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Neck twitching on the left side when blinking.

Hi all

For just over a week now, I've noticed that when I blink one of the tendons or muscles (one of those string-like things we have in our neck) seems to contract or twitch. It doesn't happen when I close my eyes, unless I squeeze them slightly as if I'm blinking with my eyes closed. I made the silly mistake of Googling it when inevitably came back "You have ALS" and I'm now a little freaked out.

Does anyone have any advice about this?

I'm a 28 year-old male, no family history of ALS, MS etc. Non-smoker (I tried one cigar once), drink alcohol but not excessively (3-4 drinks a week on average), no health conditions I know of besides being overweight. I have done strength pull test with hand dynamometer - approx. 85lbs grip strength which is a little weak for my age and gender but I never go to the gym or lift weights, and am sedentary (and recently had covid). I have a history of anxiety disorder for which I have recently begun psychotherapy, so I understand this is probably just my anxiety acting up since I do tend to fixate on illness and would describe myself as a moderate hypochondriac. I attended the emergency room around 6 weeks ago for a very-badly injured back and the attending doctor gave me a neurological exam of my lower limbs which were fine.

I haven't noticed any difficulty with daily tasks like doing shirt buttons, cooking or cutting up ingredients, or typing or driving. I have no speech or swallowing issues. So other than relatively low score on the dynamometer and the twitch, no noticeable issues. I have even done some tests on myself like pronator drift and nose-to-point touch tests and don't see any problems (no drift in my hands unless you count a few millimetres and no coordination problems).

Any advice about what this twitch could be/reassurance that I don't have ALS would be much appreciated.
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20620809 tn?1504362969
Google is such a love and hate thing, isn't it?  You look something up and it will say that it's nothing to worry about . . . OR, it's cancer. Hard to discern the truth sometimes. But best to get things checked out by your doctor. ALS is complicated. To me, this sounds more like a neck spasm. https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/bones-joints-and-muscles/neck-spasm  How tense are you? With having intense health anxiety, you feel and react to everything in a big way. That's hard. Have you considered talking to a professional about this? Psychotherapy can be very effective and if that alone doesn't do the trick, medication helps so many. I've had health anxiety. That constant worry drains you.
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Exactly! I’ve actually made a firm commitment after freaking myself out this time to just not Google symptoms anymore, the answer always implies you have a rare and/or life-threatening condition.

Yeah I’ve very recently started seeing a professional because I recognise that this is a long-term pattern I’ve had. I have been to the doctor once every month or two for the past few years so I recognise that most likely it’s just me having a mild twitch and freaking myself out.
Yes, I've been there too. It's really hard and then you get kind of frozen and wrapped up in it.  I hope the therapy helps. For many, it really does!
Will do, thanks for the advice! I guess I'll see what happens and if I still have in a week or two go and see the doctor.
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