Requesting Help with IBS Symptoms

[sarajane]

Hi All,

Well... seems like deja-vu. Last year I had chronic stomach pain, blood in stool etc. and went on the internet to find that my symptoms matched bowel cancer. I went through a plethora of tests and pretty much 6 months of torture and huge expenses to find out that actually - all I had was IBS with bleeding hemroids and mild adhesions. SO when all my latest symptoms started and I went on the internet I decided that this time I would choose the less offensive option: BFS and not something else horrible. I have to say - it's really hard though and I'm sure my husband thinks I'm a hypochondriac so I don't discuss my symptoms. Now that I've fpound this site I have a place to compare - and relieve myself.

6 months ago I started having wide spread twitching. (shoulders, glutes, abs, legs, lip) It would be 4 or 5 flutters of a muscle and then it would go away. I noticed that often when I would sneeze it would make my ab muscles flutter. I didn't worry about this or investigate - I figured it was just a pottasium deficiency or something. ANYWAY - then I started to have sciatica and decided to go to the chiropractor three weeks ago. The day after my first adjustment I developed a new set of symptoms.... and I'm wondering if these sound like BFS.

I have what felt like a strong pulse initially down my legs (mainly left) - when I paid attention to it I realised it was actually a tremor (GREAT!). Feels like a vibration - but it's defineately a shake which is not actually visible. This went on 24 seven - the only time of relief the first few minutes after I got out of bed in the morning. Anyway - then I developed these weird sensations on the skin of my foot that felt like an electrical buzz - these are more obvious when the shake diminishes. Also the bottom of my feet have started to feel like they have a rapid twitch.

I have also had forearm cramping and my calf feels like it contracts and doesn't want to release and I also have a weird sensation behind my left elbpow. Last week for a few days my right toes were having these feelings like they were being held over coals.

Anyway... the icing on the cake is that I thought all this stopped with rest which was encouraging and made me think it was all in my head - but last night I woke up at 2 in the morinng to my legs and now my head (yes my head!!!) tremoring.

I'm freaked out - just wondered if anyone's experience compares.

 

[EyeoftheWild]

Your sx and feelings are reminiscent of the onset of my bfs, and from time to time, I still am plagued with tremoring. In fact, tonight I just arrived home after having driven for 12hrs, and my body is tremoring and buzzing. The head bobbing, or tremoring is very common it seems with bfs. Welcome to the board.

It sounds like you put your first imagined health crisis to good use when bfs popped up. This is important...not to allow oneself to go down that terrifying path of worse case scenario. Well done!!!

Cheers,
Basso

 

[sarahandlifethelifem]

hi sarah

from what you describe you sound like a pretty garden variety bfs-er to me

but i know that these symptoms are extremely frightening; i struggle daily with rationalising them myself - and yes, my husband thinks im a hypochondriac and really doesn't have the time of day for all my fears - which i sometimes resent, because i'm spending a whole lot of time and energy here imagining how terrible it will be for him without me

anyway - i tremor too - mainly i wake up to find it happening in the night, but lately it happens a bit as i'm waiting to go to sleep as well. and during the daytime, i am having tremors behind my eyes too, feels like they are shaking very finely - oh what JOY, hey?

when i wake up to a tremor, the shuddering feeling can be extremely violent and i was astonished to find that it was internal - the first time i thought there was a helicopter by the window, then i realised it was me. i also have buzzings and vibrations, however to me they feel very different to the shuddering/ tremoring. anyhow - i don't know that the tremors are inherently a symptom of bfs, but i do know that a number of people here have described them - what is more - i have found them described and discussed elsewhere on the web - ranging from sites dedicated to sleep disorders to the menopause. and not least, i have definitely found that they are worse when i am worrying about all of this - when they started, i was virtually too scared to go to bed, and the whole thing became rather a vicious circle.

have you seen a doctor or neurologist yet about any of this? are you planning to?

 

[sarajane]

thanks guys. this helps a lot. I've seen a GP about it - he actually thinks it's caused by nerve damage and it'll just go away. Anyway - I hope this is the case - but from what I've read the only extra symptoms that would warrant a specialist would be weakness - dropping things - vision problems. Anything that would hint at being more than BFS garden variety. Trust me - it's taking everything in me not to pursue this - but I can see i have exactly what everyone else has who HAS been through several EMGs, CTs, MRIs etc. and I dont feel like going through it all unneccesarily. I can also feel that when I'm distracted (especially up on my feet) I forget about it except for the occasional tremor - and the more relaxed I am the less symptoms I have - which is encouraging. I have read about RLS - and the symptoms sound very similar. It's all quite ridiculous to me that so little is known about this. I suppose this is what they call a "nervous switch".