I'm new to this forum although I've been reading it for some time now and have found it very helpful. My problems began about 4 weeks ago when I felt a weird sensation, a bit like weakness, in my left arm after a hot bath. I thought nothing of it but the feeling was still there the following day. Again, I thought it was just one of these things and I wasn't too concerned. By the afternoon I started twitching pretty much all over my body but mostly in my legs and arms. I also remembered that six month ago I had twitching in my stomach, which my doctor determined to be colon spasm - it passed after three days or so but felt very strange. Now I have also developed pins and needles, mostly in my hands but sometimes legs, buzzing in my feet, occasional numbness in my cheek and I also have small areas on my body that occasionally feel hot. I went to see my GP twice. He checked my reflexes and said that everything was fine and not to worry, it will definitely resolve itself soon. He also did a blood test which was also fine. From the start of my symptoms I have been pretty much fixated on the thought that it is MS. The GP didn't think so and said that if it was MS, I would have vision problems, which I know is not always the case. I decided to go to another GP for a second opinion and she seems to think that MS is a likely possibility and referred me to a neurologist, who I'm supposed to see next week. I know the appointment is in the next few days and the neuro will hopefully be able to shed more light on this but I'm absolutely terrified and don't know how I'll cope until the appointment. I also read somewhere that symptoms of MS can be first triggered by things like hot baths which terrified me even more considering that that's when my symptoms started! The second GP really freaked me out saying that it is likely that it is MS and I haven't slept properly since. I know that most people on this forum worry about ALS but I haven't heard too many posts in relation to MS. Is there any advice you can give to help me hold it together till the appointment next week? Have anyone else's twitches started in the stomach?
New to Forum, Left Arm Weakness
- Thread starter Taggart
- Start date
Dagny,Prior to BFS, I had a really bad case of health anxiety. Looking back, I wish I could have just shrugged everything off and got on with my life. I was in and out of my doctors office so many times I can't even count. I thought I had everything from head and neck cancer to MS to leukemia to lymphoma... you name it. It was so bad that I kept a journal of my "symptoms" and I had a good month of abdominal twitching. This was before I ever knew what BFS was. So yes, I can say that I noticed abdominal twitches even before my calves. But as I read through your story, a few things jump out at me. The first thing is no GP can tell you that it is "likely MS". That is not their specialty. So forget about what your 2nd GP said to you. Second, although your symptoms are scary and very real to you, they are actually quite common. Widespread twitching is NOT typical for MS. Your story sounds very much like others on here and we have a benign condition. So my advice to you is to stay off the internet until your appointment and keep thinking of all the people on this board who have twitching, hot feelings, parasthesia, tingling, buzzing, pins and needles, everything that you mentioned... and its all benign. -Matt
I have all of that and about 100 other symptoms and have been told by many doctors that I'm ok and that nothing is wrong with me neurologically. Now, of course I don't believe them, but I should. My advice would be to see the neuro, get an Mri if he thinks you need one and when he tells you that you are ok, believe him and never look back. Now if I could only follow that advice....
Hi Dagny,most of us had started of course with twitches and then other weird symptomes, and of course weakness-like reaction to hot bath might look consistent with MS but I can also tell you that usually MS reactions are really bad. I mean really bad. People really can not use the limbs being exposed to the hot environment. Not a 'knid of weakness' but real 'blackout'. Except that the rest of reactions you describe seem to be caused by hyperventilation (pins and needles in the limbs, fascial numbness, skin patches and buzzing are symptomes of peripheral circualtion failure caused by small vessels spasms which are caused by changes in blood pH (chemical index) which is caused by low CO2, which is caused by deep breathing which is caused mostly by anxiety and is often not spotted consciously (I mean you do not need to breath like a dog on the run to get those symptomes).Some of our fellows really report bad reaction on high temperature (as well as on low one) so please try to think that a) you really lack of typical MS clinical picture (still optical neuritis is prevalent on the onset) b) some hot bath sensitivity is not umcommon here among us c)rest of symptomes could be explained becasue you got a bit nervous still and may hyperventilate.Wish you having a good resolution on your next week visit.AND I AGREE WITH MATT - GP can not say you that this is 'likely MS' just becasue it is not his or her speciality. Trust only your neuro and only after all tests done.
Thanks for your replies. I really hope it will turn out to be nothing sinister but the not knowing is killing me! Funnily enough, the twitching has really improved lately but it only confirmed MS in my head, as MS symptoms come and go! I'm also thinking that most of you here have excercise intolerance, which I don't despite doing pilates and running long distances every week. Not that I want to have excercise intolerance but it worries me that perhaps it's not bfs... Crazy how my mind works!Just out of curiosity, how come so few of you are worried about MS but worry about ALS? MS is much more common.
so do not worry not all of us have that. This is also good sign in the light of your MS fears - most of MS victims as far as I remember experience severe fatigue during the acute phase.