Constant Twitching for 5-6 Months

[GrizzlyLeader]

Ive whined and moaned for the past 3 months now. Ive had emg's at 2 months and 5 months into the 1st sign of twitching. The thing is, the place I noticed my 1st symptoms, has never gone away for a single day. It started in my right calf, halfway between the ankle and the knee, close to the shin bone. At 1st, there was a small rippling to the group of muscles. Over the past 5 to 6 months, the rippling has gotten harder and stronger, making my foot move and causing it to cramp. I keep telling myself that if it was something bad causing the issue with my calf, then I would be having severe weakness issues (after 5 to 6 months)with that group of muscles. They feel like they are being pulled back and forth, not a twitch at all. Just steadily have gotten worse. There are times that it calms down next to nothing, but always theres something there. I have twitched almost everywhere possible, but this place is what really concerns me. I read where localized is bad, if it never goes away, its bad. Maybe my back problem explains this, I dont know. All I know, If it keeps getting worse, Its going to get ugly. Any comments....

 

[Krackersones]

I think I've read every post on this board and nonstop calf twitching seems to be the classic symptom here. There are so many with this for years and years and no weakness so the continual nature of the situation is not a bad sign. I have had a continual twitch in my left hand for over a year. Nothing the neuro did could make it stop. The muscle hasn't changed and it has not effected any of my hand function. The twitch actually has a name, palmaris brevis spasm, and is usually a problem people have independently of anything else and is listed in the literature as totally benign. I mention this because it is proof that a muscle can continuously twitch but not be damaged by the twitching.

 

[GrizzlyLeader]

I just recieved a copy of my emg and nc test. In the findings portion of the report, it states:Needle emg examination of the selected right upper extremity and lower extremity muscles showed rare fasciculations in the gastrocnemius, motor units of increased amplitude and/or duration in the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius with normal recruitment. (greek to me)Her impression or conclusion was:Mild chronic nuerogenic changes in calf muscle with rare fasciculations in the gastrocnemius could reflect a chronic lumbar radiculopathy. So she did see some fasciculations, but stated I had a clean emg? The area she mentioned is where Ive had the basically non stop problems. As I mentioned, I do have low back issues that require surgery, but I still have body wide crap that is running wild, Anybody make sense of this report....

 

[Krackersones]

I think you should pose your questions to the neuro which I'm sure you know to do. I think it is good that the abnormalities/irregularities on the EMG can be explained by your back problems. However, if you are having similar problems other places the questions are then: (1) Are the two problems related or coincidental? (2) If they are related could the back problem explain both? (3) If the back problem does not explain both, does it makes since to do the surgery if the problem is not likely the back and the main hope for the surgery is to get rid of back symptoms that are similar to the other body symptoms.(4) If the back problem does not explain both, what might explain it and what treatments or tests might be recommended based on those possibilities.If your doctor does not seem experienced in dealing with and treating the symptoms you have, try to see someone who is. I found this made all the difference for me in terms of at least feeling like my situation was being properly and thoroughly analyzed.

 

[GrizzlyLeader]

The back surgery was always and will be due to chronic back pain, not the twitching. It would be nice to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. The back issues supposedly would not cause any symptoms in my upper body. Im just hoping the whole issue with my calf is due to the back. Seems too coincidental that I have the whole body thing going on due to my back.

 

[Krackersones]

Sorry to hear you have chronic back pain. My husband has that from football, drumming, and working construction. He has gone through a lot to deal with the pain (lying down in weird positions, exercises, hot tubs, chiropractor, etc). I know this can really be a struggle. I hope the surgery at least gets rid of the pain. Once I got rid of the discomfort from my twitching, the other issues of what the heck it is were easier to deal with.