Should I Still Be Worried?

[darrellacoustic]

My symptoms began in October of last year, with all over twitching and numbness/tingling on my left side. Shortly after, the tingling went away but the twitching persisted. The twitching became even more widespread, but my left side seemed to be slightly more affected. I saw my primary doctor near the end of October who did every blood test imaginable and all came back clean, aside from a slightly lower blood iron level. He said it was from an iron defiency and told me to take iron supplements.

A few weeks past and no change, so I saw another doctor who told me , after viewing my test results from the previous doctor, that my iron levels were barely below normal and that they wouldn't cause my symptoms.

I then made an appointment with a neuro (on my own). I saw him near the end of November. He did all the strength and reflex tests and said everything was normal and that I had bfs which I knew all about. But he scheduled an emg anyway.

So for a few weeks every thing was cool, and while I didn't stop twitching I did begin to ignore them. Because of this I skipped my emg appointment because I wasn't worried anymore.

Then one day, my legs began to feel like they were crawling, at all times, and like my knee reflexes were constantly being tickled. This set me back in a panic.

I saw my main doctor again, and he tested my reflexes and said all was fine. I began to ignore it again. Then I began To get cramps more than usual. Usually 3-5 times a day. Nothing major, but cramp like feelings. I also noticed that anytime I flexed a muscle for too long, I would cramp up.

I then began to have tremors, or an internal vibration feeling that is always going, even now. Anytime I sit still I can feel my legs shaking, but I believe it's internal as no one else can feel it.

During the time since this began in October I've had cycles where the twitches are much worse, borderline seizure type. I rescheduled my emg, and in February, I had an emg on my RIGHT side (my twitches are still much more common on my left side) but I have twitches in the areas that were tested, and from my understanding this means that something should have showed up on emg if something was wrong. He said that it was a normal study and that was that.

Fast forward to now. I haven't seen a doctor since the emg in Feb, and I thought I would be able to move past it. I feel like my twitches have progressed in severity since the beginning. I still cramp, but it's random and most days I don't cramp unless I provoke them by say, pointing my toes.

The symptoms I've having now, aside from what I've mentioned.

Still twitching, everywhere, even top of head and  eyelids, stomach, back, elbows, knees etc. EVERYWHERE. They are mostly random, but I would say on average that every 5 minutes or so at least one muscle will twitch, usually around a minute before stopping. When this began, no two muscles would ever twitch simultaneously, but now it happens quite often. The left side of my body is nearly always affected first. About two months ago I had my first eyelid twitch, on my left side. It was pretty continuous. About a month ago the right side started, but it is much less often.

If I half smile, the left side of my face will tremor.

I get joint popping everywhere. Before I started twitching, I almost never had joints pop except for my fingers and toes. Now anytime I stand up from sitting both knees pop. The popping is worse on my left side. My left leg also FEELS different but as far as I can tell everything seems normal. I can do everything pretty much equally on both legs.

My main question is, is it even worth spending the money to go back to the neuro? I had a clean emg a few months ago and I've read many things that say I should be good, but there's always the odd story of people with als having clean emgs initially.

Would having it on the ride side only make a difference? I was having plenty of twitching on that side already when I had it.

I still have no weakness, that I know of, and I've actually gotten stronger in my upper body and gained weight since the beginning of symptoms.

I'm 27, but I had a grandfather who died of als. My father however, did not have it and lived to be 82 before dying of a heart attack.

[DSH519]

Has your neurologist done an MRI of the head/neck area? Could be a sign of a pinched nerve

[SassyLassie]

Oh wow, that twitching must be driving you crazy.

Have you tried taking electrolytes, these are essential minerals that help with muscle disorders such as twitching. Potassium is a great one, so it magnesium and calcium. Also, taking a bath in Epsom salts can help as the magnesium goes right into your system via the skin.

Also, since you have tried everything else, try seeing a chiropractor, twitching is a direct sign, at times, of having pinched nerves. It sure couldn't hurt to try, nothing else has worked.