Hello all.I must thank you all in advance, especially those that took the time to comfort and inform those of us freaking out in the earliest of our BFS days. I was, until now, one of those too shy to post about my own symptoms/fear/anxiety etc. and instead relied on others to do it for me. So, now, if you would lend me your ear:Back in 2007 I first noticed what I still call a tight, cramp like discomfort in my left gluteal muscles (butt muscles) and of course twitching, restricted to my left leg. The GP said I was fine, but I insisted on the nero referral. The nero said that all was well and sent me off to PT. Did that for 6 months and went on a year long backpacking trip; I had totally forgotten about the pain and twitching.Over three years later, this past fall I began to notice the return of my initial symptoms, except that the butt pain now occured on both sides and the twitching was occuring all over. A suite of seemingly neurological symptoms sent my GP and me into a bit of a frenzy. 1) Sudden onset of headache on right side above ear. This headache, best as I can describe, feels almost entirely muscular, like my scalp has totally tightened, contracted in a single spot. Any one relate? 2) Fatigue, especially mid day. 3) Increased frequency of twitching all over 4) Muscle tightness in the gluteal muscles 5) Upper inner lip percieved as dry? swollen? Do you all know what I am talking about? 6) Numbness in two fingers in my right hand that would come and go. In any case, the head ache and twitching seemed to really get the GPs attention and off I was for a MRI and a talk with the neruo. MRI, EMG and two neuros later and I don't have much to say. MRI was completely negative and the EMG was apparently down right uninteresting. I've been obliquely reassured that I will probably be "just fine" and that there aren't any signs of neruodegenerative... etc. But no answer either. No mention of BFS.This was in early February. Since then, I've felt much better. Four weeks of mild twitching and a tight glutes, I can live with this! Then, this past weekend the headache/scalp tightness had settled back in; and that, this is what has driven me to tell you all, all about this past months. Has anyone else had headaches like this? The headache return is coupled withe the return of all my original symptoms... but in comparison none of them matter! The headache is the worst.And then. Trouble. I've been thinking to myself, is this a relapsing remitting pattern I am seeing. What if I have Mary Sam? Someone remind me that I probably don't. Please.One of the neuros recommended peppermint oil as a topical treatment for the scalp muscle tightness/headache. I think its time to give that a try. All for now. Thanks for listening.Max
Thanking Those Who Comforted Us
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DromaeosaurR
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I can relate to some degree. From mid-Jan to the beginning of April I had a persistent lip twitch. About a month into the twitching I developed a light headache that comes on in the afternoon. I also experience tightness on the right side of my face with some scalp itching. The lip twitch is gone, but the rest of my body still twitches in various parts all over. No cramping. I'm still waiting to see a Neuro, so I don't have any official word on what may be happening. I did however have an MRI that came back clean save for a small cyst on the Pineal Gland which is not all that uncommon and has nothing to do with my symptoms.If you've been cleared by an Neurologist, I think it's safe to assume that you are MS free. Your symptoms are identical to what a lot of people here have experienced and the answer is almost always BFS. It's a tough diagnosis to accept, because it's not really a diagnosis. It's more of an "I don't know what's causing this, but whatever it is, it isn't life threatening" kind of thing.There are people on this board with far more experience and knowledge than me, I'm sure one will come along any minute to offer some more piece of mind. Take care!
Hi and welcome to BFS. I'm not going to go into a huge explanation about why you dont have MS, just for the simple fact I tend to do that from time to time, and for the most part, I type it all out and for the most part it is overlooked and the person continues to worry about it. But... I will say this. When twitching occurs with MS (as it does occur) it is generally located in one area or muscle where the damage has occured, not all over. I know you said that initially it did start in just one area 3 yrs ago, but honestly that could have been your BFS starting then, and now you are having a flare up, or it could have simply been an irritation of a nerve such as your Sciatic nerve. Either way, headache or not, all of this is not how MS would present. If you were having RR MS, you would have some paralysis, or clinical weakness in one limb or one side of the body, along with some of these other symptoms. When you dont have paralysis, or clinical weakness, but you have the other symptoms, then you tend to fall into the BFS dxs (whether your doctor says it or not) (mine refused to), but thats whats left on the table when all other nasties have been ruled out.I believe you are one of us, and yes I have had the head sensation you are describing and the lip sensation (almost daily with the lip), the headache you describe does sound like muscle tension, I get that but mine tends to be behind my ear on the right side of my head and a little towards the back. Heat helps, massage helps, reducing stress helps, and good sleep.I hope you continue to post, as I believe there is a lot of support here for you, and sometimes trying to deal with this condition alone is a bit much.Take careRobynn 
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)Thanks for your replies! I know that you are both right... it is easy though to ignore the the more likely explanation to one's symptoms and reach for the exotic... Its is nice to be reminded from time to time.I saw my neurologist today about these muscle tension headaches that I've been having and she suggested NSAIDs (naproxen sodium specifically) and if things don't improve a steroid injection into the area. As I understand her explanation, the area is flooded with the steroid (a potent antiinflammatory) and can in many cases break the headache cycle for an extended period of time or permanently. It is tempting, but I have to admit a steroid injection to the head doesn't sound like the most fun thing I'll do this week. Do you all or anyone else have any experience with this sort of thing?