Anxiety and Muscle Twitching Worries

[tonguebutler]

Hi! I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder 5 months ago. I have a lot of twitches all over my body (arms, legs, feet, eyelids, lips, chest, on my back, etc...) It started 3 months ago. I did a research on the internet about muscle twitching and I found out that this can be ALS. It freaked me out. My anxiety became worse. I dont have any weakness or atrophy yet. I also have shortness of breath especially when lying down. Can this be the early signs of ALS??? Help me plz! Im just 16 years old. Im so scared to death.

Thanks.

 

[RyanBabz]

Your shortness of breath is coming from your mind...I also did this right after I started twitching all over..2 years ago. I had to go to the ER as I hyperventilated and I "felt" I was not breathing right. This was very scary for me, so try not to think about it...easier said than done. If you cannot breathe, by all means go to the ER. They had to actually tell me that my O2 level was normal for me to calm down...my hands tensed up so much I could not move them (CO2 retention)....breathing in more than out.

You are only 16 years old...don't put yourself through this...you need to seek a counselor in my opinion. I bottled everyhting up at your age, and ended up with a severe bleeding ulcer and nearly died from it at 20 years old...I'm 30 now...hang in there and don't hold things in!

Take care!

Ryan

 

[Savage185]

i feel for u i am in the same boat i am 22 years old and have been diagnosed with gad about 4 months ago and also bcfs by a neuro i just cant seem to belive what they are saying but theres no way a 16 year old has als or a 22 year old for that matter

 

[Carter69]

I agree with Eric - you must eliminate things like Lyme and other neuro related diseases first. See a neuro first!!

But my bet is that your twitching is coming from stress and anxiety - especially with being diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder. Could this be any more apparrent? ALS should be the furthest thing from your mind right now... if your read the BFS IN A NUTSHELL section before you posted...



... you would know that twitching is a secondary symptom in isolated areas (usually legs first) AFTER measureable weakness in your muscles. AND it does not get better the next day. Twitching isn't even that noticebal with ALS victims - it's NOT a primary symptom. PLUS - only 30,000 in the enitre USA has ALS... 30,000 out of 290 million. And 90-95% of them get it after age 50!!! You have nothing to worry about as far as ALS goes.

What you need to do is address your anxiety disorder. There are ways to address this issue, both with meds and without. My advise is to start without meds. Things like excercise, meditation and seeing a therapist could be helpful. Wiping out all the uneccessary "clutter" and "noise" in your life can help. If not, there are still a myriad of ways to address your anxiety.

Also, focus on your life, your friends, on doing stuff.. get and and play.., have some fun!! Trust me... the more you focus on your symtoms, the more they will reveal themselves. Read the posts on this board... people who worry cause more worry and see more symptoms.

Best of luck. Let us know how you progress.