Hello again from a new guy. I'm still trying to make sense of all this and just need to vent.
Having read BFS in a Nutshell and many, many posts on this site, I have gained a great deal of perspective on this condition, though I still have moments of panic that this is something worse. My twitching has been going on for only about 3 weeks now; right side more than left. I have a nagging twitch on the outside arch of my right foot, the first twitch that I noticed. It will go away, sometimes for more than a day, and then come back with a few random pings or a flutter or two. I have even noticed that it will "ping" when my foot is on the gas pedal. I still get worried that because this is in the foot, and is "localized," that, well, you can fill in the blanks. But I have had tiwtches now in both calves, ankles and thighs and elsewhere--just not as consistently as in the right foot.
However, even though I read that BFS follows no set pattern, I am amazed at how I can go from one extreme to the other in the course of a day. I derived a perverse sense of relief when I felt twitching on the arch of my LEFT foot for the first time--symmetry and all that. But still, the pattern is driving me nuts. Monday night, for example, my right bicep felt like there were two cats fighting inside it. An hour later, my right thigh joined the fray. It was so bad that by midnight, I was contemplating gnawing off my arm just to get some sleep. Yesterday, Tuesday, all was quiet--a few little pings in the calves and that was it. This morning, my right foot is back at it, and that rippling feeling is back in my calves and ankles, though at a very low level. I should enjoy the respite but am still in that stage where I see just about everything as something ominous.
I realize I can't lump everything into BFS, just as a scratchy throat or wrist pain is not a sign of *LS. This past weekend, my feet began tingling as I mowed the grass; the longer I walked, the more they tingled. Afterwards, I went for a run and as I'm running, I can feel the bottoms of my feet tingle, all likely related to a lower back problem I've had. I also know that I have some issues with the my pinkie and ring finger falling asleep, depending on how I position my arm. And, I have developed a slight tremor in my right hand. I see where tremor is a symptom of BFS (it doesn't shake at rest, BTW). But I also know that this is a side effect of the medication I'm on--Wellbutrin. I am working with a good therapist to get my head back on straight and since finding this site, I have been able to resume "life," though worries still lurk in the back of my mind.
One last thought and I'll shut up: I recommend avoiding Web MD. Sure, it's good to look up a medication or check on a common complaint. But their "symptom checker" will turn up a laundry list of conditions and diseases even if you've got only 1 of 10 or 20 symptoms for that disease. And the last time I checked, BFS is nowhere to be found on the site. I could be mistaken, but a search of "twitching" will get you the predictable results. The fact that WebMD does not apparently discuss BFS or other benign conditions, though neurologists have been diagnosing BFS for years is, for me now, cause to never go there again. That site sent me into a panic when I first detected that twitch in my ankle; this site brought me back to earth.
I hope this initial phase passes soon. Thanks to all for your advice, good humor and most importantly, common sense.
Mark
Having read BFS in a Nutshell and many, many posts on this site, I have gained a great deal of perspective on this condition, though I still have moments of panic that this is something worse. My twitching has been going on for only about 3 weeks now; right side more than left. I have a nagging twitch on the outside arch of my right foot, the first twitch that I noticed. It will go away, sometimes for more than a day, and then come back with a few random pings or a flutter or two. I have even noticed that it will "ping" when my foot is on the gas pedal. I still get worried that because this is in the foot, and is "localized," that, well, you can fill in the blanks. But I have had tiwtches now in both calves, ankles and thighs and elsewhere--just not as consistently as in the right foot.
However, even though I read that BFS follows no set pattern, I am amazed at how I can go from one extreme to the other in the course of a day. I derived a perverse sense of relief when I felt twitching on the arch of my LEFT foot for the first time--symmetry and all that. But still, the pattern is driving me nuts. Monday night, for example, my right bicep felt like there were two cats fighting inside it. An hour later, my right thigh joined the fray. It was so bad that by midnight, I was contemplating gnawing off my arm just to get some sleep. Yesterday, Tuesday, all was quiet--a few little pings in the calves and that was it. This morning, my right foot is back at it, and that rippling feeling is back in my calves and ankles, though at a very low level. I should enjoy the respite but am still in that stage where I see just about everything as something ominous.
I realize I can't lump everything into BFS, just as a scratchy throat or wrist pain is not a sign of *LS. This past weekend, my feet began tingling as I mowed the grass; the longer I walked, the more they tingled. Afterwards, I went for a run and as I'm running, I can feel the bottoms of my feet tingle, all likely related to a lower back problem I've had. I also know that I have some issues with the my pinkie and ring finger falling asleep, depending on how I position my arm. And, I have developed a slight tremor in my right hand. I see where tremor is a symptom of BFS (it doesn't shake at rest, BTW). But I also know that this is a side effect of the medication I'm on--Wellbutrin. I am working with a good therapist to get my head back on straight and since finding this site, I have been able to resume "life," though worries still lurk in the back of my mind.
One last thought and I'll shut up: I recommend avoiding Web MD. Sure, it's good to look up a medication or check on a common complaint. But their "symptom checker" will turn up a laundry list of conditions and diseases even if you've got only 1 of 10 or 20 symptoms for that disease. And the last time I checked, BFS is nowhere to be found on the site. I could be mistaken, but a search of "twitching" will get you the predictable results. The fact that WebMD does not apparently discuss BFS or other benign conditions, though neurologists have been diagnosing BFS for years is, for me now, cause to never go there again. That site sent me into a panic when I first detected that twitch in my ankle; this site brought me back to earth.
I hope this initial phase passes soon. Thanks to all for your advice, good humor and most importantly, common sense.
Mark