Jordie88
New member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2019
- Messages
- 3
- Reason
- Other
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
- State
- MI
Greetings:
First, I would like to thank those of you who respond to this post in advance. Anxiety is a terrible thing and it is difficult sometimes to accept reality under anxious terms.
I am a 31-year-old male who currently lives in Michigan. In June, I began to have odd, periodic sensations in my hands and feet which eventually turned into a burning feeling. At the end of June, this symptom disappeared and I had no problems for several days.
In early-July, I noticed (visually and could feel) my calf muscle on my right leg had begun to twitch. I initially wrote this off, thinking it was a normal, stress-related twitch. At this point in my life, stress was at an all-time high and I was having some health anxiety related to the burning sensations that had subsided days earlier. I am not normally an anxious person but I was in between insurance plans at the time and not knowing if I was deferring something really serious or time-critical flipped on an "anxiety" switch.
On with my issue, the twitching did not go away and instead became more widespread and started to impact both sides of my body. I have since twitched in every muscle on my body including my eyelid, cheek and the side of my chest (very weird when this happens). Concerned, I consulted Google and one of the first results that appeared was an article on ALS. I was a bit surprised because I was not expecting such a simple symptom to be cause for such great concern. I also learned about BFS as well.
Since then, I have felt weird sensations in different limbs, floaters in my left eye, periodic muscle stiffness, random areas of muscle pain, myclonic jerks while drifting off to sleep and have a perception of muscle weakness but can still perform all of the tasks I'm used to performing. I did see a doctor at an Urgent Care Facility who said I have brisk reflexes on both sides of my body and recommended that I see a Neurologist. I have since scheduled an appointment with a Neurologist but until then I am feeling overwhelmed with thoughts related to ALS even though I know most of my symptoms point to other conditions.
I have some questions:
1. Is the twitching that occurs with ALS constant? Does it only occur while at rest or in a relaxed position? Do the frequency of muscle twitches ever decline (for example, one day there may be no twitching whereas the next there is a tremendous amount of twitching)? Does the muscle twitching occur shortly after waking up or happen even while sleeping? Does Magnesium help those with ALS control their twitches?
2. Prior to losing muscle functionality, are there any sensations that could be felt in the affected muscle?
3. Does twitching always occur after muscle weakness in ALS?
4. I know each person is different but generally speaking, how long is the onset of an initial symptom (if not muscle weakness) and muscle weakness? Is it days, months or years?
Many people have suggested that stress and anxiety are causing the symptoms I am dealing with. It is confusing to me that almost 5 months have elapsed and I am still experiencing muscle twitching daily. I have removed all of the stress and anxiety from my life and at present, this is the only thing causing me any stress and anxiety. Which, if it is indeed the issue, I can see how this could be a difficult cycle to break.
Last but not least, this experience has taught me a lot about those with medical conditions you can't see or know little about. I have a deep respect for those who suffer from ALS and their families. I feel somewhat bad for posting this, there are people out there dealing with things that are much worse than anything I am encountering at the present moment. Thanks again for answering my questions and may God bless you all.
Jordie88
First, I would like to thank those of you who respond to this post in advance. Anxiety is a terrible thing and it is difficult sometimes to accept reality under anxious terms.
I am a 31-year-old male who currently lives in Michigan. In June, I began to have odd, periodic sensations in my hands and feet which eventually turned into a burning feeling. At the end of June, this symptom disappeared and I had no problems for several days.
In early-July, I noticed (visually and could feel) my calf muscle on my right leg had begun to twitch. I initially wrote this off, thinking it was a normal, stress-related twitch. At this point in my life, stress was at an all-time high and I was having some health anxiety related to the burning sensations that had subsided days earlier. I am not normally an anxious person but I was in between insurance plans at the time and not knowing if I was deferring something really serious or time-critical flipped on an "anxiety" switch.
On with my issue, the twitching did not go away and instead became more widespread and started to impact both sides of my body. I have since twitched in every muscle on my body including my eyelid, cheek and the side of my chest (very weird when this happens). Concerned, I consulted Google and one of the first results that appeared was an article on ALS. I was a bit surprised because I was not expecting such a simple symptom to be cause for such great concern. I also learned about BFS as well.
Since then, I have felt weird sensations in different limbs, floaters in my left eye, periodic muscle stiffness, random areas of muscle pain, myclonic jerks while drifting off to sleep and have a perception of muscle weakness but can still perform all of the tasks I'm used to performing. I did see a doctor at an Urgent Care Facility who said I have brisk reflexes on both sides of my body and recommended that I see a Neurologist. I have since scheduled an appointment with a Neurologist but until then I am feeling overwhelmed with thoughts related to ALS even though I know most of my symptoms point to other conditions.
I have some questions:
1. Is the twitching that occurs with ALS constant? Does it only occur while at rest or in a relaxed position? Do the frequency of muscle twitches ever decline (for example, one day there may be no twitching whereas the next there is a tremendous amount of twitching)? Does the muscle twitching occur shortly after waking up or happen even while sleeping? Does Magnesium help those with ALS control their twitches?
2. Prior to losing muscle functionality, are there any sensations that could be felt in the affected muscle?
3. Does twitching always occur after muscle weakness in ALS?
4. I know each person is different but generally speaking, how long is the onset of an initial symptom (if not muscle weakness) and muscle weakness? Is it days, months or years?
Many people have suggested that stress and anxiety are causing the symptoms I am dealing with. It is confusing to me that almost 5 months have elapsed and I am still experiencing muscle twitching daily. I have removed all of the stress and anxiety from my life and at present, this is the only thing causing me any stress and anxiety. Which, if it is indeed the issue, I can see how this could be a difficult cycle to break.
Last but not least, this experience has taught me a lot about those with medical conditions you can't see or know little about. I have a deep respect for those who suffer from ALS and their families. I feel somewhat bad for posting this, there are people out there dealing with things that are much worse than anything I am encountering at the present moment. Thanks again for answering my questions and may God bless you all.
Jordie88
