Grateful for Muscle Twitching Help

First of all thank God for this site, thank God for this site. It has let me get some sleep over the past three weeks. I started twitching about 3 weeks ago. Didn't think much of it at first, but when it didn't go away, I became a little concerned. I had twitches before, but never noticed them lasting very long. I of course as with most of you, googled muscle twitching. What I found horrified me. My heart thumped out of my chest and the twitches immediately got worse. Literaly just sitting there, as I was staring at the computer, they got worse. It got so I was twitching from head to toe. My face, tongue shoulders, calves. You name it, it twicthed. After several searches, I thankfully found this site, which eased my fears on most days. However I continued to twitch. I found myself constantly checking for weakness, and in turn, made my muscles sore, and of course felt weak. Even though I realized I was doing this to myself, and making my muscles tired, I couldn't help but think the worst. I am married with a 19mo old. I lived in fear daily that I would be dying soon and leaving my daughter and husband. The fear is just crippling. I couldn't think rationally or function. Finally, I made an appointent with my MD last Monday. The first thing she asked was "are you getting enough sleep?" She said there are many causes of muscle twitching, and lack of sleep is one of them. Which I haven't been getting much of, especially since the twitching started. Might I mention, my blood pressure was way above what's normal for me. This was due to the stress I have been under going through all of this. She also said that stress is a factor. She examined me, checked my reflexes and did a number of strength tests. She said my strength was better than most men she sees. She told me if it doesn't go away in two weeks, that she would send me to a neuro, but she really felt that I was fine. She did not seem at all concerned that it was anything serious. I told her that I had googled muscle twitching and was terrified by what I found. She laughed and said that when she was going through medical school she thought she had symptoms of alot of diseases. I left there feeling better, but not completely relieved. Why is it that even though we are told by a doctor that we are fine we just continue to worry about this? Everything I have read should completely reassure me that this is not that dreaded disease, but I still can't seem to stop worrying about it. I should add that I was diagnosed with celiac disease a few months ago. I did read that muscle twitching is a symptom due to malabsorption of vitamins and minerals. I have been supplementing with cal/mag and a multivitamin and B12. I do notice that the twitching is less. I tell myself, "well if the twitching is less than what it was, then I couldn't have that dreaded disease". Just to reveiw all of my sypmtoms, which are so much like everyone else's. I have twitching randomly throughout my body. Even the private parts. Some twitches stay in one area for awhile, while others pop up at random. Some are strong, some are not. They happen when I'm at rest, either sitting, standing or laying down. I do not notice them when I'm moving around. I get tingling and numbness in my fingers and toes at times. My muscles get sore easily, but I think that is from all those strength tests I've been doing. I do get stressed easily. I worry alot, especially since having a baby. I worry about her health, my health and my husband's. I have a history of panic attacks and anxiety. I hope this has helped someone. I'm debating whether or not to follow up with my doctor if it doesn't go away. Some how I feel it is never going to go away. Even though she thinks I'm fine, I am terrified to go to a neurologist. Any recommendations about that? Thank you all so much for your previous posts. Like I said they helped me to get some rest at night, and ease my fears. Just reading that so many others have the same exact symptoms as me is truly comforting.
 
hello--thanks for sharing your story. i would make a neuro appointment anyway because they are so hard to get to see so a couple weeks headstart is a good thing..... i think it is good to be seen by a neuro because twitching has a lot of "causes" and you should be looked at ( not for deadly disease but just for regular issues) -- i am not sure why your md chose " a couple of weeks " as a marker-- but , dont worry if your twitches dont go away in a couple of weeks-- many of us have been twitching for months or years. if you ARE lucky enough to have them go away, then you just cancel the appointment.... good luck and we all look forward to hearing good reports from you in the future.
 
hello--thanks for sharing your story. i would make a neuro appointment anyway because they are so hard to get to see so a couple weeks headstart is a good thing..... i think it is good to be seen by a neuro because twitching has a lot of "causes" and you should be looked at ( not for deadly disease but just for regular issues) -- i am not sure why your md chose " a couple of weeks " as a marker-- but , dont worry if your twitches dont go away in a couple of weeks-- many of us have been twitching for months or years. if you ARE lucky enough to have them go away, then you just cancel the appointment.... good luck and we all look forward to hearing good reports from you in the future.
 
hello--thanks for sharing your story. i would make a neuro appointment anyway because they are so hard to get to see so a couple weeks headstart is a good thing..... i think it is good to be seen by a neuro because twitching has a lot of "causes" and you should be looked at ( not for deadly disease but just for regular issues) -- i am not sure why your md chose " a couple of weeks " as a marker-- but , dont worry if your twitches dont go away in a couple of weeks-- many of us have been twitching for months or years. if you ARE lucky enough to have them go away, then you just cancel the appointment.... good luck and we all look forward to hearing good reports from you in the future.
 
Your story is all to familiar, especially the googling part. Remember, ALS rarely presents with twitching, people with it will start dropping things, or tripping and falling for no reason. I had all three Neurlogist over the years ask me the same questions, "are you falling down" "are you dropping things". I personally believe if what I have is truly begnin, it was caused by a prolonged level of stress and anxiety, which it appears you have some history with. I do not care what you do for a living, wether you are President of the United States or work at Mcdonalds, depending how much pressure you put on yourself or allow to be put on you, the end result for either job can be the same.I recommend you see the neurologist, you mention that you somehow think it is never going to go away, with that you should go. I would make sure the neurologist knows your concerns about ALS, and ask them to tell you why you dont have it, not that you just dont have it, this will help greatly with your piece of mind if the symptoms continue.
 
Your story is similar to mine. My twitching started when my daughter was 5 or 6 months old. At the time I was extremely sleep deprived (and still am) and had the most amount of stress I've ever had in my life (really sick mother etc.). I also had a lot of numbness and tingling. My doctor was awesome. She was very thorough. She said that although these symptoms could be caused by stress, she wanted me to see a neurologist to be sure. I really think you should do the same just to put your mind at rest. I have to admit I was terrified and thought I had MS or ALS and wouldn't be around for my kids. But having gone through the tests (MRI, EMG, evoked potential), I was reassured that it was not something horrible and it was benign.I have since seen an internist (I get the results tomorrow). I am also seeing a neuromuscular specialist. But I am no longer terrified. Once in a while, I get a little bit freaked out but for the most part, I believe it is BFS.Hang in there and think about seeing a neuroligist to put your mind at rest.
 
doglvr: Stress and anxiety are MAJOR players with this thing. You sound like you are just fine. It will take some time to get your mind out of this "stuck" place, but you finally will. Just keeping moving forward, enjoy that baby and take one day at a time. One day it will occur to you that you haven't thought about twitching that day. Also, try hard to get some sleep. You will NOT recover if you don't sleep and rest. Get a baby sitting, sleep when the baby does, whatever it takes. Rest is critical. BlessingsCindy
 
Thank you all so much for your replys. They were very helpful. You are all right, I really should see a neurologist. I just have to get up the courage to do so. I know in my head that this is probably the best thing and will certainly ease my fears once I hopefully find out that I am "ok". I do wish I could just stop thinking about the twitches constantly and get back to the life I had before all of this started. You are all an inspiration to me. Thank you.
 

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