To all the twitchers out there....read it.

[millinero]

HI! there,
i am arya...male 27 from india....well first and foremost let me start by saying that this is a great site with abundance of knowledge you can gather about ALS.... and hat's off to all the people who are a part of this and continuously strive to help the needy...and now to start of with my story.....i started twiching right under my rib cage last april.....it was sporadic and was there alll the time....after bout 3 months it was widespread , everywhere u name the muscle and it was there....deltoids...traps....thighs...gluts....calfs....forearm...tongue...even abdomen.
so you can say i was a twitching anatomy from head to toe.....googled for wat is it and as usual ALS came forward, and after that you can imagine what happens as you urself might be going through it.lot of anxiety and fear of having it....well i was a mess as far as my mind is concernned....went through loads a threads for twitching on ALS forums for about 10 months and then decided to consult a neuro dats jan this yr....he outrightly diagnosed me with BFS just by asking me few questions and few strength tests....well went back home peacefully....but then again my mind started playing awfull tricks and once again the thought of having ALS returned.
then a week back i went to see another neuro...told him my story...and he checked me from head to toe along with strength tests...and then asked me to have EMG....and few other blood tests....obvious enough i was petrified...but then i thought if it is to be then lets face it and went through with all the tests....well my EMG came out possitive yes possitive it read ABNORMAL STUDY SUGGESTIVE OF SHOWING NEUROGENIC CHANGES.CORRELATE CLINICALLY.
now you can imagine wat i must have been going through....somehow slept and went to see the neuro the next day....he asked me if i have any problems walking...or am i having tripping or falling problems ...my anwer NO....then he went through my blood report and told me its YOUR THYROID...it was 5.696.... and told me how it can be a cause for muscle twitching....i again asked him but why did my EMG came out possitive....his answer....ITS HARD TO SATISFY A HALF READ MAN....leave it to us we know wat we are doing.
so guys even though its hard for u dont worry just have a EMG and other tests and put ur mind at ease...as twitching is not JUST suggestive of ALS ....but many other problems regarding neuropathies and myopathies...AND NOT JUST ALS.
hope this post satisfies many other twitchers like me...chao!

Chau Bao Nguyen

 

[millinero]

hi! i am posting again to clear any confusions if there are any after reading my post....as far as my EMG is concerned i had wider amplitudes and increased action potential....with no atrophy or denervation...every thing else was normal....and this is classic with neuropathy...and my blood work for thyroid i had TSH level of 5.696...with T3 AND T4 within the normal limits...and so i was diagnosed with SUBCLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM.... and yes twitching,cramping,joint pains,muscle pains are some of many symptoms of thyroid disorders...which does come under PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY....and as far as my medication goes its just been 2 weeks ...and yes twitching is improving although my doc told me it takes about 6 weeks for medicines to take effect.

 

[Zaphoon]

Arya,

Thank you for sharing your story! I hope many will read and be encouraged by it!

Zaphoon

 

[hovering]

This is a nice post by Arya...where in the world of twitching aka fasciculations people drive themselves crazy by self diagnosing themself with MND ...and i am no exception to it, have been having regular appointments with doctor Google....and my only symptom twitching... over the past year i have learned so much from doctor google that somewhat my mind is at ease....but , this post tells about thyroid disorder in which u can have twitching...which i did'nt know.
now i have a different perspective...will go and meet a doc and who knows may be with me too it turns out to be my thyroid...i agree with Arya that we just fixate out self with ALS ....and stop looking at other possibilities....when ALS is not even about twitching.Its not a twitching disorder but a movement disorder...and as for the ones who are still obsessed and believe twitch to be ALS...please..get off it....coz twitching though it may present will have some form of weakness ,denervation or atrophy....sometimes not even visible...and the only way to get it checked....is through a doc and having an EMG....so stop pounding ur head over TWITCHING!