Increased Twitching from Flu/Virus?

[BetteDavisGretchen]

I have had some kind of flu or virus this past week and my twitching has increased dramatically. Has anyone else experienced this?? My stress level is actually low because I have been off work )

 

[Krackersones]

It is important to pay attention to anything that effects your symptoms and communicate this to your doctor or keep notes on it should you need some type of intervention at a later point. My neuro virtually cured someone from an unknown neuro condition when the patient realized that his symptoms improved when he had a fever. He was given a medication that induced fever and he went from being in a wheel chair to holding it above his head. There are pictures of this at my neuro's clinic. The patient has been symptom free despite discontinuing his medication after taking it for many years so the hope and thought is he is cured. He likes to ride mountain bikes now so he must be in pretty good condition.

 

[MahwahFresh]

I was going to post the same thing! I have had a cold and not only has my twitching increased, but those crampy feelings seem to have increased as well.

 

[Krackersones]

In my layperson's opinion, any change in twitching due to cold or flu signals a possible association with antibodies. If twitching increases, it could be that the immune system is activated to produce more bad guys to our nerves. If it decreases, it could be that our immune system is busy producing different antibodies to attack the virus rather than the ones that impact our nerves or the new antibodies are just outnumbering the bad and blocking them from attacking. Just some thoughts.

 

[BetteDavisGretchen]

Thanks for the replies...yes Mahwah_Fresh I have those crampy feelings as well, especially in my hands and feet. I am living with BFS now for 2 and a half years and I am almost sure I had a bad flu right before I started to notice my very first twitches in my calves. I wonder what the connection is

 

[Krackersones]

Another fact, which I am sure most are aware of, is viruses are known to cause neurologic problems. GBS often follows viral infections or immunizations because of their effect on the immune system. It makes sense to me that if this more extreme condition can be caused by a virus and its effect on the immune system that there must be similar phenomenon happening but at a milder level. Scientists have also identified certain antibodies that when injected into mice cause muscle twitching. So I guess we are not at square one with figuring this out. This knowledge is useful if things get really bad because knowledgeable neuros do have an *beep* of things to try and that aresenal keeps growing the more drugs that are developed to effect the immune system (usually to suppress it). My neuro tells me more drugs seem to be coming out all the time and hopefully the newer ones will have less down side. This stuff is only really for people whose twitching starts to interfere with their life either through weakness or severe discomfort, etc.

 

[BetteDavisGretchen]

Krackersones,Thanks for the info. It's amazing that I have learned more from reading this forum than I have from all the Doctors, Specialists and Psychologists I have seen in the past 3 years. It has really given me my life back. I don't ever want to feel like I did 2 years ago when I first googled muscle twitches and my world literally fell apart, anxiety took me down big time. I was so private about it though...I didn't tell my family or friends about what was wrong...they just knew there was something not right with me. I wonder just how many people out there are affected by the "worry" that we don't even know about.

 

[Krackersones]

I just noticed one of the words in my post was censored using "beep." I do not think I used any offensive language but maybe I misspelled or mistyped something. This must be an automatic feature. Weird.Krackersones