Overreacting to Health Concerns

InvisibleItches

Well-known member
I also have a few concerns that have come up, that I've tried not to overract and give time instead of freak out and assume it is ***. I'm almost over that fear. People can read my early posts and see how convinced I was that I had some horrible illness, when in all reality it is probably nothing more than anxiety and some twitching. Who knows though, I'm not going to lie, I still get worried about it from time to time. I personally want to thank all of the kind people on here who really really really helped me through some hard times: Johnnythejet, LisaLM, Mommylondon, Aaron, Twin2, etc. etc. I know I'm forgetting some great people.But, I would like to report the following:1.) It has been nearly 3 years now, and my eyes still twitch! I don't understand it. 2.) I still have a "hot spot" on my midback, it comes and goes nearly everyday.Two new things I've noticed that I hope the veterans may like to shed some light on and hopefully clear up my newfound worries after a few months of relative calmness and inner peace1.) I've finally realized that I can't hold anything still. I've had this problem for as long as I can remember. When lighting incense, for example, I'm shaking badly. When reading a book, I can't hold it still. Holding a pencil, etc. etc. Anything small. Or after a workout, trying to text on my cell phone, I really shake a lot. I never used to think about it, but it scares me. I'm only 25 and I've been shaking like this for years. What could this be? 2.) My newest, biggest concern is the following:When I go to the gym, I can really "feel" my nerves at times. I don't know if that makes sense. For example, when I get on the dip-bar, and I start doing dips, my muscles don't get sore at all, I can do plenty, but after 5 or 6 I get an ELECTRIC LIKE SHOCK that runs up and down my right arm, through the elbow, up the arm, to the nerves in my neck. It really freak me out and that is what has brought me back -- besides of course realizing that it was time to check it and pay my respects and give thanks to all of you great people. I'm fairly certain that this is not ALS related. I'm almost completely past that. ALMOST. I still have doubts some days. But, what do you guys think?Glad to be back on here. I HOPE to contribute more and maybe share my story with people who are new and as scared as I was. My eye is twitching as I write this. It comes and goes. Sucks when I'm out on a date, but hey.
 
Welcome back, and I'm very happy to see you've moved on to a very large degree.My eyes still twitch after nearly 7 years. I guess I don't fully understand it either but it doesn't really bother me. And hotspots are common...yes, annoying and hard to explain, but proven to be harmlesss nonetheless.1. Tremors and shakiness are not common among us and with others as well. My mom and brother have it (they don't twitch), and so do I. Its almost IMPOSSIBLE for me to text after working out at the gym. Even without a workout, I can't hardly text "one-handed" because my thumb jumps around too much to hit the tiny keys precisley enough. Sometimes when I hold my hand above the keybord on my PC (pausing before I decide what to type) my fingers will bounce around. Or if I hold my hand out and try to spread my fingers so there is a small, even gap between each finger....my fingers shake horribly. All this stuff is of no concern, and CERTAINLY has nothing to do with ALS.2. I've totally had that electric shock experience at the gym. It seems to only happen when I'm doing lateral pull downs, or maybe it just happens more than say bench press. Although, I know I've had them a lot, somewhat at random, and I always just figure I'm pushing myself too hard or using bad form. Either way, I've never been worried about it and again....nothing to do with ALS for certain.Thanks for popping in and giving us an update. Its always nice to see past worriers to return and show their progress. :)
 
Dont worry too much on the shakiness part i had that crap at the beginning a lot and yes just like you I could not hold a *beep* book properly as well as a fork without tremors in it. I took vitamin b12 and for ME it helped dont know if its placebo but I can hold the fork and book with no problem. its most probably essential tremor which is very common.
 
Awwww. Glad to know I was helpful :D) Fear creeps up on us all at times, I think. Even the old-timers. I know I get all kinds of aches and pains from the gym. I catch myself wondering if they are a normal part of aging,or something more sinister. But, we are still working out, so I think we are fine. Good to see you!
 
Johnny, glad to know that you have similar "shakes" especially after working out. I guess it is really no big deal. I was always confused as to why I could never hold a book still when reading, even when completely relaxed, lying on a beach in the summer, I still can't hold it still.I partly came back because of the new fear of what I guess is like an "electric shock" or actually, more like a constant zapping of the nerves when doing certain exercises at the gym. It really freaks me out and for some reason, even after this long journey, I assume the worst. The fear crept back in, and now I'm kind of worried again. But, those type of "shocks," "zaps", "termors" and "nerve tingles" seem to be completely unrelated to ALS? It is a very weird feeling, like the guy in my head turns on a hose that starts to run up and down the veins in my arms, zapping and tapping all the way. Does anyone else get this...How unrelated is this to anything serious? I also came back because I wanted to share my personal story and help people from ruining themselves, as I almost completely did, with fear. When I 1st came to this forum (I believe it was June of last year?) I was 24 years old and I had just moved down the coast of California to be with my girlfriend of 3 years. I accepted a job in the area to be with her, we were madly in love. Had never had a fight, never any sign of weakness it our relationship, nothing but love and happiness. But somewhere along the way, almost directly coinciding with my increasing fear and anxiety of ALS, I started to lose her. She fell out of love with me. Could I really blame her? Despite my best efforts to hide my fears and anxieties from her, I clearly wasn't the same carefree and fun person she fell in love with back in college. After she broke up with me, those initial weeks being all alone in this new town, all alone with my new fears and all alone because of them, I realized I had to make a change. I started to realize that almost all of my worries were baseless. Not to say I wasn't feeling things, or twitching, or having hot spots, because I certainly was.....but why worry about them? Because one day I read that "eye twitching" is a symptom of ALS. I started to think about that. It all started that one day. Reading that one sentence. I was convinced. Then more "symptoms" came. More and more. Then trips to the neuro, trips to every doctor I knew. MRIs, EMGs, etc. etc. Basically looking for someone to believe in my fears with me. No one would. And that is what it comes down to. I twitch. My eye is twitching right now. If I drink coffee, which I love with a passion, I will soon start to twitch. I have hot spots. My feet tingle and my arms tingle. My head sometimes twitches as well as my tongue. I have other weird things that most "normal" people wouldn't notice about their bodies and obsess about night and day. But even all of this, it hasn't stopped me from accomplishing many things in my young life. From paying my entire way through school, to working rewarding and meaningful jobs, to succeeding at sports and in my personal life, to traveling abroad, to finding love, to losing love, and now rebuilding my life, etc. etc. How bad could it really be then? No one even notices my eye twitch unless I specifically tell them to look for it. The reason it is so bad is because what it can do mentally. It changed who I was. This fear of ALS changed me in just 2 short years. 2 years, the day my eye started twitching and the day I read that sentence. What a horrible day. What a waste of time. And it took me losing the LOVE OF MY LIFE, a beautiful woman I thought I would marry and have kids with and spend the rest of my life with....It took me losing her to finally realize what this fear had done to me. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone and I hope I can come on here from time to time and help just as Johnny and MommyLondon and Twin2 did for me. And even with all of that said, and even after about 4 months of no worries, and dare I say PEACE. I'm back with a few questions. I guess that is what living with BFS may come down to. And living with ANXIETY foremost, because I certainly have developed that over the past 2 years, a pretty bad case of health anxiety. Making me fear all sorts of health things...Just a few days ago, while I was at the gym, I pricked my finger and started to bleed. When I got home I got really scared, I started to think, "oh sh*t, what if there was a needle on that free weight!" "I can't be certain that there wasn't...what could have pricked my finger like this...it looks bad, I hope I didn't get HIV! Ah, I'm sure I have HIV. Oh no." And I've been literally thinking about this for the past few days. SAD HUH? (P.S. If anyone has any knowledge about the risk of this situation, let me know. Seriously, I've been worried about it)Questioning every new body sensation isn't fun. So, I hope that I can provide some insight to new people, but that is not to say I'm completely "healed" or "free" or completely at "peace." But I hope to be one day and I know that I will never allow a "fear" to so completely run my life again. I've already lost so much to a "fear" that is almost completely unfounded.
 
I just wanted to add that my eye is going like crazy lately, especially if I rub it. I can't even feel the twitch, but I can see it. It's a very fine flutter right underneath. Gotta admit, it bothers me, but that's what my meds are for :LOL:
 
KevinDavies,I'm in the same boat! Both my eyelids have been doing this since late January. I showed it to the Mayo clinic two weeks ago and they didn't seem impressed. Check it out...-Matt
 
BobJazzy: I can do that with my eye also (one eye only) sicer day 1 of this sh... :( But my upper eyelid twitches, not lower. And stops after some 10 seconds...
 
Hello there, old friend. Yup, eye twitches, hot spots AND electrical shock sensations are exceedingly common amongst us, to varying degrees. I've had all of them, both intermittently and all at once, so if that's any consolation to you, I'm happy to have suffered for your sake. ;) And as for tremors, omg that was my most unrelenting and disturbing symptom, so yep, I'm with ya, fella! One day, I finally started looking around at other people and realized that EVERYONE tremors and shakes to a degree. Some of us just do it a bit worse than others, but we are NOT freaks in this regard, trust me. It is all about mind-over-matter at this point for you. Every new and seemingly bizarre symptom is exactly what you get when BFS pays its visit, and then when you also open the door to fear and anxiety, you have yourself one big twitching, tremoring, tingling, electro-shock parTAY. Consider BFS to be like your eccentric nutty aunt who pops in for an unexpected visit and wears out her welcome long before she finally moves on. The sooner you make peace with her little quirks and idiosyncrasies, the better off your life will be. She will be far more likely to leave you be if you don't give her reason to dig in her heels and get comfortable, but if you feed her and welcome the rest of her crazy relatives, you may find that she lingers a bit longer. :confused: Just breathe, shake it off, acknowledge that it's a benign condition that WILL improve over time, and get on with your wonderful new life in beautiful Califreakinfornia. :) This is nothing new under the sun. Blessings, Suzi
 
SuzieQ, that was beautifully put.....I love it.I'm trying to live that way and accept my bfs.Also, today at work, this has been a totally new experience. My legs won't stop shaking. Literally been shaking all day. Very scary :(
 

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