Stress Causing BFS: A Journey Alone

[iseLindaLouise]

Stress has been what I have highly suspected as the cause of my BFS. My live-in boyfriend of 9 years just told me one day he didn't want to be with me anymore and bought his own house and moved. I bought this house from him. The overwhelming stress took it's toll on me. I was on my own, had to purchase new appliances, computer, tv's, etc...Home repairs to make that he normally made, only half the income to pay pretty much the same amount if not more bills. Not to mention the stress associated with someone abandoning you...
I started to twitch like crazy, my neck jerks, (sometimes it causes me to bite my tongue) my legs jump, my lower back, arms and hands shake a lot. This has never happened until now, I am not yet 50.
I just wanted to know if anyone else found that a traumatic life episode perhaps started them on the path to BFS?

 

[Sn0wK1ng]

Many people here will tell you they were under a lot of stress when they came down with bfs. I personaly was not under unusual stress right before it .(lots of stress about a year before it) so I did not atribute it to any stressful situation. I have been under incredible stress this past 15 months and it has not made it any worse. I am sorry for all you have been through though I hope things get better for you

 

[totaltwirls]

I definitely believe stress has alot to do with it. I was under a tremendous amount of stress right before my symptoms started and now I notice when I am overwhelmed or feeling very stressed, my symptoms worsen.

 

[iseLindaLouise]

I actually "felt" like my nerve endings were totally shot or "sizzled", like the amount of stress I suffered was almost more than a body could tolerate...
It's almost like I could feel it happening, the twitching started a few months later, after the acute stress was over.
It's a very hard sensation to put into words, I've never tried to do it before and didn't realize how difficult it would be.
I've heard people say that their "nerves were shot" or they were "fried". that's all I can use to describe it.
Today, for some reason has been really bad, my head, thighs, lower back, upper arms, and calves are twitching like crazy. When I am preoccupied I don't notice it as much. I had a bunionectomy a week ago and have to stay off my foot for two weeks. All this sitting and doing nothing is not as fun as one would imagine, be careful what you wish for.
So glad to have someone to talk to about this.

 

[Alonzo]

Just a few points of interest;

1) the "increased startle level" some of you are talking about is usually an increase in reflexes, or known as "brisk reflexes" which is common in people with BFS as well as people who are anxiuos.

If you were watching Oprah on TV and I came in during the daylight hours and said "Boo" really loud, you would probably look over and yell at me to shut up and go away.

If you are alone on a stormy night, watching the scariest movie you have even seen and I snuck-in behind you and yelled "BOO!" really loud, you would probably hit your head on the ceiling from jumping so bad. Does this mean you have a "disease" only when you are watching a scary movie? No. It just means your anxiety level was elevated and your reflexes were on high alert, much like your so called "increased startle level" you are talking about and your increased anxiety level over your BFS.

2) For every 20 people that say anxiety and stress caused their BFS, you'll have 20 more that will say they had zero stress in their lives before their BFS started. Just like you'll have 20 people say they had a bad viral infection before their BFS started, and you'll have 20 other's say they haven't been sick, or even had a cold for years before their BFS started.

There is no definate "cause" or "cure" for BFS as of yet, and trust me, there are a few of us that have been closely studying this stuff for years.

The best thing to do is KNOW that it is benign, and KNOW that it won't cripple you or kill you, and get on with your life and quit dwelling on it. I know most of you have anxieties over it or you wouldn't be here right now reading this, you'd be out with your family or getting work done or whatever it is you LIKE to do. I don't believe many people "like" sifting through this BFS site as a "fun pastime".

Why am I here then you ask? Well, because I check-in from time to time to make sure all the kids are playing nicely together is all, and I'll jump-in to clear-up some posts that are a bit out in left field (not that this one was at all), but I have no more anxieties over BFS. Yes I still twitch, shake, jolt, feel "drained" and so on from time to time, but life goes-on pretty much as normal once you overcome your fears about this stuff and the symptoms WILL get better in time