miguelwo69
Member
Hi to everybody! Finding this site has been practically heaven sent!
Until now I thought I was the only one having all these weird symptoms and I can identify with all the roller coaster emotions I have been reading about on your messages (for a while I have kind of been lurking in the background just reading!)
)
I started twitching about 8 months ago, it began on my left calf. At the time I did not really pay attention to it since I've suffered on and off of sciatica for quite a number of years so I assumed something was going on with my back and decided to make an appointment with a doctor to have it checked. I made the HUGE mistake of going to the internet before making that appointment and checking under twitches BINGO, I hit ALS, and MS. I had a huge anxiety attack, I could literally feel myself shaking while reading, I was completely sure I had ALS and started thinking that having MS wouldn't be that bad when compared to ALS!! (my aunt died of MS when she was 43, she was diagnosed at 41 - my age - and this has always been in the back of my mind). I was SURE I was going to die and did not want to leave my daughter (she's 7) and my husband!!!!
I made an appointment with my GP, who practically told me I was crazy!(he is a friend of the family) he did a very thorough exam, did all the boodwork, told me I was in fantastic health as the blood work was completely normal. All he found was a little diminished achilles reflex which he told me could be due to a herniated disk - I, of course, did not believe this I was sure the diminished reflex meant I had either ALS or MS! He told me in his opinion I had a bad case of anxiety but if I wanted to feel better I should make an appointment with a Neurologist.
I went to see a Neurologist, who did a very thorough exam and told me I had none of those horrible diseases I was thinking of, he was sure I had a herniated disk, he completely dismissed the twitches (by then I was twitching all over), and told me those were caused by anxiety. He sent me for a lumbar MRI and told me he also wanted me to come in for an EMG.
The lumbar MRI showed two herniated disks (L5 and L4 and I believe S1 or S2), no trace of MS (I also had a Cat Scan the previous year due to headaches and a cervical MRI which were also clean). The EMG was normal with the exception of some neurological damage on the left leg consistent with a herniated disk. This was about 5 months ago and I am still twitching. I've noticed that if I get upset I twitch even more, I went on vacation and hardly twitched at all.
Until I found this website I was still convinced that I had either ALS or MS (even after all the reassurances by the doctors), was going to die young leaving my daughter and husband.
I've had twitches in both calves, in my right foot, in my stomach, in my back, in two fingers, even in some private parts that should not be mentioned in this message
I have no weakness (I am constantly checking for that), I still walk about 2 o 3 miles per day, can type about 120 wpm, I am almost at the point where I can accept that this is some benign condition that I might have to deal with for a while (by reading some of your messages I can see that some of you have been twitching for years!!).
Anyways, this is a long message - I just wanted to thank all of you for your comments, this is a wonderful site and it has helped me a lot.
Thanks!!!
PS. Alonzo: I take Librium twice a day, I've read that you take Ativan - have you ever tried the Librium? is the Ativan better? does it alleviate the twitches in any way? My doctor prescribed Celexa and I was only able to take 2 tablets - it made all my symptoms worst!!! Thank you for all your postings - you've helped me a lot!!!
Until now I thought I was the only one having all these weird symptoms and I can identify with all the roller coaster emotions I have been reading about on your messages (for a while I have kind of been lurking in the background just reading!)
)I started twitching about 8 months ago, it began on my left calf. At the time I did not really pay attention to it since I've suffered on and off of sciatica for quite a number of years so I assumed something was going on with my back and decided to make an appointment with a doctor to have it checked. I made the HUGE mistake of going to the internet before making that appointment and checking under twitches BINGO, I hit ALS, and MS. I had a huge anxiety attack, I could literally feel myself shaking while reading, I was completely sure I had ALS and started thinking that having MS wouldn't be that bad when compared to ALS!! (my aunt died of MS when she was 43, she was diagnosed at 41 - my age - and this has always been in the back of my mind). I was SURE I was going to die and did not want to leave my daughter (she's 7) and my husband!!!!
I made an appointment with my GP, who practically told me I was crazy!(he is a friend of the family) he did a very thorough exam, did all the boodwork, told me I was in fantastic health as the blood work was completely normal. All he found was a little diminished achilles reflex which he told me could be due to a herniated disk - I, of course, did not believe this I was sure the diminished reflex meant I had either ALS or MS! He told me in his opinion I had a bad case of anxiety but if I wanted to feel better I should make an appointment with a Neurologist.
I went to see a Neurologist, who did a very thorough exam and told me I had none of those horrible diseases I was thinking of, he was sure I had a herniated disk, he completely dismissed the twitches (by then I was twitching all over), and told me those were caused by anxiety. He sent me for a lumbar MRI and told me he also wanted me to come in for an EMG.
The lumbar MRI showed two herniated disks (L5 and L4 and I believe S1 or S2), no trace of MS (I also had a Cat Scan the previous year due to headaches and a cervical MRI which were also clean). The EMG was normal with the exception of some neurological damage on the left leg consistent with a herniated disk. This was about 5 months ago and I am still twitching. I've noticed that if I get upset I twitch even more, I went on vacation and hardly twitched at all.
Until I found this website I was still convinced that I had either ALS or MS (even after all the reassurances by the doctors), was going to die young leaving my daughter and husband.
I've had twitches in both calves, in my right foot, in my stomach, in my back, in two fingers, even in some private parts that should not be mentioned in this message
I have no weakness (I am constantly checking for that), I still walk about 2 o 3 miles per day, can type about 120 wpm, I am almost at the point where I can accept that this is some benign condition that I might have to deal with for a while (by reading some of your messages I can see that some of you have been twitching for years!!).Anyways, this is a long message - I just wanted to thank all of you for your comments, this is a wonderful site and it has helped me a lot.
Thanks!!!
PS. Alonzo: I take Librium twice a day, I've read that you take Ativan - have you ever tried the Librium? is the Ativan better? does it alleviate the twitches in any way? My doctor prescribed Celexa and I was only able to take 2 tablets - it made all my symptoms worst!!! Thank you for all your postings - you've helped me a lot!!!
