Doctors Appointment: One Year Update

[CosmicVisitor]

This post is only to convey the input from my Doctor at the one year mark. Nothing frightning, but if you are new to this it isn't really worth reading.

I got a phone call a few days back from my Neuro's office reminding me of an appointment I had long forgotten. This couldn't have come at a better time for me because I have so many questions.
We went over all of the symptoms that have come and gone over the past year,but onlyone remains the same "twitching". From tremors to weakness, buzzing, jolting feelings and on and on...
The problem is he said, there is no single illness that can easily explain these signs and symptoms.
I asked him what his honest opinion about BFS was. He is certian that muscle twitching can be caused by underlying conditions like dozens of autoimmune disorders as well as Neuropathies. Stress alone cannot manifest true fasciculations. Can stress play a role?, of course stress can trigger many disorders to become chronic.
He went on to say that widespread twitching is more likely due to a systemic illness so it is very unlikely to be from an injury. The funny thing is that ALS wasn't up there at the top of the list, Thyroid disorders are though.
He said he would first suspect metabolic imbalances. Sometimes a drug, and illness(flu/fever)can wack out your system and it can take it a very long time to get back on track.
I will not get a BFS diagnosis until he has exhausted every path available to his knowledge to get an explanation.
I was very happy with my visit because I know what I do not have, and whatever else it may be is more than likely going to run its course and go away or be treatable.
next course of action.... get healthy.. body and mind

 

[totaltwirls]

Glad to hear all went well. What other tests did he indicate he would run to diagnose the underlying manifestations? I did have my thyroid tested early on in my symptoms; however, only at the TSH level. I did not have the individual T tests such as T3 and T4, but have an annual appointment with "my female doctor" next month so I plan on asking her about it. When I last visited her a few months back she indicated that hormonal imbalances can definitely set off these types of symptoms and the primary thing we discussed, in my case, was menopause. I think I am going to ask for a hormone level panel to be run next month and see what comes up. With all of my neurological testing, I think I am ok in that regard, although sometimes it is difficult for me to go on believing all these symptoms are benign (particularly when I am very symptomatic, like this week), but I am not worried about ALS anymore, but do worry, at times, about other things that were not tested. My sister-in-law had a severe case of hyperthyroidism and it took the physician a year to diagnose her. Over that period, she had lost significant weight, twitched like crazy and then finally started to have the slightly bulging eyes, as in the former President Bush's wife's case. She couldn't believe it took them so long to diagnose her, but she originally had normal TSH levels, but it was at the individual levels when they finally found it and then did something about it and she is fine now. I think, sometimes thyroid and parathyroid can be difficult to diagnose because the levels may affect different people differently. Some can be at the high of normal and be fine, when others may experience symptoms and the same with the lower end of the spectrum.

Thanks for the information and continue to keep us posted. )

 

[jsageurge]

This is a good post, because it points out real issues that should be considered, rather than extremely unlikely or imagined scenarios. I agree that stress is not likely a direct cause of these symptoms, but very likely to contribute or worsen the symptoms. In my own personal experience I started twitching at a time when there was zero stress (although, it was shortly after a 2 week ear infection). Recently, I went through a very stressful week when my mother was in the ICU in critical condition. Without a doubt, I was twitching a lot more, and it has since gone back to the previous level. It clearly aggravated it, but did not cause it.

Autoimmune disorders are very common, and it is well known that stress (especially if you are prone to chronic stress or anxiety) does have en affect on the immune system. You can find many sources that discuss this, here is one example:



The autoimmune system responds to any virus or infection, even if you are fighting one off, without being aware of it.

Cheers,
-Bill