21 and Struggling: Need Support

Well, here I am. Most likely a product of viral illness and unbelievable stress and or worry. First, thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this and offers reassurance or any bit of help as I need it. Towards the end of last year I got dumped (boohoo) and my world spiraled. Being 21 and hardly knowing anyone since my life was dedicated to this girl really set in deep. I constantly seemed down at work and everywhere else. I started fearing all sorts of diseases in October/November. I feel like this gave me something to do and for some reason I was so worked up I felt like it was my time to go. On one occasion I literally made my boss come to work so I could get a std panel done -_- Anyway, my bfs story. Starting in early January I noticed some upper back pain and a feeling that something wasn't right. Once again, I was also depressed about females. For some reason I consulted Dr. Google about this back pain. I started to trial off because I was bored and somehow stumbled upon the big one. I saw that twitching was a symptom and I don't know if I was already twitching before, but, I was definitely feeling and looking for them now. That night on my way home my right calve started it all. From January to now I've experienced twitching everywhere. The most common spots are in my calves. These spots go 24/7. I can see all of them but indent feel all of them. Just about half of them. They seem fast fired and like a bag of popcorn or water boiling at a slower rate. In the last 20 weeks, or five months, I've seen an er doctor, primary care doctor, urgent care doctor and a neuro (not even referred by anyone). I've had three clinical exams, all went very well. My last one was around 17-21 days after I noticed the twitching. I had basic blood work that checked out fine. After the neuro I quit wasting money. He told me not to come back unless I have atrophy or real weakness. He didn't suggest an emg or anything. So, I'm one of those no emg bfs people...which is terrifying. He actually said BFS and it had to happen, so why not now? He also said during the summer I might notice they die down a bit (maybe he said go away, that has me worried). I really can't recall all of what he said other than I have bfs. Ever since then I've questioned every single ache or pain. After five months I'm still in doubt because the twitching is bad (mostly my calves nonstop), I can self induce cramps in my calves and I'm also sore here and there. I do have a low vitamin d level and have been taking medicine for that and it doesn't help. I also take celexa and b12/ magnesium pills. Nothing has helped. The more I worry, the worse it is. On a final note, I'm a 22 year old male with NO known als cases in my family. In fact the only notable deaths are my mom who had colon cancer at 36. My uncle who had one of the rarest forms of muscular dystrophy at age 8. Finally, my great, great grandpa had Parkinson's at age 80...So, here's my questions:1. Does this sound like typical bfs? 2. Does anyone else have nonstop calve twitching, some you don't feel and all you can see?3. Should I be happy with no emg? Should I get the emg and be broke?4. Is self induced cramping common? Meaning, in als is it cramping that happens involuntary? Can any of you bring on self induced cramps?5. Is my family history a concern for this?

1. Does this sound like typical bfs? Yes! In fact, this is making me realize how common it is for people to read about <you know what> and break into twitching! So strange.2. Does anyone else have nonstop calve twitching, some you don't feel and all you can see? I have nonstop twitching in my calves. The most common place.3. Should I be happy with no emg? Should I get the emg and be broke? No.4. Is self induced cramping common? Meaning, in als is it cramping that happens involuntary? Can any of you bring on self induced cramps? Yes, most people can.5. Is my family history a concern for this? Absolutely not. None of that is related.You are the epitome of a very young person with BFS. No need to worry about anything anymore. In fact, you really need to address your onset of hypochondriasis/health anxiety. You're too young to be plagued with health anxiety.

Hi,if you have normal clinical, at your age you do not need emg usually. And experience of fellows n this board is that usually they do emg only in order to start doubting it in few days becasue tqitches are still here.yes self induced twitech are one of the commnest issues in BFSnope regarding family history - even your uncle does not make a riskfor you because from your words one may suggest he was what is called a lethal mutation - he did not brought his genes down to the next generations. I assume his disease was of that type which needs two broken copies of gene and therefore is usually so lethal. You may have one copy damaged (if any) but another still works. Parkinson at 80 yo is nothing really special which may kill you at 22.Matt BobJazzy has constant nonstop twitches of any type, ask him, he knows much more about that.and you know what... the whole life is ahead of you.when I was 18 naive girl (I am 44, a 25 year wife and a mom), I met the boy and fall in love with him... Assume his father did not like me becasue after first family visit my young lover (also 18) was suffering for a week and finally dismissed our relationships in the most painful way just saying he loves me but can not stay in relationships... I was so insulted... it was so painful... I thought I would never see the sky blue...and you know what?in 6 month I met my future husband, and in 9 month this boy who left me died in a HSE accident (he did not follow simplest safety rules and falled down from 30 m).I believe still that the God had blessed me with that broken realtionships... and subsequent marriage of my life.I do not mean your girl should die in the accident of course, I just mean you still have a whole life ahead. Everything will change for sure and for better.

Yuli, self induced cramps not twitching is what I meant! Thanks for all the outlook guys. I need it. Toughest five months ever. How many months can I say this isn't the big one?

I should also note I have finger twitching and moving while trying to sleep. I even wake up with internal tremors sometimes. The human body is quite impressive.

Self induced cramps are my own cirucs for several years already. I started with intercoastal cramps induced by just bowing, and i can induce a cramp in my foot, hand and in other locations.

The only place I can self induce cramps is my calves. Which is where I'm also nonstop twitching. Which is why I'm scared.

I keep having sinus infections or congestion, too. My ears are all stuffy and making cracking noises. Also, I had sever scratching in my inner thighs to where I was bleeding. It's died down now. Any thoughts?

did not got a bit about the tighs...it happens to all of us to scratch hard sometimes, especially if the skin is thin and delicate like on the inner tighs.definitely scratching themsleves till bleeding is not a sign of MND but rather sign of itching, obsessive actions or whatever else...

Yuli, thanks for the replies. The scratching isn't as bad as it used to be. Less scratching means less irritated. The thigh and calve twitches could go away now..

Still doubting this is bfs. Constant twitching everywhere (even in buttocks) I also noticed I shake when stretching/yawning. Why?

Becasue your muscles are hyperexcited.twitching everywhere and even in intimate parts of the body without any significant or even noticeable weakness is a benign process.I may understand your doubts if you would say - 'today I can not move a finger. This is not benign". but having twitches everywhere and muscle trambling is so common for BFS (and even not for BFS).

nk-Leave. Get out of this place and never come back. You clearly have nothing sinister going on but are at risk of losing years of your life to fear of the boogieman. Don't let yourself spiral down this hole.....its very, very deep.

Everyone says five months and no weakness you're ok. Then I read horror stories on the bet and even here. I wish I could leave this all behind..

The worst part is I wasn't even over excited in my opinion. I woke up at 6:30 am and immediately yawned/shook. Maybe five minutes from waking up. Almost like having goosebumps and shaking.

nk - I also have the yawning and yawning in the morning is NORMAL. I also have the shaking first thing on awakening. It happened like clockwork every morning for weeks, then stopped for weeks, came back for a few days and is now gone again. It is not unusual with bfs, but never heard of it with als.

but why do you read horror stories? what do you know about the people writing this stories? can you asses a population rate of those stories (how often they happen)? Do you know that people always distort a bit (and often alot) what they believe to remember 100 %?look, ALS is the disease at which of course patients appear to be really reluctant to go to neuro (this is reported quite often) despite on obvious neurological loss, but still, it is so debilitating, that vast majority of patients nowadays (and this is at lweast the last 50 years or so) are registered in medical records so stats are very proven and settled. We all (and the doctors) know quite well how the onset of ALS usually happens (in all varieties), what age groups are more prone to ALS, we all know two or three exceptional outliers like Mr. Hawking (who both had unusually early onset and incredibly long survival). People having unusual ALS onsets or courses become a subjects of medical journals publications and are well known. So all this forms a stats which say: 4-6 months without any sign of specific neural damage - and you do not need even an EMG in most cases. As for what you can read on the forums... I personally had seen on our local ALS forum tons of people obviously suffering with benign fascics and obsessive disorder, and moderating neurologist had really to push them out becasue they were annoying and persistent and full of belief they have ALS and just need a good non-stupid neuro to be diagnosed and get their death sentence. So you never know really who is writing such horror stories and why and if they are self-diagnosed or not.We had here a fellow who was so much convinced he has ALS that our moderators really had to ask him to provide a copy of medical conclusion or so... Some time ago that person came back and told us that he really had severe obsessive disorder and that he apologises for mischief and misleading posts and comments, and that there is no ALS in his case and that he undergoes proper phsychological treatment for his actual disease (obsession).so this is a good example of the fact that those horror stories must not be taken too close as they may be 1) not true 2) distort the real situation with the person writing the story 3) percieved by you in your case as horro and related to yourself while all people are not the same and what had happened to one person not necessarily may happen to another one.unfortunately, in our diosrder, in BFS, anxoety is a very frequent comorbidity, and our criticality is low... so do not expose yourself to horro stories elsewhere. come here we have a lot of antihorror stories - tons of people suffering like you and now healthy

It’s incredible how people can spend months or years fearing a disease while never developing the main and hallmark symptom of that disease which is weakness. It’s like fearing deafness while hearing very well. If someone let’s say have a stomach pain and fears a stomach cancer. He goes to his doc, the doc undertake an Endoscopy and tells him “No Cancer”. If the guy still fears cancer, then his case stops to be a gastroenterologist case and becomes a psychiatric case. It’s the same here. Someone can never develop the main symptom of ALS which is weakness, can get all the reassurance of zillion of neurologists, and still be freaked out of ALS. At that point I don’t think we can talk anymore about BFS, CFS, PNH, ALS, MS, or any other neurological condition, but we should start considering depression, hypochondria, health anxiety, general anxiety disorder, nospohobia, PTSD etc.Yesterday on TV they were talking about the ex-number 1 French tennis player Jerome Golmard who was recently diagnosed with ALS at age 40. When I heard about his case I found how different a typical ALS case can be from all what we read here. It also joins what Gracely said about ALS patients being reluctant to see a doc. At no point Jerome mentioned anything related to twitching, cramping, or sensory stuff. He said it all started in July last year with extreme fatigue and balance problems. He described fatigue as being forced to sleep 14 to 16 hours per day, not the kind of fatigue where we feel a little lack of energy. Two months later in September he started falling, tripping and couldn’t run anymore. In November after 4 months of very concerning symptoms he started noticing atrophy in his left leg (Atrophy months after weakness, not like what people on this board seems to think: You can get atrophy everywhere and still climb the Himalaya bare hands) . He went to the doctor in December (5 months after very obvious and concerning symptoms), and was diagnosed mid-January 2014. In February he was in a wheelchair. And today less than a year after the onset of his symptoms his legs are completely paralyzed except for the big toes.This is how ALS works, Fast and obvious. Not months or years of odd feelings, unclear symptoms and wondering.

Wow, I see. Hard to change your ways after months. I mean, even today I seem clumsy as I dropped two things in two minutes and have intense knee pain since yesterday. Somehow my mind instantly runs to the worst I can find..

My anxiety seems a bit over the top since I couldn't sleep last night and the twitching got worse as the night progressed. I also seemed clumsy/somewhat sick at work yesterday. Knocked over some blood filled tubes twice.