Calming Down: Twitching and Vertigo

[santos271]

Hey guys:Not a twitching question! My twitching has died down quite a bit. Other than the instep last week (which I still get some during the day) and the eye for the past day or two (which has finally calmed down), my twitches have been pretty sporadic and random. Nothing like they were at the height of my ALS panic.My problems right now center on my dizziness/vertigo and strange sensations in my leg. I've had vertigo for 10 years, and lately it's seem to get more prevalent, though less acute (I don't feel like I"m going to fall down). I recognize I have severe anxiety. I have noticed that when I'm upset or particularly anxious, I start to feel a dizzy spell coming on. For example, this morning I had a huge fight with my husband, and while I was in the middle of it, started to feel dizzy. I also notice it happening when I'm a bit nervous, like if I'm about to give a presentation at work or speak in front of a group. Sometimes, it happens if I laugh really hard!!!! I recognize that b/c of this, it could suggest anxiety/stress as a cause. Could a physiological cause also cause such results? I mean, would benign vertigo caused by a middle ear problem come on during periods of strong emotion (both bad and good)? Or am I a complete nut?RE: the sciatica. My right leg has been having weird sensation lately - kind of like chills or goosebumps for no reason, and sometimes tingly. It, along with the reduced twitching has made me fear ALS a bit less and fear MS more. I notice though that I feel some sort of tightness deep in my butt/lower back, where the sciatic nerve runs. I'm wondering if this could be related to the sciatic nerve, even though I don't have really any "pain." I've read the main symptom of sciatica is pain, often intense. I feel more of just a tightness in that area - like I desperately want to twist and crack my lower back on that side. Does any one know of you can have sciatica without pain?FYI: I am seeing a neuro on the 27th. Terrifed to do it, but I feel finally like I have to. Thanks much,Joanne

 

[cindyandco]

Hi, what you are describing with the vertigo is exactly how I have it too. Is it positional for you? Mine usually is, but not always. I can almost promise you it is stress related. Mine gets worse when I am really anxious. It can also be due to too much fluid in your inner ear. The GP told me something about the little bones in there not being able to float properly when you switch positions. I was prescribed Meclazine and it usually helps. I have kinda gotten used to it, so unless the room is really spinning, I just go with it. I had a cat scan a few years ago for my sinuses and since I've had this problem sporatically since my 30s and nothing showed on the scan, I figure its benign. Thats what the md said. HOpe this helps.Cindy

 

[santos271]

Vertigo - yeah, sometimes it's positional (like if I move or turn quickly), sometimes it's emotionally triggered, other times it appears for no reason whatsoever. When it first appeared 10 years ago,and in the years since, I had much more severe spells - the room would twist to one side and I had to hold on to something or fall down. It sometimes happened when I was driving and I had to pull over. I haven't had an intense spell like that in quite a while, but they seem to last longer, and happen more often. I'd actually rather have the more severe spells sporadically like I used to, then have it less severe, almost all the time!!!

 

[NinaC2005]

Hi 123jla123456. I'm glad to hear you're going to visit the neuro; I'm sure it will do far more to calm you and reassure you than you realize. I, like you, heistated for some time. Then, the carpal/cubital tunnel symptoms in my arms became so acute I couldn't function fully at the office and in I went. So, I used that as a rather convenient opportunity to get into my twitching--and all turned out well, on that front, anyway.As to the vertigo, while I did not experience it nearly as long as you have, at the height of my anxiety (pre-meds), I experienced prolonged bouts of dizziness and lightheadedness. At one point I thought I was on the verge of a stroke. My GP, exasperated, ordered an ultrasound of my carotid arteries ("immaculate" was his conclusion) and at that point, he diagnosed me with anxiety and mild depression. A psychologist subsequently confirmed that. Within a few weeks of starting on Wellbutrin and seeing a "shrink," the dizziness and lightheadedness disappeared (though if I'm really sleep-deprived, I still get relatively short bouts of dizziness). So in my case, at any rate, anxiety seemed to be the single greatest cause of my symptoms and it's quite possible it is, at the least, a contributor to yours.Finally, I also have sciatic pain down my right leg (hey, maybe we're twins! ), a condition I'm going to discuss with the neuro during my follow up at the end of this month. My GP already suspects disc compression at L4/L5, and the pain comes and goes. I can't say with any authority whether one needs to feel pain for it to be sciatica; the tightness you feel could also be stress/anxiety-related, as my back also tends to "lock up" when I'm really wound up over something--just like right after I went to WebMD 5 months ago to look up "twitching!" My neuro recommended physical therapy, something I'll finally begin after I return from a trip overseas early next month. You're not a nut! Clearly, our emotional health can affect the physical and we get on this roller coaster where the anxiety creates, say, twitching, which in turns feeds the anxiety, which feeds the twitching, and on and on. Overall, I think you'll find hearing the good diagnosis you're going to get from your neuro will certainly help calm some of these other symptoms. There may be other physical causes of your vertigo, but if my experience is any indication, anxiety can crank those symptoms up like any other.Hang in there--you're in good company and you'll overcome this.Mark

 

[NinaC2005]

BTW--when I say "other physical cause," given the symptoms you describe, I mean something benign, as Cindy points out. My doc said it could also be related to eyesight as well; I went to the eye doctor shortly thereafter and sha-zaam, I needed new glasses (bifocals, no less :crying: ). I can almost tell if a bout will come on, too, and if I turn too quickly, I get that spinning feeling, sometimes in passing, sometimes it might stick around a bit. But for me, my doctors tell me stress brought on the room-spiing dizziness and the lightheadedness that characterized my "good" days.Mark

 

[santos271]

Well the neuro's office just called and said they had a cancellation so my appt is now set for next Friday at 1:30. Of course, my hypochondriac brain says, "This is a sign!" and that of course I must have something really bad or the "universe" would not have moved my appt up for me. (OK - those of you who said I wasn't a nut - are you reconsidering that now? )I just went to lunch with a friend of mine and started getting a weird feeling on the right side of my face. Not tingly or numb, just weird - like maybe flushed or heavier or something, but only on the right side. It seems most of my symptoms appear on my right side, or more often on my right side. Still freaking out, and desperately trying not to. Of course I'm worried about a bad diagnosis from this appt, but I also worry about just not getting any reassurance and being sent for more tests - or even having the doctor suggest some bad diagnosis that I wasn't even aware of. Ok, now I'm rambling - I'm basically afraid of everything - except him/her telling me, "I can't find a thing wrong with you. You're fine. It's anxiety." I understand that annoys some people - OH, I WOULD LOVE THAT!!!!

 

[cindyandco]

Sweetie, our minds can convince us of just about anything. I wake up every morning with a strange burning sort of feeling on my face. I think I grind my teeth in my sleep, but I just knew I had MS. Well, I don't. If you think his escalation of your appointment is a sign, well, maybe it is. Maybe, it is a sign that HE (meaning God) wants you to be relieved of this worry. Just maybe, you'll find out for certain that nothing serious is wrong. Just maybe, it will all be okay Cindy

 

[santos271]

Ugh - I really hope so. I hate living like this. I suppose it's better to worry about my own health than that of someone I love, but I am so tired of this. Really, so so tired.

 

[hCapitalize]

My Dr says the problem in my left leg is sciatica, not that I am totally convinced, but for what it is worth the symptoms started with numbness and pins and needles in the toes. Sometimes I get a pain in my lower back and sometimes the hip, which tends to spread down the leg and sometimes all the way to the toes. It has been quite bad lately.I also feel less stable on that leg, like it does not want to bear as much weight as the other one. It feels weaker and fatigues more easily though there is nothing to suggest that it is weaker. I don't know a great deal about it, but I guess that maybe the way it screws with the sensations in the foot is what leads to the feeling of instability because I cannot be sure I am putting my foot on the ground properly if I can't feel it all.I have heard others say that the instability is something you get with sciatica.

 

[onesMJonesy]

Hi Joannela,I'm just writing to comment about sciatica. I have bulging discs and compressed nerves in my lower back. About 5 years ago I had severe sciatica which left in a complete state of pain and unable to walk. Leading up to this I had the same symptoms that you are experiencing such as tightness deep in the butt and tingling. This can also happen with problems with your sacroiliac joint as the nerve, I believe passes that area (I'm no expert). My suggestion to you is to go have some physiotherapy. By all means go to your doctor have it looked at as well. All you may need is some anti-inflammatory medication. I had physio and it helped me enormously. So with regards to your sensations you describe don't get yourself too worried about that because sure it may be a problem at the moment but it really is treatable. Don't think that it is anything nasty.Maria

 

[InkedMama]

My Obgyn pinpointed that my baby/uterus/all that good stuff has been putting pressure on my sciatica nerve. It hurts...NO DOUBT and can cause VERY ODD SENSATIONS!