Hand in Hand: BFS & Anxiety

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ShannyB63

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Hi everyone, just wondering how many of you got bfs first or did you get it after suffering health anxiety or any kind of anxiety for that matter.... :confused: I know I have had health anxiety for most of my life...then I got diagnosed with bfs....I'm starting to wonder if they go hand in hand..what do others think...also I'm not trying to offend anyone I'm the first to admit I am the worlds biggest hypochondriac, even before this all started....best wishes to everyone Shannon :)
 
I think the vast majority of docs do and if honest with themselves most bfsr's will at least admit it is a factor. I personally believe it is the cause of 90% of bfs. I think other things can and probably do cause the nervous system to get tweaked but again I believe the majority of this stuff is from psychological trauma or stress. No offense to any of my fellow bfsr's who believe otherwise, it's just a pertty common thread running through most people who suffer from this.
 
I've had health anxiety since I was 10. I've had BFS since I was 35. I'm now 39.I think that anxiety and unresolved emotions are the cause of the physical manifestations of BFS. As Emilyomouse said, nobody wants to admit this so many people with BFS will protest vigorously about this theory. However, I know that...When I feel the emotion of embarassment, the physical change occurs that my cheeks turn red.When I feel the emotion of fear, the physical change occurs that my pores begin to leak saline in the form of sweating.When I feel the emotion of nervousness, the physical change of cutting off blood supply to my digestive system occurs resulting in all kinds of bad thingsI could name many more. I'm not sure anyone argues with these, so I don't see why it's so hard to think...When I am in a chronic state of feeling the emotion of anxiety, my nerves become hyperexcited and I twitch.
 
It's a bad idea to say that A causes B or B causes A because there is no way to ever prove it. But you would have to be a fool to think that BFS and anxiety aren't somehow related in some way. Just sit there and start worrying that your legs feel weak. Stand up and watch how now they actually -do- feel weak. Welcome to BFS in a nutshell, part 2.
 
I know that a causes b = whatever but that is modern medicine for you. Everyone talks like this because gathering symptoms and test results, highlighting similarities then lumping that patient into a list of the most likely causes classified by presentation and symptoms is how they do it. Not to simplify it but doctors are basically mechanics for the human body. " my car starts okay but dies within 2 minutes, alternator tested and okay, battery seems low but also seems to hold a charge. No water in oil, no oil in fuel, electrical diagnostic throws no codes. Lets change the battery and see what happens. Changed battery and the problem went away. Even though the battery seemed okay, that must have been the problem". I personally am amazed that as much as doctors and science do know, there is still a quagmire of things they have no clue about.
 
I had been experiencing health anxiety for about 6 months when my twitching started. I had been started on an SSRI just prior, as well. In my case I believe it was either the severe anxiety, or the SSRI that triggered this madness.
 
Well, it all started with Anxiety but I don't think that anxiety cause BFS, it has to be more complex process in my opinion. However, anxiety is a big part of it like is said above.
 
I've been told by two neuro's that bfs is not caused by anxiety, but it certainly is a contributing factor to how we and our bodies react to bfs. I for one believe that most of the other stuff, besides the fascics, are a direct result of anxiety and the overwhelming amounts of adrenaline it sends coursing through our bodies......that's my $.02.Take care,Gary
 
That and general anxiety disorder-(GAD)....absolutely agree. Also a major contributor to my IBS, hypertension... the list goes on. Chronic anxiety of any type is bad for you...real bad. cheers & fearsRodgerPS I totally disagree with what those neuros said to you Gary. I am 110% convinced that years and years of chronic anxiety ( and the associated chronic adrenaline flooding and nerve hyper-excitability) started and continues to fuel my BFS....110%
 
I agree with Aussie. Maybe not all but I'd bet 98% of bfs sufferers suffer from anxiety. This is not just the anxiety of life, I'm talking about severe anxiety, GAD or HAD. To go even further, most struggled with severe anxiety for years prior to physical symptoms. I have talked to a few on here who claim they had no anxiety and I have to take those few at their word but other than a few, and I do mean a few, everyone else I've talked to has and has had major anxiety issues for quite a while. Most Fibromyalgia people have the same anxiety factor. I do hear stuff about pesticides and vaccines, etc... which could be valid but I do find it more than ironic that anxiety is such a strong coincidence. My wife had surgery for a brain issue called chiari malformation 1. After the surgery multiple neuros said it was in no way hereditary, they were adamant about it. Well, my son was about to start tackle football and most men who become symptomatic noticed their symptoms after a decent head trauma, many in football. Many people on chiari forums also indicated that their children, parents, uncles, aunts, etc... came to find out they had it too. I went back to her neuro and asked about this info I gathered and he said and I quote " there has been no study done showing any evidence of heredity, absolutely none". Thats when the light went off. Studies cost money and people only spend money to make money. There is no money to be made off of a study like this. Anyway, I paid for the MRI because I felt so strongly about it and low and behold, guess who has chiari malformation 1, my son. I know studies and data are necessary but there are supposed to be ethics involved in medicine. This is why I call their oath the "hypocritical oath". Don't get me wrong, there are still many good doctors out there, but the whole "treat em all like cattle" and " their illness isn't making me sick" attitude is getting old. And thats all I have to say about that.
 
I will not say that anxiety can't cause bfs, in fact, I think there are probably many causes. I will say that the neuro's that told me they don't believe it are both neuromuscular specialists and have spent their careers studying/working with neurological disorders including als and bfs (although I'm not convinced bfs is neurological anyway) . Now, anxiety is certainly a part of bfs and many of our members had anxiety issues prior to bfs, but many have stated they didn't. I myself had no major issues with anxiety prior to my onset of bfs. I instead am 100% sure that my bfs was caused by an adr to cipro. I also believe that many people have bfs and never pay attention to it. I actually know a guy that was telling me his calves twitch all the time, he just didn't care. People with health anxiety are almost certainly going to worry about the twitching and seek a dx, while others simply twitch without worry (lucky them).The crazy thing about our bodies and illness in general, is we are all different and what fits for one doesn't necessarily for others.Take care,Gary
 
BillBob, maybe some neuros does not beleive BFS can be caused by anxiety, but there are some studies saying an opposite:In our study, a significantly higher number of patients with BF had a history of psychiatric illness. Their fasciculations generally occurred at a time of significant life stress, such as divorce or some other traumatic event. These patients also reported psychosomatic symptoms such as irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, heartburn, anorexia, and weight loss or weight gain. Such patients appear to be preoccupied by the presence of fasciculations and seek multiple medical evaluations. Our findings suggest that BF may be a sign of difficulty coping with life stress and a form of somatization. Those of our patients with BF who were followed up did well with reassurance and serotonin reuptake inhibitors; none were documented to have developed ALS.
 
I think it's perfectly reasonable for some neuros to say that anxiety causes BFS, and it's perfectly reasonable for other neuros to say that it doesn't. The reason I say that is because I have never believed that we all have the exact same thing. Sure, we might have the same symptoms (benign twitches, shakiness, achiness, tired muscles), but I have never for one minute believed we all have the exact same cause behind it.
 
Maybe my opinion is a little biased but i think anxiety does not cause BFS, i think that people with anxiety and bfs cluster to online web forums and discuss about it, which overall fills the forums with a more concentrated population with psychiatric comorbidities, there are lots of people that twitch but do not report this to their doctors because they just don't care, peripheral nerve hyperexcitability is an autoimmune or autoimmune-associated issue as proven by multiple studies, if it's the same thing as bfs i leave you to decide. My opinion is that as medicine evolves more and more they will find the actual cause behind various complaints and stop assigning everything to anxiety, actually anxiety and not bfs is the wastebasket diagnosis, they thought that temporal lobe epilepsy was due to mental disorders until they invented the EEG... It's good to not panic but to say that everything is caused by anxiety is just lazy from the doctor's perspective. How about bfs causes anxiety through unknown chemical signals in the brain, you get twitches and sensory symptoms, why not CNS ones?
 
Kstoruk,Well said. I made a very poor attempt at saying the same thing about people with bfs who could care less, and those with anxiety and bfs that seek out treatment/dx. Take care,Gary
 
yep as you said gary, in a round about way. no conclusive evidence of what causes BFS...or what might stop it! Different strokes for different folks. Anxiety ramps mine up big time..grrr ( sorry.. bloody upper lip twitch at moment..annoying! :rolleyes: )..anyway anxiety ramps mine up, that is why, I guess , I am so hung up on anxiety as the cause. Anti depressants really only take the edge off it..or maybe the way you actually deal with it all..dunno...bloody lip twitch... ;)cheersRodger
 
I had horrible health anxiety/stress for about 6 months before this started for me. I really don't know if it had anything to do with it or not. I know I will never know for sure.
 

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