Stress-Related Twitching: A Year Later

[DonFrancisco]

Hi all,Started twitching about a year ago after a particularly stressful time in my life. Twitching started in my legs and progressed to everywhere. Also, always been an anxiety prone person. Saw a neurologist in January 2011 and had no weakness on exam and a normal EMG and was told I "don't have MND" and "you are a very poor candidate to develop MND". Symptoms have persisted and now over the past month I've developed a lot of aching pains in my right forearm and hand. No true clinically apparent weakness but my right arm is constantly achy and it feels "weak" (i.e. when I lift things with my right arm they feel heavier than when I lift them with my left arm and my right arm always feels "heavy" and achy). Of course my anxiety about ALS is ramping up again. I mean I'm encouraged that I have had twitching all over for almost a year and don't have any "real" weakness but these feelings in my right arm a kind of freaking me out. Has anyone else had these "weakness" symptoms with BFS? Thanks for the support.

 

[hugops21]

HelloI am currently experiencing similar symptoms but in my left leg and foot.My thigh feels slightly heavy and "weak" but I do not have any real weakness. I am over a year into this and the fear creeps up on me also. I read somewhere once in these forums that the "cramping" and pains usually start at about a year into bfs. That certainly seems to be the case for you and I.A lot of my symptoms come from anxiety. When I feel a new ache or pain I panic and then all of my symptoms go into overdrive. It is amazing all of the things anxiety can do to a person!

 

[JohnnyRocket]

I suggest focusing on preventing the "ramp up" of anxiety over this issue because it is a waste of your time. Use the search function to check for "perceived weakness" and you should find many stories like yours. On the flipside, your experience is NOT the kind of "weakness" seen by the unfortunate people who suffer from ALS. Throw this train of thought far from your head.

 

[Gloria123]

Wondering about what Jen said. Have most people started feeling cramping and pain a year into BFS? Just curious. I already have a little pain in my foot, but nothing serious. I'm only 4 months into this stuff.Mitra

 

[ny446]

I have just been diagnoses with BFS and have awful forearm cramping , for the past 2 months or so.. when I type or use the computer throughout the day i pay for it for hours later.. I have weakness of the distal parts of my fingers and the base joint of my thumb.. but i guess not clinical weakness since all the dr's i've seen say i have no weaknes (but i just think, the strength tests they do anyone could pass I feel like) I've had 2 emgs and 3 neuros look at me they say this is normal.. so who knows! I have tried to make my computer more ergonomic to reduce the strain on the forearms and that helps a bit

 

[MsMaverick]

My cramping started about 3 months in. Now at 11 months, it is much better. I still have some days where it is bothersome, but most days not so much.

 

[ny446]

about the clinical weakness. i always wonder.. do the pt's with MNDs just wake up one day and have this "clinical" weakness, like foot drop etc.. I mean I would think it would have to be gradual.. where when they first notice it to themselves its not techinically clinical weakness with those basic neuro exams right?? (just one of the many thoughts that goes through my heads during this mental breakdown from it all). have yall read anything about how that truely starts??

 

[iWitch]

Cramping started in my thigh when I first got this ,then subsided, but is back again now in all parts of my legs. I am 9 months into this