Unexplained Symptoms: MS Fears

[RanTreasurer]

I have been having fasiculations on and off for about a year. I am in good shape, only 30 years old. Yet, the eyelid twitching scares me and sometimes that feeling in my feet when I'm laying down like pins and needles makes me fear MS. Also, I can wake up shuddering but not seeing my hands move and below this man writes, "unexplained sensory symptoms" raise the question of MS.
Below I have pasted the text.
Andrew


"A patient has a two-year history of generalized muscle twitching and a burning sensation throughout his body. The twitches increase when he's tired. His bloodwork and EMG are normal, and he's otherwise healthy," explains R. VELMURUGIAH, MD, of Edmonton, AB, who then asks, "What could be causing this, and is there any treatment available?"


The most common cause of generalized muscle twitching in someone with an otherwise normal clinical examination is benign fasciculation syndrome. On the basis of your information, including a normal EMG and presumably a normal physical examination, however, I can't see a connection between the muscle twitching and burning. Of course, unexplained sensory symptoms in a younger person often raise the question of multiple sclerosis (MS). It's important to examine the patient's muscle tone looking for any evidence of spasticity. If MS is still a plausible explanation for some of the symptoms, consider an MRI of the head next. If it turns out that he was just having benign fasciculations, I wouldn't recommend any treatment. AG

 

[eyennyGlimmer]

Hi Andrew I am new to BFS but have been going through it for 7 months and just got a dx of BFS. It first started with pins and needles with the burning sensation all through my body, from head to toe. I knew for certain I had MS. I had internal vibrations, tremors, stiff muscles. I even have cogwheeling(rigid) in my left arm. I had left eye pain also. Most of this was from looking up things on internet and extreme anxiety but knew I was feeling it and you are. My twitches started in right hand index finger pulling towards thumb, then my feet, knee, then all over my body, twitches in legs all the time. I even shake when I hold myself in a certain posture. All my Dr.'s told me that I do not have MS, one I would be showing weakness by now or would be having alot more problems then I do now. One night I woke up and my whole body was shaking inside...I call it my earthquakes, I had one last night but not as bad as my first. I held my hands out and there was nothing there. I thought I was having some internal seizure. It was soooo scary but this is part of BFS. Someone mentioned to me on this site that they thought a helicopter was on their roof, same as my earthquake. My prayers are with you and please dont look things up on the internet you will get all of the symptoms....trust me I did.....The mind is so powerful....Jenn

 

[LisaQ.]

Andrew? Didn't I try to warn you about reading articles? LOL.

OK-I don't know your history, but if you haven't been to a doctor for an exam, it would behoove me to encourage you to do so.

(Public service announcement out of the way...)

Next. MS generally has a pattern of waxing/waning, relapsing/remitting symptoms that occur over time and space. (Meaning over years and in different parts of the body..) We're not talking about symptoms that come and go throughout the day as you are describing. Just because you have tingling sensations in your feet doesn't mean you have MS, especially if you only experience this upon rising in the morning. This is a VERY common symptom of bfs.

With MS, you would suddenly not be able to feel your feet at all, and that symptom would remain with you ALL DAY EVERY DAY until you received treatment with iv steroids or the brain lesions remitted. You can't have brain lesions one minute, and not the next. The lesions do have a tendancy to heal, especially in the early stages, but not that quickly.

A classic presentation of MS is sudden blindness in part of the eye, one eye, or both eyes, or double vision that does not improve. Or, weakness of an arm, or leg that again, does not change for a period of time (often weeks to months...)

Twitching is not commonly associated with MS, but tingling and sensory symptoms are very common with bfs.

I hope this helps to ease your mind.

Blessings,
Sue

 

[furballfury]

Andrew-

It is the inherent danger of the internet, the possibility that any of us will find a certain post that gives us a grim prognosis, without finding the others that present a differing possibility.

If you search on somatic complaints, anxiety symptoms, etc., you will similarly find lists of symptoms and cases where an otherwise "healthy" young adult could suffer from everything described and then some, including twitching and sensory symptoms. I am not by any means diagnosing you with anything, just raising the possibility that there are multiple possible explanations out there for what you are seeking - not just the initial potential conclusion reached by one person suspecting one thing.

MS is a tough diagnosis in some cases, no doubt. If it helps ease your fears as it did mine when I was sure I had MS, the majority of published notes on it that I found seemed to point to a certain level of severity of symptoms during a true exacerbation, and that my more subtle unusual sensory symptoms, for example, were not what was really being referred to. Of course, in neurology, nothing seems universally true.

I would echo what was said above, based on your description and what we do/do not know about typical MS presentations, it seems as if you have much to be reassured about that this is not likely MS, and is more likely something more benign.

Best wishes for continued health.

JG