BFS After Miscarriage: Causes?

[usysparawl]

Amy,

My twiching started up a few months after a miscarriage. I'm also experiencing hair loss which can be indicative of a thyroid/hormonal imbalance. I do think there are many causes of BFS, and I plan to have my hormones and thyroid tested in August.

I've also read where dehydration and/or vitamin deficiencies can cause it. I also have popping joints which can also be indicative of dehydration and or deficiencies. (My x-rays were normal.)

Further, I just lost alot of weight on Atkins. Several folks here said their BFS began after Atkins . . . this could also explain my hair loss. And a PT told me that substantial weight loss can cause . . . TWITCHING SENSATIONS cause the muscles are contracting back to their original size after being stretched out.

So, there are many possibilities for me . . . including stress.

Peg

 

[twitchamy]

JG (furballfury),
Thanks so much for the post. It's good to hear your experience. I confess that while I'd love to find an answer for what's causing my 'bfs', I admit I won't be surprised if my endocrine pursuit results in a 'normal' diagnosis.

My main personal justification for wanting to look this direction is because of my postive ANA test. It could also turn out that I have two separate conditions, and fixing one may not do a darn thing to fix the other.

I like your approach to this condition and to life. I can tell you've been dealing with this beast for a while.

I also really like your PT's analogy. From reading this board, I can tell a LOT of us here are exactly the same way.

I notice that most posts on this board are knowledgable and very well written, indicating a lot of intelligent (and probably borderline perfectionist types) are among us. We are thinkers...and we probably think too deep for our own good, right???

Lots of us have kids....which is in-and-of-itself a huge life changing experience. I bet a lot of us not only worry about our kids, but also worry about ourselves more than ever....simply because we want to make sure we're around to raise and nurture them.

Interestingly, my neuro asked me point-blank: "Do you stay home with your kids?" (my reply: yes) and then she said: "Maybe you should consider going back to work....not because I think the kids are causing you stress, but because you need an outlet for your mind."

She could be right. I do crave time when I can utilize my mind. I went to college, and I worked for six years before I had my boys. I didn't start twitching until after my second child. So, basically, while I like to think I maintain good control, my life is a mix of joy and worry....with no mental outlet to keep my mind occupied for a stretch of time during the days. Of course, I'm not stating that raising kids is mindless (it's the most rewarding and most important job ever). There's just a big difference in lifestyle between working and staying home (trading executive meetings for Barney, you know??)

I do intend to stay home until my kids are all in school, but I don't doubt that the lifestyle change might have affected me.

Funny enough, I do the newspaper crossword every morning for some non-teletubby mind stimulation....and I don't think I ever twitch when I do it. (or I'm not noticing it). When I spend time talking with or going out with friends...hardly twitch. Read a good book at night...hardly any twitching. Keeping busy with my kids...hardly any. Sitting home for long periods and contemplating too much....twitch twitch twitch. Humm??? Pattern here?

JG, sounds like you're tackling a heck of a lifestyle with the job, travel, kids etc. That's a lot of pressure (mentally and physically)...and like your PT said...too much voltage going on. We all need outlets! Heck, if California has another power crisis, they could plug into this board.

Bottom line, life balance is a tough cookie...especially for everyone on this board. We're all smart enough to know better, but we let anxiety get the best of us at times (I'd surmise this is the case for ALL of us, BFS or not). The crappy part about anxiety is that it's not so easy to recognize--and VERY easy to deny. You can have the same personality for thirty years...then suddenly one day you wake up twitching. What's that about?? I'm still coming to grips with the fact that I DO have a certain level of anxiety....and probably always had, since it runs heavily in my family. I just never knew it until it decided to manifest itself physically in my body. So far, I'm avoiding the SSRI's...tried em for a couple days and hated every second. Minimal xanax helps me out (and I'm talking half a pill only once a month--if that) if I feel an anxiety attack coming on. I'd like to stay free of medicines...another perfectionist trait eh? However, if they can come up with one that eliminates these twitches, without any addicitve qualities and NO SSRI-type side effects....I'm game for trying it out. I know I'm dreaming there!!

Anyway, keep the good posts coming. You're a very good voice of reason on this board!

Amy

 

[garymills]

Amy,

Along those same lines, the last neuro I saw at the MDA/AlS clinic at Baylor College of med. said that patients with a high level of intelligence are the hardest to convince that they have bfs.

I couldn't figure out why I had such a hard time then ) !

Gary

 

[furballfury]

Amy-

Thanks for the kind post. That was really nice.

Your whole message, especially the last paragraph, was SO true and very much in tune with what I think too. You know, I really always equated "anxiety" with that knot in the pit of your stomach feeling and general uneasiness that I've experienced from time to time. So, if I don't feel that, and have no "dread", I'm relaxed right?

Now, with a little perspective and a look back, it's pretty easy to see that those sleepless nights working or taking care of infant children don't come free. Those adrenaline rushes to prep for a critical presentation or meet a big deadline DO engage the central nervous system. Constantly thinking two steps ahead of your next move, be it at home trying to be the best parent you can be, or at the office mutli-tasking like a fiend, means your brain is filled with sensory impulses, "noise" and triggered responses almost every minute of every day - constantly. This IS stress - even for those of us who feel better denying our weaknesses.

I did that intentionally, by the way. I now know stress/anxiety and mental fatigue AREN'T weaknesses at all. There are far too many of us who have fallen victim to thinking stress/anxiety are things we can control and giving in to it is a sign of mental weakness. Wrong. Every person every day encounters stress - more and more in huge doses. It's how we respond to it, recognize it, and train ourselves to KNOW OUR LIMITATIONS that separate out the B type personalities from the A's. I've lived 34 years convinced I have NO limitations, and the key to being a good husband, father, professional, etc. is "paying your dues", being strong during the rough times, and working hard to secure your family's future - financially, spiritually, etc. Now I'm paying for that go at all costs attitude, and I suspect many of my friends on this board are too. There's nothing wrong with us - in fact, when my neuro reminded me that the unlucky ones never have their bodies send even a signal until the A+ voltage causes something serious to go wrong, I really was startled "awake" - stop feeling down because your knee looks like Jell-O all the time, just accept what your body is trying to say! Now that I've accepted the twitches as a sort of friendly "reminder" and acknowledged that my body was trying to tell me something, I've been blessed with two straight twitch free days! (no, there's no miracle cure - just really becoming convinced that understanding the power of the mind and accepting the needs/messages of the body as it ages will put many of us in a much better place).

I was blessed - great doctors, good communication from and BETWEEN them throughout this experience, successful test results, supportive family, access to physical therapy, etc. I had it easy. I share still with this board because I believe just hearing a pattern of success and hope sometimes is all people really need to shake the "funk" and start building a foundation. I loved your post Amy because I hear/see a lot of that in your approach to this - and you're a lot less further along (timewise) than me. We all have days - I may have a doozy tomorrow, who knows? - where we feel anything but lucky with this stuff, but believe me, if these are the crosses we've been given to bear, we are truly, truly fortunate.

Smile when you take care of those kids tomorrow - and good luck on 7 across!!

JG

 

[furballfury]

"We are thinkers...and probably think too much for our own good, right???!"

No truer words ever spoken (and yes, I did stop to think if "truer" was really a word...BLECH!).

JG

 

[twitchamy]

This has been some fun conversation! Thanks for the great posts, and also thanks again for the awesome moral support! I've been twitching a little less the past few days (my recent hot-spot between my left thumb and forefinger is finally calming down). Hope another one doesn't pop up soon...but if it does, I'll be able to handle it, no problem.

Amy