Welcome Back - Not ALS After All?

[masteroflifey2y]

Hi everyone - old and new!

I used to post on this site before I really got freaked out by the ALS-posts of Carol and others (no offence!).

Now I've been twitching for about 6 months and beginning to believe I don't have ALS. But I definitely do have something, since I twitch hundreds of times a day and my muscles ache after any type of physical activity not only for a day like before but for several days!

Well- what I was wondering was if anyone here had been on Atkins prior to the twitching. I started doing Atkins in August 2002 and just loved it! I dropped about 40 pounds by March 2003 and reached my normal weight. Then the twiching began - I got REALLY scared - and changed back to my old eating habits (=sugar here we come). Obviously I gained all of it back, but the twiching didn't stop. It did.however,reduce, now I'm twiching about 40% compared to the worst times.

A week ago I started Atkins again. It's really a great diet! i've lost 5 puonds already! But... I still wonder, if the twiching is related to the diet.
I wonder if there's anyone with similar experiences here.

(People who are against Atkins just for the heck of it, please don't bother to answer - if you think it's humbug you don't know what you're talking about. It works and it's definitely the easiest AND healthiest way to lose weight!)

I also recall reading somewhere that samples from ALS-patients' brains included more "protein" - can't remember the correct term, but actually a by-product of protein? - than those of healthy people.

Glad to hear your thoughts!

 

[Alonzo]

alive, my buddy does the Atkin's diet from time to time and loses weight all the time.

The fact is, I'll bet maybe one or two other people on this forum have done that particular (and vrey specific) diet, and the rest haven't. That's just a bet, though... especially being that several people on here with BFS are vegetarians, so how could they have gotten it if they did the complete opposite as the Atkin's diet?

You are right to believe you do have "something". It's called BFS. The reason your twitches have dropped about 40% is because that is completely "par for the course" for BFS. EVERYTHING you described is BFS, right down to the last detail.

Trust me, your twitches will not even be noticable some days and other days. you'll have not hundreds, but thousands of them, and maybe even a few jolts and jumps here and there as well. BFS is always changing. It's almost never a constant. Numerous symptoms come and go all of the time. That's normal for BFS, as is your aching for days.

We see all kind of new comer's say the started taking B-12, or Potassium or other wonder suppliments and their twitches go away for a while, only to come right back again. It's the placebo effect every time with that kind of stuff. Trust me, the second something is found that really works to get rid of this stuff, it'll be all over the place on this forum, and veterans like myself, and many other's who have witnessed just about everything imaginable as a "remedy", and so far, nothing really works.

The muscle aches you have (even for several days like we ALL get) are what a lot of people with BFS talk about, and the reason they ache after exerecise is because of the ever common "exercise intolerance" symptom of BFS. If you had ALS, you wouldn't even be able to exercise to get muscle aches, because you can't exercise when you can't command your muscles to move, and they wither away.

You mentioned something about protien build-up in the brains of ALS patients. Patients with MS also have protien build-up in their brains. There are several diseases that have that same finding. It ain't from eating meat though, so don't worry about that, and diet-on if it makes you feel and look better

 

[garymills]

hi,
I have had bfs now for 8 years( only just told what it was ) when I first went to my doc with the twitches he booked me in to see a specialist and also sent me for some blood tests. When the blood tests came back I had a slightly hign level of a enzyme, I can't remember which one though I wasn't really interested back then, but I recently went back again to see him because of the twitches and he sent me for more blood tests one of which was an LFT ( LIVER FUNCTION TEST) this came back showing a slightly high level of ALT an enzyme that shows up when there is damage to liver cells, I have just had a re-test done which came back showing the same. So I have to have another one done in 3 months. Anyway my theory is that bfs could be liver related, the liver is the main organ for getting rid of toxins it also stores and creates vitimins, so if it isn't working properly it can cause all sorts of problems. Back to your point about the Atkins I was also recently on this and did see a increase in my symtoms,
the Atkins is high in protein and the liver can struggle with high in-takes of protien which affects it function. I would be intrest to hear if anyone else has any information about this.
Paul.

 

[yummylips]

I too was on the Atkins diet when twitching started, but I really think it was just a fluke. I did however think it was related in the beginning and stopped the diet. After stopping, my symptoms got worse. I think that may be because i began eating lots of sugar that i wasn't on the diet and also drinking caffeine. Couple that with the stress/anxiety my calves twitched like crazy.
I've started back on the diet, though not real strict. I'm consuming lots of veggies, but limiting sugar to a minimum. I'll see if that helps.

good luck to you,
gary