mateorodriguez
New member
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2018
- Messages
- 6
- Reason
- Other
- Country
- COL
- State
- bogotá
- City
- bogotá
Hello everyone, I would like to thank you all for taking the time of reading and replying this. I am a med student from Colombia and my English is a little rusty, but I will do my best to communicate my messy thoughs.
Last November I was on my campus when I started having little jerk moves. For example, when I wanted to raise my hand it raised in an exaggerated way, or I would change position and my foot would move too even if I hadn't thought about it. Since it didn't go away, I started to become stressed and I started to somatize many symptoms like a tensional headache and shivers. I had a panic attack and my uncle called a doctor he knew. He made me a physical examination and told me that neurologically i was perfect. I calmed down but the jerks continued since then. I had another breakdown at university because of them, and that same day I had a magnetic resonance of my head, which came clean. I calmed down again but the jerks continued.
This year i went to a neurologist that made me another physical examination and told me I was great, with no pathological signs. He diagnosed me a benign tremor and prescribed propranolol. I told him I wanted an electromyography and a nerve conduction study to rule out anything serious and he told me that while he didn't find it necessary because It was probably just a dopamine excess, he would write me an order because the results may calm me. In February, two weeks before the exam I noticed I had a small fasciculation in my right arm that twitches every day at every time, specially if I extend all my fingers. I started to become paranoid that maybe it was als and I was devastated. My jerks continued with the fasciculation.
I had the two tests and they came back good, alongside a thyroid test that came normal. The neurologist that made the electromyography and nerve study told me that if it was an sclerosis it would look really obvious. I told him about the fasciculation in my hand but he told me to not worry about it. I went to my first neurologist and he told me it was probably the dopamine, that I shouldn't worry about it anymore and I parted. Fast forward and since then I started having really strong fasciculations all over my body, starting on my calves and moving randomly to my arms, knees, quadriceps, etc. In addition to this I feel weird when walking and really paranoid about everything. I learned about benign fasciculation syndrome and its relationship with stress, but my atypical start with the jerks made me a little skeptical and my neurology professors are not familiar with it.
I am developing panic attacks and anxiety symptoms because of this, specially when I'm going to do something physical like a trip we made to a hill-filled countryside part of the city, or when I go to the gym. My anxiety is getting out of control because I keep waiting for the day something will fail me. I was never an anxious or stressed person, I was the most carefree and relaxed student I knew, so I don't know what caused my initial symptoms. Right now I'm feeling really stiff, with the small jerking moves, no clinical weakness (i even go to the gym), really strong and random fasciculations in legs and sometimes in arms, and permanent small fasciculations on both hands everytime i extend my fingers, but I have seen them with no cause (picture attached). I read that als fasciculations are weak and on the distal axonic terminals and this fuels my fear that it may be something more than BFS or that in a few months i will be worse.
I'm currently looking for a psychiatrist to manage my medical anxiety,because it is starting to take a toll in my relationships and study, but I'm still afraid even after talking with my teachers, reading pages and pages of this forum and my tests. My personal life has been really affected by this and these four months have really taken a toll on me. What do you all think I have? What could have started it? I admit that I knew about als long before I studied medicine and when my jerks started i started to consider the possibility of it.
Thank you all, I hope not to be bothering too much and I wish you all the best.
Last November I was on my campus when I started having little jerk moves. For example, when I wanted to raise my hand it raised in an exaggerated way, or I would change position and my foot would move too even if I hadn't thought about it. Since it didn't go away, I started to become stressed and I started to somatize many symptoms like a tensional headache and shivers. I had a panic attack and my uncle called a doctor he knew. He made me a physical examination and told me that neurologically i was perfect. I calmed down but the jerks continued since then. I had another breakdown at university because of them, and that same day I had a magnetic resonance of my head, which came clean. I calmed down again but the jerks continued.
This year i went to a neurologist that made me another physical examination and told me I was great, with no pathological signs. He diagnosed me a benign tremor and prescribed propranolol. I told him I wanted an electromyography and a nerve conduction study to rule out anything serious and he told me that while he didn't find it necessary because It was probably just a dopamine excess, he would write me an order because the results may calm me. In February, two weeks before the exam I noticed I had a small fasciculation in my right arm that twitches every day at every time, specially if I extend all my fingers. I started to become paranoid that maybe it was als and I was devastated. My jerks continued with the fasciculation.
I had the two tests and they came back good, alongside a thyroid test that came normal. The neurologist that made the electromyography and nerve study told me that if it was an sclerosis it would look really obvious. I told him about the fasciculation in my hand but he told me to not worry about it. I went to my first neurologist and he told me it was probably the dopamine, that I shouldn't worry about it anymore and I parted. Fast forward and since then I started having really strong fasciculations all over my body, starting on my calves and moving randomly to my arms, knees, quadriceps, etc. In addition to this I feel weird when walking and really paranoid about everything. I learned about benign fasciculation syndrome and its relationship with stress, but my atypical start with the jerks made me a little skeptical and my neurology professors are not familiar with it.
I am developing panic attacks and anxiety symptoms because of this, specially when I'm going to do something physical like a trip we made to a hill-filled countryside part of the city, or when I go to the gym. My anxiety is getting out of control because I keep waiting for the day something will fail me. I was never an anxious or stressed person, I was the most carefree and relaxed student I knew, so I don't know what caused my initial symptoms. Right now I'm feeling really stiff, with the small jerking moves, no clinical weakness (i even go to the gym), really strong and random fasciculations in legs and sometimes in arms, and permanent small fasciculations on both hands everytime i extend my fingers, but I have seen them with no cause (picture attached). I read that als fasciculations are weak and on the distal axonic terminals and this fuels my fear that it may be something more than BFS or that in a few months i will be worse.
I'm currently looking for a psychiatrist to manage my medical anxiety,because it is starting to take a toll in my relationships and study, but I'm still afraid even after talking with my teachers, reading pages and pages of this forum and my tests. My personal life has been really affected by this and these four months have really taken a toll on me. What do you all think I have? What could have started it? I admit that I knew about als long before I studied medicine and when my jerks started i started to consider the possibility of it.
Thank you all, I hope not to be bothering too much and I wish you all the best.
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