome.

I agree with a lot of what is said in the above posts...I'm getting pretty close to 2 years with this and I may log-on once a month or so (and sometimes only to PM people I've become friendly with). Then, there are the veteran's souls who really make this board what it is and post often, helping all of the newcomers-without them this board would be a completely different place. And you can see by my number of post's (close to 1000!) that I used to post a lot more. Does my twitching still bother me? I'm not going to say it doesn't BUT I'm basically a person who's always had health anxiety so it doesn't bother me more than any other health worries that come up. For me, the biggest healer was time. If I went a eliminated all my triggers,- caffeine, too little sleep, stress, could I lead a more twitch-free life? My guess is definitely yes but it just isn't a big a deal too me anymore so I couldn't be bothered with finding the right mix of solutions. Pregnancy has definitely made it better but if I go work out or drink a bunch of soda, it comes right back. I also know that if I weren't an anxious person, I wouldn't give them a second thought after all this time- however, it's just my nature! ) Shelley

I am a healthy 31 year old male - working, living, breathing, walking, exercising, and enjoying the great things that are in my life. My symptoms began 9 months ago - and it has been a roller coaster ride - all the while, learning SO MUCH MORE about myself than I have at any other point in life. No doubt, my symptoms have decreased, subsided at times, unnerved me at other times, etc. Like others on this site, I believe that time and your mental state are your greatest allies. I feel like I am much better off than when this first happened, even though I still have bad days here and there. I also realize that there are many causes for twitching: magnesium deficiency, hormonal imbalance, drug withdrawal, etc; however, I firmly believe that the following factors are the driving force behind my symptoms: anxiety, depression, an imbalance between mind and body, and the resulting mental "loop" that plays these symptoms out. I also firmly believe that there exists something that I call subliminal OCD - not the kind where you wash your hands 30 times a day - but the subtle background noise that exists in your mind and drives the fasciculations. When my mind is completely at ease and off the "topic" of worrying about symptoms, I then become symptom free. I have found this to be true when I'm in a totally relaxed state and not hyper-aware of every single bodily function. The anxiety and stress result from that constant looming chance that I might be "plagued" by some annoying twitch. Like most, I believe that everyone must truly believe that they can conquer this - not necessarily beat it - but learn to manage it and avoid the pitfalls of depression and anxiety that accompany and drive it. I am still in the experimental phase with most things. I have found that klonopin helps me to control things. I also feel that SSRIs, if possible, help you to restructure your thought process if you can tolerate the extra nervousness that some of them cause in the uptake process. Everybody is different. You have to find what works for you. Say a prayer and constantly keep thinking at the front of your mind: "Please bring those things to me that will help me conquer this, deal with this, and lead a happy and healthy life." Say that as much as possible and trust that your "solution" will come to you in beautiful ways that you never expected.