Waiting for Tests and Appointment in Canada

[spotlight75]

Hey allI'm sure other Canadians know what it's like to get tests and appointments in Canada. It takes a *beep* long time. I've been twitching and anxious for 2 years stable with no other symptoms. Do you think this alone rules out most of the terminal illnesses? I saw a doctor and she referred me to a neuro. This referral will take 4-5 months and an MRI appointment will take me until near 2014. She said there are many people that come in everyday with vague neurological symptoms.The most annoying symptom for me is OCD/anxiety/rumination. There seems to be a layer in my imagination that is always there. Like, if I am imagining a picture in my head, there is almost a layer of lines and squiggles super imposed on the picture that I am consciously trying to imagine. I have seen many people on this forum with anxiety issues. Maybe they are linked or maybe I'm just nuts.For people also suffering from anxiety, what is more annoying? Physical twitching or mental symptoms? Also, does the two years of stable symptoms rule out most nasty diseases?Thanks

 

[yanyytypeyofyuserna]

First of all, the fact that you've been twitching for two years with no other symptoms should give you every good and logical reason to believe that you do not have ALS or any other terrible neurological disease. If your two year old twitches were caused by ALS you'd most likely be dead or dying, or at least seriously disabled by now. ALS is a disease of weakness and atrophy.... not twitches. The twitches in ALS are incidental to weak muscles that are dying. Once it sets in, it progresses relentlessly and pretty rapidly. If your twitches were related to motor neuron disease, you wouldn't be guessing at this point. It seems as though many of the folks on this board have real anxiety issues. Some pre-existing. Others have new-found anxiety related to their fear of ALS. In any event, anxiety seems to be a big part of the BFS package. For many of us, it is by far the worst part of the whole deal. I believe that getting beyond the anxiety associated with BFS is the first real step in effectively dealing with it. Easier said than done.... I know.Again.... the fact that you've been twitching for two years without weakness and/or other real neurological deficiencies tells me that you have BFS..... nothing more, nothing less. You're o.k. This isn't gonna' cripple you. It isn't gonna' kill you. Stay on this board. Talk to people. Listen to them. It will help with the anxiety, I'll bet. Avoid self scrutinization and self-diagnosis, and stay away from Google searches. "Dr. Google" is worth exactly what you paid him...... nothing!!!You have BFS. Welcome to the club!John

 

[Gracer]

In anxiety EVERYTHING sucks, beleve an old GAD sufferer...as a fellow colleague said, 2 years of just twitching means a really huge possibility of benign stress-related condition (all other reasons, even should you have thyroid troubles, for example, would add more to your picture for sucha long term and doctors would rather spot it even on primary visit).My own experience of fighting anxiety involves 30 years of compensation (let's say I was trying to ignore my GAD or drill myself in a bit of CBT way) with no good result, and up to now - 4 years of combined speaking therapy / mild medication with definitely many good achievements, including decrease in severity of my own BFS. And if you read the forum, you'll see that for many of BFS fellows proper antianxiety treatment is a cure no.1.Please remember also that now is a darkest part of the year when all anxiety diseases get worse due to low insolation. Happy Australians!!! They have a summer now!

 

[spotlight75]

Thanks for the reassuranceIt's weird how so many people that twitch suffer from anxiety but a small proportion of people who suffer from anxiety twitch. It's as if we're a subset of anxiety.

 

[nikolas.1]

Dman15, Read somewhere that after being diagnosed with twitching, follow up is needed in 1 year to determine if it is truly benign. If after 1 year twitching still there with no other progressive condition, you can be assured it is benign. You got 2 years in....i got almost 3 .......so without a doubt............were in the clear....unless of course were the 1 in 500,000,000 of the case study!!!!!!Danny

 

[RockSolidGuy89]

I am intrigued by the connection between ocd and bfsI first had a bad spell of ocd about 10 years ago, not physical stuff but more mental, like repetive or intrusive thoughts, however i got it under control, recently i have had another lapse - i think there is some susceptibility in our brain chemistry that makes us more prone to this but it can be managed and treated or you can simply find a way to deal with it yourselffor example, i am having a relapse of concern about neurological diseases now - almost a year after a clean emg, i am obsessively focusing in on my tongue and of course because of this i am noticing tightness and stiffness and tingles - i am also hyperconscious of each step i take now and almost imagining that i am developing a limp - a part of me thinks its real, a part of me thinks it somatisation and my mind playing games - but all we have are our minds and if we think something is happening, then effectively it is happening, the only thing is we don't know the cause or consequences and that is the worrying part of it99% of me thinks this is nothing to worry about but my anxious mind needs 100% certainty or it stresses out, that's how anxious i am at the moment, maybe it is the time of year or the fact my girlfriend is studying far away or my family are also far but i know i need to get it under control againso i will see my doctor next week, NOT ABOUT twitches and neurological stuff but about anxietyI hope I am clear of the dangerous stuff, i was pretty much free of worry about it the last 8/9 months but the fear has returned as has the ocd thoughts, hopefully that's all I have to deal withi just ran 3 miles in a pretty decent time but i still felt a slight strain or perceived limp in right leg but i think it was all in my head, like i was focusing on the leg so much i almost made it true, i feel i am doing the same with my tongue too, i haven't had any strong noticeable tongue twitches in years of bodywide twitching so i am fearing that will happen soon and freak me out - i wonder is it possible to induce tongue twitches by obsessive focus on the tongue - probably not, but if anyone can do it, it's meanyway if all i have to deal with is temporary spells of anxiety then no matter how annoying it is, i will be immensely grateful