Sore Muscles, Joint Pain - BFS

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J

jerryTwo

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Yes to both question. I have forearm muscle soreness that doesn't go away for 2 months, I have some finger joints pain, I have feet pain, you name it... And I have just about the same symptoms you listed in your post :( It is all "normal", for BFS at least. BFS is much more than twitching for many people and some have mostly twitching. For me it is a twitching/sensory problems/pain and soreness journay. I hope one day it will end.
 
Hello skonen, What you describe is very similar to the symptoms that I have been experiencing for almost a year. Curiously the first problem I had was tinnitus; the fasciculation appeared 6 months later. The new symptom in my BFS circus is “burning” pain in feet, legs, arms and wrists (that is how I found your post using the search). I do not know what a ‘normal’ BFS is, but what you describe seems to fit in. At first I was very concerned about these arm tremors that appears when I try to lift something or when I lean on my hand. My neurologist classified it as a postural tremor. There are bad days and good days. Usually, my hands have a disturbing fine tremor and I can feel the muscles shaking inside while I am holding something. Arms and legs feel sore after some effort too, as you described. So, yes, the tremor is part of the “package” for some of us.
 
Interesting, my tinnitus also proceeded my muscle symptoms by about ~6 months (though I had tingling and buzzing just weeks after the tinnitus started). If our conditions have the same root cause perhaps you can find salvation in some of the treatments that are working for me...You mentioned your new symptom of burning pain. Such pain was one of my most irritating symptoms initially, and it's actually nerve pain (similar to what people experience with phantom limb, so be glad you have your limb ;) ). I was able to get that symptom almost entirely under control by getting a prescription for oxcarbazepine (also goes by the name Trileptal). It's an anti-seizure drug that has off-label usage for cramps (which it also mostly eliminated) and neuropathic/nerve pain. It may be worth mentioning to your doctor to get his thoughts on offering you a prescription. The medication works terrifically for me... If I miss a dose it doesn't take very long for me to notice :)
 
Thanks a lot for the tip on oxcarbazepine, I will check with my neuro. This finding about tinnitus and BFS is very interesting. How can they be connected? I checked my records and I was mistaken. Fasciculation started only 3 months after tinnitus and not 6. The audiometric and otoneurological tests I took back then were fine. No diagnostic.
 
Did either of you have an event that may have triggered the tinnitus? Such as exposure to loud noise or vibrations? In my case it came on suddenly with no apparent reason, and all of my ENT tests came back normal as well. I had some hearing loss but nothing very significant at all, and they did not believe it was the cause of the tinnitus.Perhaps we all have the same pathology and tinnitus is just one of the presenting symptoms. Another symptom I had around the time of tinnitus was a general 'brain fog' feeling and difficultly concentrating, this also preceded the muscle issues by several months...The other possibility may be that we were so irritated by out tinnitus and focused on it so much (I certainly did), that our brain began amplifying ALL other nerve signals. Including those related to our muscles. The mind is a very powerful thing, and the strong connection in influencing the body is undeniable.I'm guessing you both still have your tinnitus? Mine has been constant 24/7 since the sudden onset.
 
Brainfog - check. This problem is annoying me for the last 3 years. Memory loss (this is scaring me) and difficulties with concentration, language and learning. Since I have anxiety and depression issues, I suppose that the brainfog is just a consequence of that. As may be my BFS. Regarding the beginning of the tinnitus, there is some story to tell. On April 9th 2011 I went to a chiropractor for the first (and last) time. Later that night a pulsating pain started in my left eyeball. I am sure this pain is associated with the chiropractic session. It lasted for ~ 30 h. Since then, every week I had an episode of this weird eyeball pain. Went to ophthalmologist and all ok. Went to neurologist, did MRI and she said that it may be a “tension-type headache”. Fortunately, these episodes are rare nowadays. Tinnitus started on the first week of June (2011) with a little dizziness after I returned from a long oversees flight. I thought that it was related to the pressure change in the flight. But it got worse and at the end of June I couldn’t sleep well because of the sound. Since the ringing was much stronger in my left ear, I though that the tinnitus was also related to that fateful chiropractic session and some kind of “residual tension”. Fasciculation started on September 2011 and I never thought of a connection with the tinnitus. Your theory that focusing on symptoms can amplify never signals makes sense. It made me remember that very interesting post from Chrissi:
 
Unfortunately while the brain fog may be made worse by anxiety, I'm not sure it is directly caused by it. In my case I did not have any extreme anxiety or depression prior to my 'brain fog'. I am an engineer and I noticed it due to the quality and speed of my work declining rapidly starting in May 2011. Like you I noticed problems with memory loss as well. And also like you it is scaring me. Recently I have begun to forget the routes to get places I have been in the past, but it is not extremely worrying at the moment because it seems to be temporary. I go through periods where my memory seems to be functioning as expected, but occasionally I will have an episode lasting several days where I have great difficulty remembering events, locations, or skills. I am curious. Have you noticed any improvement or recurring fluctuation in your symptoms over the last 3 years?
 
I feel that the memory issues and brainfog are worsening very slowly, but there is no fluctuation. Also engineer here and concerned about future. Regarding the BFS symptoms, they fluctuate a lot (fasciculation, mioclonic jerks, tremors, tingling, pain...).
 
skonen, jorge,have you checked your brain circulation? usually brain fog and memory troubles can be caused by stress (well, I took me 2 weeks of hard working now to get much slower than ususally in translation speed/quality) but in 30es-40s it could be already quite a circulatory issue. I mean it should not be classic anxiety - it is just tiredness causing that effect.nootropic action drugs usually can help with that, however I do not know what of them are accepted in your part of the globe.
 
Brain circulation? I will check on that. I know that people with Fibromyalgia have “fibrofog”. Maybe there is a connection, since BFS and Fibromyalgia are somehow related.
 
Hi Skoken, thanks for posting this detailed synopsis of your symptoms. I just wanted to tell you that I share almost the EXACT same symptoms. Particularly recently, the pain in the brachioradialis muscles. I can't figure this one out for the life of me. Also an increase in general pain, fatigue as well as shooting pains which seem to like my right hamstring. I too had tinitus and brain fog almost 5 months prior to BFS however this can be tied to a tough withdrawal I had from a benzodiazapine. Glad to hear I am not alone with the above symptoms and they are being reported by others! I don't read about specific pain as much as I experince. Not sure how much longer I will hold out before consulting my original neuromuscular specialist for medications.Greg
 

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