Progressive foot cramps and atrophy, panicking

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Kazza12

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Hi everyone,
I've been lurching around here for a couple of weeks now and I have nothing but the utmost admiration for the people on this site and feel honoured to be allowed to post on this site.
I have read the stickies but still feel the need to post as I am worried sick and it is quite simply ruining my life at the moment.
I am a 62 year old woman living in the UK. My feet and toes have been cramping for over a year now and it has been progressing in frequency so it's now many times a day. It started off just in certain positions during yoga.
I have had lots of blood tests done, all clear and I have a referral to a neurologist but not that's not until July which seems a lifetime away.
I believe I have atrophy in both feet and ankles but I have been self examining so much recently, I can't be objective any more. I have relentless fasciculations in my feet and calves, but I already had BFS and I realize that because my anxiety is through the roof, this is bound to be worse. I think my tongue has had the odd twitch recently and this is also freaking me out.
I have NO weakness in my feet or anywhere else and I am clinging on to the fact that, as explained in the stickies, weakness/failure always precedes muscle wasting.
I have read and researched neurological websites until there's little left to read. At first I was re assured that cramping without weakness could be idiopathic, a neuropathy or a vascular condition ( I have Raynaud's syndrome) and that it doesn't usually present as an initial symptom, but now I'm more pessimistic.

These symptoms are feeding into my (already diagnosed) health anxiety. I am about to start CBT therapy (again) and have started taking anti depressants, a two pronged approach to getting me through the next 10 weeks until I see a neurologist. Any thoughts would be welcome.
 
Hi
sorry you are struggling

to review
you have a diagnosis of bfs and you twitch. So you know twitching is most often benign and yes that includes tongue twitching.

you think you have atrophy of feet ankles but this is clinically unconfirmed. You do not have loss of function

you know that cramps have many many reasons that are far more benign and also more common but have become pessimistic for some reason

you have a previous diagnosis of health anxiety and are now seeking treatment. Good for you!

you have a neurology appointment. It isn’t as soon as you would like. They never are. Unfortunately you will have to wait as we all had to.

it doesn’t sound like ALS to me but I am sure that won’t reassure you Your therapist is probably going to tell you to stop googling and visiting groups like this because it only feeds your worry and they will be correct. You have a neurology appointment. It doesn’t matter what random people on the internet say ( and should not. Our advice is free and worth what you paid for it 😀) but your anxiety drives you to seek reassurance even though it doesn’t help

good luck with your cbt
 
Hi Nikki,
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply in such detail. You are spot on about the constant need for reassurance. I was coping ok with just the cramping even though the progression has been alarming. It was when I self diagnosed the atrophy that I started to spiral out of control. A simple neurological examination by a doctor could allay my fears on that score, but my doctor does telephone appointments only (and not just during the pandemic). He does face to face consultations only if he deems it necessary. The fact that he referred me to a neurologist without doing so means it's unlikely he will see me now.
Thanks again...
 
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