Thumb Twitching: My Story

[Gustafar]

Hi everyoneI´ve been reading this forum for a while and it has helped my enormously. Nevertheless I would like to tell my story and I would be very grateful for your time. I am a Swedish (please forgive my less than perfect English) middle-aged female (age 39) who about sex weeks ago started to have pronounced twitches in my right thumb. It was moving from side to side, and I could not control it.Then I started to get what I now know is called fasciculations in my lower legs. One here, one there. Then these fasciculations spread to my thighs, my face (eye-lid, lips), triceps, abdomen and you name it. It is totally unpredictable. Always present but some days just one here one there. Other days all over the place or repeatedly for hours at one spot (preferably the right triceps). These fasciculations are easily seen to an outsider.At the same time I started to get paresteshias in my feet - it is like walking on small cushions filled with sparkling soda. I have also gotten what people tell med resembles restless legs - strange paresthesias in my legs (prickling, tingling), mostly lower, but also in the right part of my face.Another really bothersome symptom is the feeling of a dull pain in my legs, like they are filled with lactic acid.The couple of months prior to all this I started to feel tired, a "drained of energy-feeling", frequent headaches, heart skipping a beat, very cold hands. And really tired legs. I have been under a lot of emotional stress. My brother killed himself two years ago. A couple of years before that I was diagnosed with a serious neurological disorder and had to have brain surgery. Now I have a relative that has terminal cancer. I have also always been a vulnerable person, with lots of anxiety issues and bouts of depression. Since my brain operation my biggest fear is to have a recurrence, or getting another serious disease, neurological or other. So I am prone to health anxiety as well.I have also been exercising a lot - to much perhaps - and eating less then perfect. I try to manage my anxiety with overdoing it in the gym and with a slight eating disorder - so - I have been under a lot of physical, psychological and emotional stress the last couple of years.So when I discussed my new symptoms with my doctor of course he wrote it off as anxiety. Who can blame him? But - anxiety and depressions and stressful life events do not protect a person from getting a somatic non-stress-related disease either... I am afraid the doctors will take me less serious because it is so easy to draw the conclusion "it is just stress-related". He did do a battery of blood work test, glucose, iron, B-complex, thyroid, calium, magnesium etc. I have not been tested for lyme disease. A slight calium deficiency but he said it was not significant.A month before the fasciculations and paresthesias started I was infected with the genital herpes virus for the first time. The herpes has been diagnosed by my gynaecologist. I have hade it pretty bad, with a flare up every month.I have discussed a possible connection between this viral infection and the onset of my neurological symptoms with my doctor and she said it was most likely just a coincidence. But I am not so sure? What do you think?After fainting at home one morning I went to the ER. A was examined by a neurologist who I felt took my problems serious and gave me a thorough clinical examination.I told her about the fasciculations and the parastesias and that my fear was I had ALS or MS.She said everything was absolutely normal and that there were no indications what so ever I had developed a new neurological disease. No reason to do EMG, LP or MRI.No diagnosis though. No explanation. Anyway, my anxiety level is now totally off the scale. Reading this board I have let go of most of my ALS- fear so my biggest concern now is MS.Please, if you´d take the time to respond I will be so grateful. I really need help.Does my symptoms sound like BFS to you?What about this lactic acid feeling in my legs? Is this common?Do you think there is any connection to me getting infected with herpes?I have done some reading about functional symptoms is BFS a functional symptom?I have also been reading about chronic low grade hyperventilation syndrome- could that cause or worsen BFS? I really do think I have HVS, due to my high anxiety levels!What about MS? My biggest fear as of now. Thank you for reading and being there! Sorry for the long post.

 

[TatsuDragon15]

HiYour symptoms sound like anxiety. To be honest though, you could be going through perimenopause. A lot of women report twitching and tingling and odd sensations during this time as well. Even though you are still young symptoms or peri-menopause can mimic a lot of neurological conditions as well.

 

[bfhopeful2]

stress plus exercise plus herpes always equals bfs. You do not have MS. You sound just like me...ive had it two years and am still fine...actually just beat up a 400lbs man today...legally of course...i still get scared but that's just the mind messing with me...get the mri to rule out MS. And emg to give you peace of mind...but everything you stated is anxiety/bfs normal.I don't know what ur previous condition was but also confirm that it can't be responsible....once all is clear (which it will be) the only thing you will have to worry about is these *beep* twitches...ull be fine...god bless

 

[KorbalFlux]

I have had exactly the experience you have had, tingling and other sensations in feet, hands, face, etc. along with my twitching. I had an MRI done because I too feared MS. It was completely clean. Hope this helps you.

 

[Gustafar]

Maury - did the doctor give you any diagnosis or explanation? The neurologist who examined me at the ER didn´t, just said "symptoms like this can happen". My GP does not have anything to say except that he can´t explain my symptoms and sometimes the medical profession have to concentrate on excluding serious diseases and leave it at that. My gyneocoligist didn´t think there was any connection between my symptoms and the herpes and I never explored further what she might think it could be since she - after all - is no neuro. BTW I went back to the ER and this time I was examined not by a neuro but by a specialist in internal medicine. She was - as opposoed to the neuro who examined me a couple of weeks earlier - unintrested and had no interest in trying to explain anything.BFS is not very well known here I guess. If I Google for information about BFS in swedish I get pretty much nothing. The scary thing about googling symptoms is that inevitably I hit the MS websites. YIKES!!! My hopes now is getting information and input and support at this forum and I am very grateful for any one who would take the time to read my story and respond. God bless.

 

[JohnnyRocket]

Swedish -Based on the description of your symptoms as well as your history of anxiety, it is hard for me to imagine you should be worrying about anything other than BFS. You ruled out ALS (nice job) and now I think it is time to rule out MS. I've had BFS for years and have had much of the sensory crap to go along with it. My high anxiety, especially associated with my health, has caused all sorts of weird sensations, numbness, pain, etc. over the years. Your symptoms don't sounds at all like MS to me, and I think your doctors see the same. Stay on this board if it helps you, and stop googling your symptoms for answers. Listen to your doctors and go back to them with questions/concerns if you have any. There isn't a lot of information on the web on BFS because it is very uninteresting to people that don't have it. Who cares about a benign condition when there are so many other horrible diseases out there killing people? Use the search function on this site for MS and I think you will find a lot of answers.

 

[AussieSurvivor]

Swedish....Reading your post, it sounds like you have had a lot of 'traumas' in your life, and your post is full of anxiety and you confess to being an anxious person,and probably a worrier as well. I would suggest ( like me) chronic streess /anxiety may have bought this on for you. Everytime you are anxious or stressed you get an adrenaline rush which produces a hyper-excited nervous system(flight or fight stuff). I believe (in my case and maybe yours) BFS is the result of a chronically hyped nervous system..the result twitching etc! And the system is on edge all the time..like a simmering pot of hot water. Turn the heat up slightly ( adrenaline) and bango..you have boiling water ( BFS)Have you tried to manage your anxiety- are you on meds? BFS is 90% mental and 10 % physical in my opinion. Control the mental stuff and you control the physical stuff. Oh yeh, I dont beleive the herpes is the cause of your BFS,that is just co-incidental.PS the sensory stuff you are getting is all part of this BFS crap, I get all that as well and more!You have BFS...nothing more.cheersRodgerPS Sweden..a beautiful country.. I must visit one day!

 

[Gustafar]

Thank you for taking the time. Your answers mean so much to me!I loved the image of the boiling water, so true! And yes Sweden is a beautiful country, at least now in the spring! The winters though are really long, dark and cold. If you ever should visit, be sure it is during spring or summer!

 

[HoneybeeBzzz]

Does my symptoms sound like BFS to you? YES everything you describe is exactly what happens to meWhat about this lactic acid feeling in my legs? Is this common? I get really tired feeling legs and my calves will get rock hard and tight.Do you think there is any connection to me getting infected with herpes? Maybe, only because a lot of people have had some type of virus before BFS and Dr's think that it could be virus related.[/color]I have done some reading about functional symptoms is BFS a functional symptom? Sorry, don't know, but I am to scared to search, I don't use Dr. Google anymore, that's what made my symptoms worse and ruined my life for about 3 solid months.I have also been reading about chronic low grade hyperventilation syndrome- could that cause or worsen BFS? I really do think I have HVS, due to my high anxiety levels! I was told at my first visit to an Urgent Care (right after this started for me) that I had HVS, I think HVS can cause these symptoms but my anxiety is so much better than it was and I am still getting twitches almost 11 months later.What about MS? My biggest fear as of now. Do a search on here, I am pretty sure it will put your mind at ease. I don't know much about MS and won't look into it for fear, but others have and are willing to help you answer that. All I know is that when I was thinking I had ALS all I could think was I hoped it was MS since that is treatable.