Hi all,
My primary care physician sent me for 3rd opinion with a new neuro. I knew I didn't need to go...but since my insurance okayed the appt. I decided it couldn't hurt. My GP wanted me to follow up for the same reason and to reassure me again that nothing serious was wrong with me.
It was a nice visit. He had all my previous records and exams...so he didn't even examine me. We just sat and talked. I reviewed my symptoms with him and discussed this web site along with the Mayo study. He said that he does have quite a few patients with our same symptoms. He didn't concede the whole 'syndrome' theory. Rather, he just sticks with the word 'benign'. He did shed some good light on the whole thing.
Essentially he said that ANY diagnosis from a doctor is solely meant to determine the next steps of treatment. In many conditions, the doctors don't know what precedes the diagnosis in the first place. For example, he reminded me, millions of people suffer from high blood pressure--and yet the doctors don't know exactly why each patient gets it. Regardless, the docs are able to diagnose the high BP and treat accordingly with medications. In our cases, he said that it doesn't matter what the cause is--whether viral or anxiety or whatever--just the fact that the diagnosis is benign is what is important. From there, treatment is for symptoms only--and sometimes the benzos (esp. klonopin at night according to this doc) are the most helpful.
This makes good sense to me. BFS is still weird--but I'm looking at it as just that--WEIRD but benign. As long as we're twitching, we'll never feel completely 'normal'--but we have to deal with it. I figure I AM normal...just have some weird stuff going on that I don't need to worry about. So on with our lives we go--and we should be THANKFUL that we have nothing else!!
To anyyone here who is twitching like mad and might think that you're the only one with twitches 'so specific' or 'so different from anyone else'...trust me--I've read enough of this board to know that someone on here knows exactly what you're going through. Likely, it's many of us.
This is a benign condition. Finding out the exact cause won't really change anything--because we're just going to have to ride this out no matter what the cause was in the first place. Working on anxiety will certainly help--as well as the knowledge that the twitching will hopefully subside as time passes. If it hangs around for a long time--so what--it's benign. Be thankful that you don't have terminal cancer for now--or better yet, be thankful that your child doesn't have terminal cancer for now. (Not trying to be gloomy--just trying to shake some life perspective into the mix here).
Please everyone, enjoy your day--and ignore the twitching as best you can!
-Amy
My primary care physician sent me for 3rd opinion with a new neuro. I knew I didn't need to go...but since my insurance okayed the appt. I decided it couldn't hurt. My GP wanted me to follow up for the same reason and to reassure me again that nothing serious was wrong with me.
It was a nice visit. He had all my previous records and exams...so he didn't even examine me. We just sat and talked. I reviewed my symptoms with him and discussed this web site along with the Mayo study. He said that he does have quite a few patients with our same symptoms. He didn't concede the whole 'syndrome' theory. Rather, he just sticks with the word 'benign'. He did shed some good light on the whole thing.
Essentially he said that ANY diagnosis from a doctor is solely meant to determine the next steps of treatment. In many conditions, the doctors don't know what precedes the diagnosis in the first place. For example, he reminded me, millions of people suffer from high blood pressure--and yet the doctors don't know exactly why each patient gets it. Regardless, the docs are able to diagnose the high BP and treat accordingly with medications. In our cases, he said that it doesn't matter what the cause is--whether viral or anxiety or whatever--just the fact that the diagnosis is benign is what is important. From there, treatment is for symptoms only--and sometimes the benzos (esp. klonopin at night according to this doc) are the most helpful.
This makes good sense to me. BFS is still weird--but I'm looking at it as just that--WEIRD but benign. As long as we're twitching, we'll never feel completely 'normal'--but we have to deal with it. I figure I AM normal...just have some weird stuff going on that I don't need to worry about. So on with our lives we go--and we should be THANKFUL that we have nothing else!!
To anyyone here who is twitching like mad and might think that you're the only one with twitches 'so specific' or 'so different from anyone else'...trust me--I've read enough of this board to know that someone on here knows exactly what you're going through. Likely, it's many of us.
This is a benign condition. Finding out the exact cause won't really change anything--because we're just going to have to ride this out no matter what the cause was in the first place. Working on anxiety will certainly help--as well as the knowledge that the twitching will hopefully subside as time passes. If it hangs around for a long time--so what--it's benign. Be thankful that you don't have terminal cancer for now--or better yet, be thankful that your child doesn't have terminal cancer for now. (Not trying to be gloomy--just trying to shake some life perspective into the mix here).
Please everyone, enjoy your day--and ignore the twitching as best you can!
-Amy