Help! Afraid of Twitches and Cramps

yelflowhunter

Well-known member
Hello. I am still afraid. I have twitches in my calves and feet and also hard cramps in my feet and toes. Every day. Today I have tried to blow a whistle and than I have a cramp at the left side of my lips... I tried it more often and I had a further cramp.... Is there anybody who know this???? Is it bfs? Or something else? Thanks a lot!!! Please answer my, I am so worried...
 
Please excuse my bad english.... I am not sure if this was a cramp or a beginning weakness of the muscele of my lip. The lip of the left side needs more time to find its old position... What can it be?
 
this is just fascial nerve hyperexcitabilty. it happens with us sometimes, I do not think you should worry about this. The lip may twitch, shiver or even cramp. Most often it happens due to low vitamin B and also often as a result of general anxiety bout.
 
yes so typical for BFS...in ALS people have not light cramps, like we do, and not spasmophylia but spasticity - very painful high strength tonic seizures due to troubles in the central brain motor zones. Such spasms did not dissipate by themselves, and they lead to contracture (like for example hands you can see at the stroke victims - they are weirdly positioned, often bend at the elbow or wrist etc.However the most prominent feature of ALS is weakness. Clinical weakness which mean people can not turn a page in the book, pick up small things, etc. often without any pain or contracture - fingers just do not work and that is all.and even your pattern - eye, leg, then bodywide is so typicalfor BFS!read this site and you will see how many people share same symptomes.
 
practically there could be several types of hyperexcitability.Muscle contraction is complicated process which I do not know in details, unfortunately, but generally the system consists roughly of three elements - central brain motor zone, spinal neurons and axons. At the end of axon (long neural cell, practcially what we call nerve itself) there is a muscle bundle, effector.One may have hyperecxitation in any of the levels - in the brain, spine, axon or at the muscle cell membrane itself. To contract the mucle, axon should release certain substances which alter Ca and Na ions concentration on both sides of membrane, and therefore cells compress or relax, causing contraction.Brain might be hyperexcited because of adrenaline and other stress hormones (that is why eye twitching is used even in the cartoons to mark that the character is angry or nervous), or becasue of infection, or becasue of poisoning (with alcaloids), or brain cells might be physically damaged, or chemicstry might be altered etc. That is why people twitch and have seizures (more serious variant) in ALS, rabies, tetanus, alkaloid poisoning, encephalitis, stroke, epilepsy and in acute anxiety too. Spinal nerves my be hyperescited becasue of the same reasosn, and also trauma causes inflammation and hyperexcitation. That is why people have painless twitches in some stages of ALS. Axons may be damaged by demielinization, like in trauma or MS. This alters (increases) nerve conductivity and makes kind of shortcuts, so signals become irregular and muscle starts to twitch plus loss of regular activity.Finally, membranes can be hyperexcited when people take (or starting to have in excess or lacking of) certain substances or when they are damaged by autoimmune processes. Most probably it is our case (plus benign central hyperexcitation caused by stress hormones).In our twithcing we never loos coordinated activity, and this is the most reassuring on my point of view.Hope that will help a bit and suppose I did not many medical mistakes :)))
 
oh thank you Gracely for your description... I am so scarad about my symptoms.... and I am also afraid... but now I hope that it is harmless.
 
Dear Gracely. If there is a real weakness, is it correct that, if I had this, I cannot take my lip (for example) in its real position any more... I hope you understand what I mean...??? Thank you for your time
 
should you have spastic paralysis of fascial muscle, you'd have so called 'sardonical smile' - your mouth half on the pralysed side would rise up in a kind of forced smile. This symptom is called sardonical because of the name of the grass, sardonia, from which the poison was taken causing excitation and paralysis. Should you have instead a weak paralysis or paresis, as it happens in stroke, your fascial muscles would be vice versa hyperflexed, have no tonus and your face would be like a sad mask.in both cases your speech would be severely affected and slurry.So if you have just a bit of fascial asymmerty, and a lip moves well, and you can speak clearly, open your mouth without any troubles etc., then again do not worry, it is just temporary issue due to fascial nerve hyperexcitability, partial case of our general one.
 
yulasir what can you recommend doing to help with anxiety when stress levels get high a perfect example is a few days of low twitching makes us feel good and then a i light up like crazy and can't stop twitching no matter what i do what are your thoughts on how to handle that
 
Usually I try to regain reasonable thinking (sometimes I even can do that). I take my valeriana pills (usually I can live for months without them) and try to understand what exactly bothers me so much that I am twitching or just anxious again... if I found any good reason, I then manage to reduce that stressor as much as I can. usually I have either work a bit less, sleep more or call my daughter just in case to see she is OK :))) Or I change my diet a bit, sometimes it also helps (usually I reduce sugar but I am not sure if it always helps - not for anxiety definitely :))
 
And I had a bout recentlr - leg< hand, back, face... so I told myself that this is just twitches, I had them before and probably will have them again and again till the end of my days...and they subsided and I am again virtually twitching free (but not pain free which is sad).
 
Veryworried,what is then your diet? Rice has low gluten, buckweat too (virtually gluten free), so Japanese food, Indian cousine, Spanish cousine, Russian cousine - all based on rice/buckwheat and meat - are cheap and tasty. Meat, dairy products, veggies and fruits have no gluten. You must restrain only from wheat, rye and barley (no beer, yes), but you may eat rice, buckweat and oats which could pretty substitute wheat bread and cookies if you have a habit to eat sandwiches or pastry.I practically unconsciously avoid white bread (rye one too) for all my life (I do not know if I have any gluten intolerance just do not need to eat bread at all, did not developed such habit however my granparents tried to do so), and did not found any good taste in a beer till last year (and still find it very limited pleasure, just several dark ones) and i may note two things - gluten free diet is cheap and tasty and I still got BFS even on it, so not everybody may benefit from it.
 
my wife and daughter are gluten free so it makes it a bit easier but there are a lot of things that have gluten in it as you know even things i didn't think off Here's a good summary list Gluten Free Food ListThe following items can be consumed liberally on your Gluten Free Diet (go organic and local with your whole- food choices wherever possible; flash frozen is fine, too):Healthy fat: extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, grass-fed tallow and organic or pasture-fed butter, ghee, almond milk, avocados, coconuts, olives,nuts and nut butters, cheese (except for blue cheeses), and seeds (flaxseed, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds).Protein: whole eggs; wild fish (salmon, black cod, mahi mahi, grouper,herring, trout, sardines); shellfish and molluscs (shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, clams, oysters); grass-fed meat, fowl, poultry, and pork (beef, lamb, liver, bison, chicken, turkey, duck, ostrich, veal); wild game.Vegetables: leafy greens and lettuces, collards, spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, cabbage, onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, artichoke, alfalfa sprouts, green beans, celery, bok choy, radishes, watercress, turnip, asparagus, garlic, leek, fennel, shallots, scallions, ginger, jicama, parsley, water chestnuts.Low-sugar Fruit: avocado, bell peppers, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, eggplant, lemons, limes.Herbs, Seasonings, and Condiments: You can go wild here as long as you watch labels. Kiss ketchup and chutney goodbye but enjoy mustard, horseradish, tapenade, and salsa if they are free of gluten, wheat, soy, and sugar. There are virtually no restrictions on herbs and seasonings; be mindful of packaged products, however, that were made at plants that process wheat and soy.The following can be used in moderation (“moderation” means eating small amounts of these ingredients once a day or, ideally, just a couple times weekly):Non-gluten grains: amaranth, buckwheat, rice (brown, white, wild), millet, quinoa, sorghum, teff. (A note about oats: although oats do not naturally contain gluten, they are frequently contaminated with gluten because they are processed at mills that also handle wheat; avoid them unless they come with a guarantee that they are gluten-free.) When non-gluten grains are processed for human consumption (e.g., milling whole oats and preparing rice for packaging), their physical structure changes, and this increases the risk of an inflammatory reaction. For this reason, we limit these foods.Legumes (beans, lentils, peas). Exception: you can have hummus (made from chickpeas).Carrots and parsnips.Whole sweet fruit: berries are best; be extra cautious of sugary fruits such as apricots, mangos, melons, papaya, prunes, and pineapple.Cow’s milk and cream: use sparingly in recipes, coffee, and tea.Cottage cheese, yogurt, and kefir: use sparingly in recipes or as a topping.Sweeteners: natural stevia and chocolate (choose dark chocolate that’s at least 70 percent or more cocoa).Wine: one glass a day if you so choose, preferably red.Here’s a sample shopping list:Shredded CoconutKaleAlmondsWalnutsOlive OilCoconut OilGrass Fed BeefFree Range EggsAvocadoFree Range TurkeyFree Range ChickenMixed GreensSpinachBroccoliWild SalmonBerries (in moderation)OnionsGarlicBell PepperBlack PepperGoat’s CheeseGluten Containing ProductsIf experiencing gluten intolerance symptoms, the products on this page should be avoided. Instead, concentrate on gluten free, brain healthy foods. Many are listed here. This is sure to help maintain or improve brain health and function.The following grains and starches contain gluten:WheatWheat germRyeBarleyBulgurCouscousFarinaGraham flourKamut MatzoSemolinaSpeltTriticaleThe following foods often contain gluten:malt/malt flavoringsoupscommercial bullion and brothscold cutsFrench fries (often dusted with flour before freezing)processed cheese (e.g., Velveeta)mayonnaiseketchupmalt vinegarsoy sauce and teriyaki saucessalad dressingsimitation crab meat, bacon, etcegg substitutetabboulehsausagenon-dairy creamerfried vegetables/tempuragravymarinadescanned baked beanscerealscommercially prepared chocolate milkbreaded foodsfruit fillings and puddingshot dogsice creamroot beerenergy barstrail mixsyrupsseitanwheatgrassinstant hot drinksflavored coffees and teas blue cheesesvodkawine coolersmeatballs, meatloaf communion wafersveggie burgersroasted nutsbeeroats (unless certified GF)oat bran (unless certified GF)The following are miscellaneous sources of gluten:shampooscosmeticslipsticks, lip balmPlay-Dohmedicationsnon self-adhesive stamps and envelopesvitamins and supplements (check label)The following ingredients are often code for gluten:Avena sativa CyclodextrinDextrinFermented grain extractHordeum distichonHordeum vulgareHydrolysateHydrolyzed malt extractHydrolyzed vegetable proteinMaltodextrinPhytosphingosine extractSamino peptide complexSecale cerealeTriticum aestivumTriticum vulgareTocopherol/vitamin EYeast extractNatural flavoringBrown rice syrupModified food starchHydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)Hydrolyzed soy proteinCaramel color (frequently made from barley)
 
oh ye free range food is very expensive ;) and often dangerous becasue of bacterial contamination as you may know :)I may benefit from living in a country not yet obsessed with free range meat and poultry till the point where home grown food is 10 times more expensive than industrial one... so I can buy quails which are home grown at relatively moderate price :)))except that do not see much difference between my diet and yours - I also do not eat mayonaise or other readymade sausees (while my husband eats everything with mayonaise, but he twitches times less than me, only seldom when sleeping which I think is normal), do not drink beer (decide to finish experiments with it becasue light beer is awful on taste, and some dark beers agre good but extremely knocking out - no wine can do that as 9% alcohol dark beer), I am a great fan of seafood, mushrooms, mustard and horseraddish (wow it is great)Generally I am a meat eater preferrably (nd mostly I cook it by myself), so I follow the rule of not eating too much rice and buckweat... even less than once in a week... no potatoes for long time already, no chips of course (for decades already), etc - just do not consider this as a food...so I think my twitches are completely not becasue of gluten - being for years on virtually GF diet, I still twitch. And I do not have any troubles or twitching increase in holiday period when I traduitionally break my dietary habits and eat mayonaise in potato salad, white bread with red caviar and other non- healthy food considered for holiday meals :)))so regarding myself I can definitely say mine one is stress related :)
 
i have a bad diet compared to that list...i travel a lot for work so i don't eat very healthy actually i don't think i've ever eaten very healthy i always use to eat chips, cookies, mayonnaise, sauces, chocolate, fried foods, coke, diet stuff etc...however i did exercise a lot 3-4 a week the only thing i never really did much was drink alcohol...once in a while but not much i've gotten a bit better with my diet not still that great
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top