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shopathonic

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I have had nonstop twitching in the calf muscles of both legs for about 2-3 weeks, along with sporadic twitches elsewhere in my body--arms, throat, etc. Yesterday, out of curiosity, I stuck my tongue all the way out, and it seemed to be twitching pretty vigorously. I then tried resting it on my lower lip and, although it did not twitch as much as when fully extended, there still seemed to be some noticeable twitching. I have not noticed any slurring of speech, but I have been a bit hoarse for the past couple of days--might just be a cold, of course.

So here's my question: I seem to recall having read somewhere that tongue twitching is more likely to be ALS-related than other kinds of twitching. Elsewhere I seem to have read that it can be as benign as any other form of twitching. Does anyone out here have a firm handle on this? Does tongue twitching tend to be any more indicative of possible ALS than any other form of twitching? For PALS, did your tongue twitching precede slurring and swallowing problems, and, if so, how long did it take for those issues to appear after the twitching was noticed?

Thanks for any feedback, experience, or info. on this topic.

Jeff
 
Jeff - I am as yet undiagnosed but I have tongue twitching - not the kind you mention where it twitches when you stick it out. I think that is normal. Mine twitches when it is at rest in my mouth. I feel it moving around. Horrid! I also have terrible pain in my tongue and throat. My tongue fatigues easily so eating is bothersome and takes a long time. I also have a strange sensation of my tongue being too big for my mouth and sometimes get stuck on pronouncing certain words. And to top it off, I have partial vocal cord paralysis that makes it painful and hard to talk. So while I cant answer your question directly, I can tell you that I am a tongue twitcher too. My neuro told me that in of themselves, twitches, no matter where they occur, are not significant. What matters is the other symptoms that accompany them. If you have tongue twitches and atrophy of the tongue, it would, I think, be more concerning. But this whole thing is so complex, I honestly don't think there is a hard and fast rule for any of it.
 
mamaoftwo--

Thanks for the reply. My wife's tongue does not twitch at all, even when fully extended, whereas mine has noticeable quivers and slight dips even when resting on my lower lip. I've read that some PALs, especially in the early stages, can see the twitches but not feel them--but every case presents a unique array and progression of symptoms, of course.

Thanks,
Jeff
 
mamaoftwo--

Thanks for the reply. My wife's tongue does not twitch at all, even when fully extended, whereas mine has noticeable quivers and slight dips even when resting on my lower lip. I've read that some PALs, especially in the early stages, can see the twitches but not feel them--but every case presents a unique array and progression of symptoms, of course.

Thanks,
Jeff

The twitching is almost enough to drive you to drink, isn't it? Actually, it has driven me to drink on several occasions...

Jeff, we seem to have many of the same symptoms, except I'm going on 3 months of twitching. Started in the calves, moved to the feet, now the tongue and back. I have another emg scheduled for the 22nd. As unpleasant as it sounds, I may ask him to check my tongue, too.
 
screwedagain--

Sorry to hear that you're twitching, too. Is twitching your only symptom at this point? Do you have any weakness, atrophy, slurring, etc.? For me twitching is so far the only sign--which is why I was interested in the tongue twitching in particular--to know whether that type of twitching is any more likely to be ALS-related than any other.

Jeff
 
Jeff - maybe twitching is normal for some and not others. I know my husband's tongue twitches when he sticks it out because when this all started for me, I would get him to stick his tongue out too. One of the things my neuro did to check for atrophy/weakness of the tongue was to make me elevate it to see if I could raise it to the roof of my mouth in the midline, "tent" my cheeks (you push your tongue hard against your cheek and the neuro presses it), wiggle it up and down really fast and then back and forth and a few other things. Plus when they look for tongue fasics, they asked me to keep my tongue resting inside my mouth and then open wide, rather than sticking it out which can cause a normal tongue to fasic (per my husbands case). HTH
 
HTH--
For what's it's worth, mine seems to twitch and dance whether extended or resting inside my mouth--although I'm not sure I'm following the proper examination procedure for this issue. I'm more interested in general to see if anyone knows whether tongue twitching is likely to be any more symptomaitc of ALS than other kinds of twitching.

Jeff
 
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