Have I Got BFS: 30 & Stressed

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AstroMagic

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I have been reading all the posts on this message board for months now, trying to figure out if I truly have BFS. I am 30 years old, and in January (7 months ago) we wnt through a very stressful time selling our home (we had mold issues and my body went through the roof with anxiety like never before). I immediately got a sinus infection, we then moved in to a VERY small home while we are now building a house. Most of our possessions and comforts we were used to are in storage. I work full-time and have 2 children ages 1 and 3. My husband in is the military and we have had a lot of stress for the past two years with selling our home, children, military etc. In January my body starting twitching like crazy and my hands were shaky and I was dizzy. I went to the doctor for anxiety meds. They put me on Wellbutrin, which kept me up all night. After a few weeks I felt like could not breathe or swallow. That is when I did the Internet searches and discovered ALS. My body freaked out and I cried all the time thinking I was dying. Since then, I have only seen my GP doc and I am now on Remeron (which has made me gain 20 pounds) and Klonopin. THe Remeron makes me sleep, and the Klonopin helps with my twitches. This is my main question. I have bouts of weakness/fatigue/numbness/restless and tingling feelings only on my left side. Sometimes it will be in my hand, arm, or leg. THen every few weeks I have the tightness in my throat. These symptoms are much worse if I do not take Klonopin. My doctor thinks it is all benign and I have not seen a neurologist. Should I be concerned that these symtpoms are much worse when I do not take the Klonopin andit is only on my left side? My twitches have greatly slown down, but but this drained and rubbery feeling on my left side is still there. Can anyone give me some advice?
 
I have the same "rubbery" feeling in my left leg. I had it for about 6 years, then it disappeared the day I had my 2nd kid. Now it's coming back. Most of my twitching etc occurs on the left side too. It seems to get worse with fatigue and stress. I don't think you have anything bad (als doesn't cause tingling & twitches without severe weakness-not being able to move your hand etc-is not a symptom either) but you should go to a neuro to ease your mind. Give the Dr a list of your symptoms, get bloodwork & emg. My symptoms may be due to Lyme disease. Mold can cause probs too. So many people on this site have similar symptoms and we are all fine physically.
 
Renee I have to be honest with you and say from what you have described in your post that you are suffering nothing more than anxiety problems...the bouts of fatigue & weakness are probably both linked together, as for the restlessness this is definately a sign of your anxiety irritating your nerves. However the numbness and tingling feelings should definately be brought to the attentionof your doc, they may be a side effect of the *beep* of drugs you are taking right now. The tightness in your throat, difficulty to swallow and breathe is something known as Globulus Hystericus (spelling?) with ALS please try and remember you dont have "bouts" where symptoms will start then stop, then start again a few months or weeks later. Lastly the drained rubbery feeling you describe could again be closely related to the fatigue you described earlier.

My guess here is that you are either suffering from something post viral after the sinus infection or you are suffering from anxiety and possibly some side effects from your medication. If I was to guess at it anything being neurological..id definately say it doesnt sound like ALS, I mentioned earlier you may be suffering from something post viral, which may make your symptoms be down to something like BFS...all my strange symptoms started after a head cold too and that was 18 month ago. With the sensory symptoms and the fact its all happening down your left side there's a small chance it could be MS, but it would certaintly not be a typical presentation of MS...so go see a neuro and he will probably give you some physical tests to rule that out...if he's concerned or your anxety does not go away, get an MRI and a full blood checkup done to put your mind at rest :)
 
Thank you to the two of you already for responding to my concerns. I see my doctor again in a few days, so I greatly appreciate your suggestions and the reassurance of what symptoms you were experiencing. If anyone else out there reading my first message has other comments, I would appreciate this. This website is wonderful for a support group!
 
Renee,

Sounds like you have a lot going on. I would think that stress could be the cause of many of your problems, so I think it would be wise to work on that. I also think that your story sounds a lot like BFS, and not so much like the worse options, so try to relax. Finally, did you take antibiotics for your sinus infection? If so, which one.

Good luck,

Gary
 
I had a terrible sinus infection last September that took two rounds of strong antibiotics to get rid of. The sinus infection came back in December at Christmas time. I cannot remember the name of the Rx for the life of me. As I look back, I started twitching on Christmas Eve in my neck (wasn't sure what it was then--thought it felt like something in my arteries). It took me a couple months to realize that was where I first felt the twitching. Then in late January, my whole body started to twitch. In late February the tightness in throat came about, and in April/May the drained, rubbery feelings on the left side that would switch from calf to hand to arm, etc.
 
Renee,

Call the pharmacy and find out what antibiotics you took. There could be a connection. I believe that all my problems are related to a rx of cipro. It is in a class of ab's called flouroquinolones and many, many people have had similar problems as a result of these meds. There could be a link, and if so you need to know about it.

See if you have taken any of the following meds: Avelox, Tequin, Cipro, Levaquin, Floxin, Amicrobin and several others.

Good luck,

Gary
 
Have you ever thought that whatever made you take the anti-biotics in the first place is the cause of the BFS...and not the anti-biotics themselves?

Think about it...the reason you took anti-biotics in the first place is because you had some sort of INFECTION. So perhaps it was the infection which caused the BFS...not the anti-biotics. The leading theory is that BFS is the result of some sort of strange viral infection that is either causing your immune system to go haywire, or your body is having trouble fighting off.
 
Jason,

I would have considered an underlying infection as a possible cause in my case, but I didn't have one. You see, I was sent home with cipro for ten days for a suspected urinary tract infection while my culture was being tested. (I went to the dr. complaining of a backache) What do know, I didn't actually have an infection (culture didn't grow). By the way, one of the common theories is about a viral link which is not treatable with antibiotics, not a bacterial one which is treated by antibiotics.

When I talk about antibiotics, I'm only refering to a specific class of antibiotics known as flouroquinolones. I have researched this link for about a year now, and there is overwhelming evidence that these drugs cause BFS Like sxs and much worse. People that have had reactions to FQ's usually have more problems than just twitching, and there are published medical journal reports to back that up. These are not your grandma's ab's. They are extremely powerful drugs.

But who really knows what causes this garbage. I for one have come to the conclusion (after much research and experience on this board), that there are many different causes. And for a small percentage of people including myself, I believe that adverse drug reactions from FQ's are to blame. If you would like some more info. into this possible connection, follow the above links. You might just be surprised.


Take care,

Gary
 
Renee,

I wish i could give you an exact schedule of recovery, but I can't. What i can say is that most people have reported new or worsening sxs for about 6-8 months, and then a plateau when they don't get better or worse. Then about the 12-14 month mark, many have reported that there sxs begin improving with eventual resolution of the problem all together. Now i would say that is the norm, but people have reported much longer and much shorter recovery periods so i think it depends on how hard you were hit by the drug.

I personally followed the timeframe above (currently at 14 mths, took cipro june 03). I had almost debilitating fatigue/muscle pain for nearly 12 months before I saw any improvement. In june i noticed a little less leg and shoulder fatigue, which were two of my worst spots. Now i have cycled since then when the really bad stuff came back, but it then seemed to improve again. Many people report "cycling" (get better then worse then better) of sxs during recovery. But overall, I think recovery is possible as many people have reported recovery.

My current sxs are continous twitching in my calves and sporadic elsewhere, off and on muscle fatigue in legs and shoulders (woke up this morning with that old familiar feeling of leg fatigue :crying: ), anxiety that comes and goes (cipro binds to the gaba receptors in the brain leading to extreme anxiety in the early stages and usually tapers off with time, but not for everyone), and strange muscle/joint aches that again come and go. I've currently seen no improvement in muscle twitching.

Good luck to you, and I hope this helps. One last thing, i would avoid any poulty that isn't specifically marked antibiotic free. And you may want to try mag. supplements. I know i've said that in previous posts, but I believe its worth repeating. And be very careful before ever using another quinolone antibiotic again. Once you have had a reaction, you are more likely to have an even worse one the next time.

Take care and let me know if i can help you in anyway.

Gary
 
I have used alot of floxin in the past. I did not use it in the last 2 years or so and my twitches started about 2 months ago. I also have heard of the same problems with these drugs.


RJ
 

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