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buenosaires

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I made a long post in the Do I have ALS? forum yesterday, but I want to ask one more general question:

Can MND related twitching be greatly aggravated by stress, low blood sugar (from loss of appetite) and fatigue (all things I've had since an EMG a week ago that the neuros said indicates some form of MND)?
 
Yes, they can definitely be aggravated by stress, the other things you mentioed and a whole host of other things. Stress, especially, is a huge contributor to a lot of things.
 
Okay, thanks Joel. Since people often say symptoms never go backwards, I was hoping that this variation in twitching was a good sign. I'm still early in the MND diag, so I'm desperately looking for a good sign of a misdiag.
 
Stress and fatigue, for my partner make twitching much worse. Dani
 
hi
stress makes my speech and fatigue worse also if i push myself and do too much my fasciliations are more noticable but settle down when recharged my battery
take care
scouse
 
i am exactly the same as scouse.............stress or overdoing things can make symptoms a whole lot worse
 
my twitching is at night mostly, seems get worse when i do not drink toinc water at least 8 oz. daily this also is good for crabbing.
 
Now, onto something else. I spoke to a family member this weekend who has long been diagnosed with osteoarthritis and FIBROMYALGIA, and she said her symptoms are twitching, being easily fatigued, muscle soreness, and muscle stiffness (especially in the morning). Sounds a lot like what I have and I suspect a lot like what others here have. It's an inflammation of the nerves in her body, and maybe that is why some here have noticed decreased twitching when taking things like anti-inflammatories.
I'm sure someone will read this and freak out. Just try and remember that if you are already twitching, without serious (the kind of weakness that TELLS you you are weak, not the kind that makes you wonder if you are) weakness and muscle wasting, each day is a day on your side and a confirmation of the benign condition we've been diagnosed with. I asked my neuro in a 12 month follow-up if my twitches from the year prior were ALS-related, would I definitely be having serious muscle weakness, etc., by then and he gave me a very resounding "definitely." It's just a waiting game, really, but it's one where time is on your side.
 
I've read about Fibromyalgia, and I have some of the symptoms, but there are a few things that would seem to exclude me. There are other myofascial pain syndromes though, and that's what I've thought I was dealing with for a while. I've read a ton of trigger point therapy literature. I can control some twitching with self-massage. I've controlled a lot of cramping too, but there is a point I haven't been able to break through, certain spots in my neck (the worst ones) and the weakness and immobility of my hands/fingers. I don't know what massage would do for ALS type twitching and cramping, can it be temporarily halted with massage, not the disease of course but these symptoms?

For me it's been over 7 years since the initial weakness, which is only slightly worse now if at all, and longer than that since the twitching and cramping began. Yet my neuros confidently tell me I have some form of MND.

Another thing you might want to look at is BFS. But that gives normal EMG, so it rules me out.
 
hi buenosaires.
i suspect your neuro found some clinical neurological signs and with a clean emg it could be pls/hsp or another neuromuscular disease.
with pls/hsp progression can vary but sometimes it can be over several decades.

fibromyalgia can have some symptoms like pls/hsp but a clinical exam can identify the difference between them.
you would have neurological findings in mnd but not in fibromyalgia.
 
Thanks olly. From what I understand though PLS/HSP affects the legs the most, right? Do you know of any cases where only the arms were affected for 7+ years? From what I've read it would sound most like a type of slow progression ALS that young-adult males get, though I don't know if ALS can ever go this slow.

My biggest hope for a misdiag is that they missed something in the MRI. Somebody told me that without the gad contrast (I didn't have contrast) sometimes lesions don't show up. I've had neck problems for 14 years, since high-school wrestling, that have not gotten better, and yet they say my MRI looked "normal." As far as I know these MNDs never start with years of neck pain. Of course the neck pain could be unrelated to the neurological condition, but until I get an explanation for the neck pain itself, I'm hoping that there is something there causing these MND type EMGs.
 
when did your twitching start?and is it only when the muscle is relaxed,? is it at random places or focused to one specific place? do they stop when moving that muscle?...if you started to have weakness 7 years ago and IF it was MND , i think you would have noticed it way before. 7years of weakness doesnt seem like MND.
 
there is no way you could twitch . Twitching isnt a diagnostic symptom of ALS/MND. Twitching in ALS mean your muscles are dying. If you had twitching for this long there is no way you could still function like this. You would have been in a wheelchair 7 years ago. Why dont you get a second opinion.?from a different doctor?
 
hi,hsp remains lower limb and pls can start as limb onset (usually legs but could be arms) or bulbar onset.
many with pls have twitching and cramps,probabley caused by nerve or muscle irritation from the umn symptoms/involvement.
also some with pls can have none specific emg findings but not what would indicate als.
in mnd's mri's are nearly always normal.

mri with contrast is beneficial for picking up lesions,it depends on were they are and how old they are.
for instance before my pls diagnosed i was evaluated for ms for several years with repeated mri's at intervals.
the reason is that remission periods early on the myelin sheath can be repaired resulting in the lesion disapearing .

your neck pain could be something to do with the cause,you could ask for another mri with contrast.........or it maybe unrelated.
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to the little annoying pip squeak above.........i have read your posts today and you talk a load of coddswallop.
your statement in the above post is rediculous.
in mnd,especially pls or anyother neuromuscular disease weakness can progress over many years.
i was 7yrs of weakness ect before diagnosed,some with pls have gone 10+yrs.
if you dont have anything constructive to say then dont bother.
 
buenosaires,
I was diagnosed with bulbar PLS. My MRI was normal. Onset was 2004...did not have any limb problems until 2008...my left leg and left arm started getting weak.
In Jan. of this year I was re-classified to a diagnosed of ALS. I am in a powerchair with no ability to transfer and my left arm/hand is pretty much useless. My right arm and leg is on its way downward. I do have twitching and cramping. The cramping has gotten better, but the twiching has gotten worse. I have never had neck pain.

Judith
 
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