Three months of symptoms

[jenjones]

Beginning at the start of the year, I began a very low carbohydrate diet. It was going well but I began getting severe leg cramps in the middle of the night so I assumed I needed mineral supplements ( magnesium, potassium etc) to compensate for my diet. they really didn’t make much difference but maybe helped a little

The severe long cramps subsided somewhat but have been replaced with more sporadic cramps in my calves, quadriceps, and feet/toes. As the cramp subsides, the muscles fasciculate and vibrate as they go back to normal. My quad muscles fasciculate with no cramping and you can see the fasciculations through my leggings

This weekend, I was walking around at work and suddenly, each foot cramped especially around my toes. They froze and I couldn’t unclench my toes and I have never had toe cramping like that before while walking.

My knee has been buckling intermittently when I walk the past couple weeks.

I went to the doctor and he ordered labs. I told him my symptoms and he didnt seem concerned but my lab work was different than previous years - my liver enzymes were high on one test, low for the other. Something called creatine kinase was elevated for me the doctor said - usually it is around 40 now it is around 185. He said he could prescribe something for the cramps but that’s all he said. He mentioned retesting some labs in a few months to see if the enzymes lower.

I had one night of lip/chin quivering/fasciculations a month ago and and intermittent eyelid twitch in both eyes.

If I flex my legs or toes hard enough they will cramp and fasciculate.

I don’t know whether to pursue this further with more doctors and more tests or wait and see. I don’t know if anything I am listing here are initial symptoms especially the foot toe cramping and quad muscle fasciculations and knee buckling. Websites point to the same things, especially this as well as bfs and cramp bfs as well as other things. It is worrisome and really hovers in the back of my mind. I am a female in my late 40s

 

[lgelb]

Hi Jen, are you still on the low-carb diet? Supplementation can't provide all the nutrients that real food can. The timing is certainly suspicious. The labs you mention could suggest that the muscles feel kind of overworked, which can happen when they're stressed past what they're used to and/or undernourished from what they're used to. But it could also be a coincidence and you could have some adult-onset muscle thing going on. It does not sound like the nerves that control the muscles are involved directly, which is part of ALS. So for me, you haven't described ALS at all.

But when muscles or their nerve roots get irritated, they can seemingly go haywire all at once, in very bothersome ways. And sometimes things just stay a little off. I have sporadic toe cramps where my toes cross for a while. Covering them helps. But I'm pretty sure that's never going to completely go away since it's been decades now.

If your muscles cramp reliably with certain movements, I think it's worth seeing a neurologist who can watch that happen, to opine whether you need further testing. Ditto for knee buckling while walking.

But while waiting for that appointment, I would really double down on the things frequently associated with cramping: a "bright" and balanced diet, hydration, gentle stretching, good sleep, walking, stress relief, etc. And I would consider therapeutic massage because sometimes that can "break the cycle."

Best,
Laurie