Common Anxiety and Obsession with ALS Symptoms

[Imagrandma]

I have read many of the posts here and I find besides fasciculations and cramping we all have some other things in common. We all seem to be anxious and obsessive. Were you all like this prior to the symptoms or is it as a result of the symptoms? I have always been what I call a high strung person and a worry wart. I can remember thinking I had enlarged lymph nodes in my groin years back. My son who is now 26 was about 4 at the time. He has always been thin and he was what I used to compare normal lymph nodes. Besides him being the thinnest the older kids wouldn't let me near them LOL Poor kid I would lay him out on the floor and poke at his lymph nodes then I would go in my room and poke at myself. Well I have always had irritable bowel syndrome and this worry made it worse and I ended up dehydrated. I can laugh now but I was terrified at the time. I have always been interested in the medical field. I passed this on to my kids who are all neurotic. My oldest daughter became a pharmacist, I knew one of them would end up in the field of medicine.
Twitching is a weird thing to experience and I think it can make even the most stable person obsess. I also believe anyone who is experiencing it on a regular basis should have it checked by a GOOD Neurologist more for peace of mind than anything else. Now when I twitch I do not have panic attached to it. I have quit measuring my legs and all those other self tests. I read a story once on the net written by a doctor who developed fascics and cramps, he practically drove himself crazy for years before he finally went to a neuro, he was fine. My own gp developed fascics after he saw mine, he told me he also suffers from anxiety.
I am sorry I am rambling on, I tend to do that. These are just my thoughts and opinions
Laurie

 

[ristinaL91]

Hi Laurie,

I always wondered that same thing. I posted a while back asking the same question. I think it was titled something like " how many of you have been scared of other diseases " or something close to that. If you look around you will find it. I think something like 60 responses. You will be amazed at how many of us suffer from anxiety....not just from this twitching scare. Although this seems to be the granddaddy of all the scares.

Welcome to you, and thanks for sharing your story with us !

ristinaL91

 

[WreckedBug25]

Hi Laurie,

I think that the people who post here everyday will probably agree that they suffer from ocd or anxiety. I mean after all, they post here everyday. There is also another group of people, myself included who check in every so often (mostly for comraderie) or for updates. I can say that I have not and do not suffer from either. (Don't get me wrong, the 3 weeks while I waited for an emg were hell, but once I got a dx it was very easy to accept). There is probably a third groups of bfsr's who never thought twice about their twitches and would never consider coming to a site like this. So if your asking if bfs and anxiety go hand in hand I think the answer is no. I do think however that the people who post here everyday and have to use *** to represent the word ALS may have a problem. Just my humble opinion. I am glad you found the site and hope it brings you peace.