Greetings all! My name is Ginny and I'm 49 years old. I've been twitching for about 3 weeks now. My best guess (after the initial ALS scare) is that I have BFS. Everything I'm seeing is consistent with that diagnosis (esp exercise intolerance; primarily twitching in calves, feet (altho get them all over occasionally). I haven't seen MD yet - altho probably will in the near future just for peace of mind. I am sort of biding my time at this point - certainly will get things checked out if I develop more serious symptoms.
Ginny (GinniferLynne) - When I first discovered this site and was reading various posts, yours were of particular, personal interest. I have been a runner for 32 years now. I completed my first (and only) marathon in 2000. I did my most recent half in October (2004) and was training for a Spring (05) marathon until I got injured in March (interestingly enough, in the calf). I love distance running. As it turns out, my twitching started after a mid week run recently - noted my calves twitching and have been nonstop ever since.
I plan to send you a private message or email in order to ask you some running related specifics so as to not take up too much space here. But I read your recent concerns re 'constant' twitching in the calf - the last couple of days, mine have been very frequent - sometimes several twitches per second (altho that's when it's at it's worst). I am curious - since you noted in a post that you were training for a fall marathon, have you seen a correlation between increased mileage (if you are in training mode) and problems with twitching/stiffness? Again, I'll write you directly regarding more running related specifics, but I am curious as I had been tentatively planning for a fall marathon possibility myself (Nov) until this happened. Now I'm very concerned that the increased mileage will exacerbate symptoms and be perhaps counterproductive to overall health. So, I'm really wrestling with this.
Reading the posts on this site has been very reassuring with regard to normalizing what I'm experiencing - both with the twitching itself as well as my emotional reaction to it. Generally I feel like I'm adapting to this new experience pretty well, altho when I'm into a high frequency twitch mode it can be a bit fraying on the nerves. I guess it's just still a pretty new phenomenon to me. I have also been having hormonal issues, dealing with hot flashes/night sweats, which interferes with sleep and makes adjustment to the twitch more trying and adding a bit to fatigue. I've wondered about the correlation with the onset of twitching and hormonal variability/perimenopause. Also, I do have a family history of autoimmune illness, and have over the last several years experience increasing frequency of Reynaud's episodes (altho not that often - mostly in the winter).
Anyway, this site seems like the best source of information and support on BFS available. It was a huge relief to find it. I'm really looking forward to learning from you all. Even tho I've just been lurking until now, I appreciate the candor and support you all give each other. It's been reassuring in many ways.
Best regards,
Ginny
Ginny (GinniferLynne) - When I first discovered this site and was reading various posts, yours were of particular, personal interest. I have been a runner for 32 years now. I completed my first (and only) marathon in 2000. I did my most recent half in October (2004) and was training for a Spring (05) marathon until I got injured in March (interestingly enough, in the calf). I love distance running. As it turns out, my twitching started after a mid week run recently - noted my calves twitching and have been nonstop ever since.
I plan to send you a private message or email in order to ask you some running related specifics so as to not take up too much space here. But I read your recent concerns re 'constant' twitching in the calf - the last couple of days, mine have been very frequent - sometimes several twitches per second (altho that's when it's at it's worst). I am curious - since you noted in a post that you were training for a fall marathon, have you seen a correlation between increased mileage (if you are in training mode) and problems with twitching/stiffness? Again, I'll write you directly regarding more running related specifics, but I am curious as I had been tentatively planning for a fall marathon possibility myself (Nov) until this happened. Now I'm very concerned that the increased mileage will exacerbate symptoms and be perhaps counterproductive to overall health. So, I'm really wrestling with this.
Reading the posts on this site has been very reassuring with regard to normalizing what I'm experiencing - both with the twitching itself as well as my emotional reaction to it. Generally I feel like I'm adapting to this new experience pretty well, altho when I'm into a high frequency twitch mode it can be a bit fraying on the nerves. I guess it's just still a pretty new phenomenon to me. I have also been having hormonal issues, dealing with hot flashes/night sweats, which interferes with sleep and makes adjustment to the twitch more trying and adding a bit to fatigue. I've wondered about the correlation with the onset of twitching and hormonal variability/perimenopause. Also, I do have a family history of autoimmune illness, and have over the last several years experience increasing frequency of Reynaud's episodes (altho not that often - mostly in the winter).
Anyway, this site seems like the best source of information and support on BFS available. It was a huge relief to find it. I'm really looking forward to learning from you all. Even tho I've just been lurking until now, I appreciate the candor and support you all give each other. It's been reassuring in many ways.
Best regards,
Ginny