I am a 33yr old male. I have had no health issues up to now, nothing ever proven to be wrong with me. Over the past 2 weeks I have recently had visible muscle twitches in my arms mainly left bicep while resting that (if I flex my musle are not visible) and sometimes right bicep. I also have muscle twitches (not visible) from my shoulders to my calfs (even in places that I never have felt before) that are not as violent just can be felt. It sometimes feels like I have vibrations or shivers running through me. I have had muscle twitches before but mainly from excercise and they have never persisted like this. I have not had a full nights sleep in 4 days. I do not feel particularly weak (have not tripped or have any trouble lifting things etc) but I do feel shakey and lethargic. I get shivers easily and then when I cover up, I sweat. I went to my Dr today and she said that she thinks I am fine and that I have benign muscular fassculations. She did offer a referral to a Nuerologist to ease my mind. I am so scared though. I can't stop thinking something is wrong with me, I have lost my appetite (I am a hearty eater), I can't sleep (the twitches keep me awake along with worrying) and after seeing the Dr today I have a lump in my throat literally. I tried to sleep tonight and woke up with my throat feeling like it is open not sore but like a lump in it. I have to wait 2 weeks to see the nuerologist and I don't know what to do? I have a lot of stress at work and have my first child 5 months old now to think about. I feel like if something is wrong with me it is happening overnight each day I seem to have a new symptom. Anyone, Please help, I have never felt so scared and helpless. All this has happend in so fast is that possible? What is wrong with me? how can I get to sleep?

You just have to go to neurologist to see what's up. It could be nothing. Getting so worried will keep you having symptoms until you know what's wrong. Sometimes it's only fear.

That's exactly my thoughts as well. Worrying yourself to death and trying to diagnosis yourself would keep me up at night too!

Try to push those thoughts out of your mind right now until you see the doctor. You can deal with whatever your future holds but you need to have the right mindset and not put the horse before the cart.

Also, taking a hot bath, not drinking coffee, making sure your room is dark and very comfortable and doing some light reading all might help in getting you to sleep.

Very best wishes to you.

There are so many other, rather benign things that could be causing your symptoms that the likely hood you have ALS is slim BUT you must get it checked.

And actually something so odd and seemingly small/"unimportant" as sleep apnea can cause your symptoms and worse. The first Neurologist I went to didn't even examine me. He sent me to a sleep center because I was "Fat, Forty, and Female" as he so kindly put it. I was, perhaps, 15 pounds overweight at the time.

Aleep Apnea is a sleep disorder where a person "forgets to breathe" and wakes him/herself up hundreds of times per night gasping for air--but doesn't remember it. Snoring is an indication. It doesn't hit ONLY people whp snore though. Apnea can be dangerous--it's what SIDS babies die from. [so cheery of me to mention, huh?] Here's a little info anyway. Who knows what it could be that you have.

"Awakening is often accompanied by a fierce headache, which lessens in an hour or two. But the person may remain irritable and forgetful, often finding it difficult to concentrate for the rest of the day. Interest in sex may wane, and the person may become depressed. Of far greater concern is the tendency of sleep apnea sufferers to fall asleep, suddenly, during the day. Dozing can prove embarrassing in business meetings or classes, but in some situations, it can be deadly. Martin Scharf, Ph.D., director of the Center for Research in Sleep Disorders in Cincinnati, says, "There are 200,000 auto accidents a year where people fall asleep at the wheel. I see people every day who say they fall asleep whenever they are at a stop sign."
~U.S. Dept of Health & Human Svcs.

Best of luck finding out what's going on. Try to relax.
Hugs--
Mya

slik91,

I actually went through something similar about 18 months back. All of a sudden i got these twitches all over my body, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, my wife and i just had a baby and i was in total disaray. It was the worst time of my life. I ended up going to the neurologist where he ran an emg and everything came out fine. I still get twitches, but now i am so use to them that i hardly notice them. it was a very tough road and everyday i feel that i am putting it behind me. I wish the best for you and i will pray that everything comes out OK. It also sounds like bfs to me.

Brian

slik91,

Please do not get worried...I just got over a similar scare over MS and then what looked to be ALS. Some neurologists are better than others but most will immediately know whether you are at risk...The key to ALS is weakness generally in one limb and then moving on to others...This weakness would be significant..Simple EMG Tests and some bloodwork and a diagnosis from the good doctor can ease your worries..Stressing out about it WILL CAUSE OTHER SYMPTOMS. I know b/c it happened to me. Your mind can play tricks on you so make sure you go to the doctor immediately and just ease your concern.

And actually something so odd and seemingly small/"unimportant" as sleep apnea can cause your symptoms and worse. The first Neurologist I went to didn't even examine me. He sent me to a sleep center because I was "Fat, Forty, and Female" as he so kindly put it. I was, perhaps, 15 pounds overweight at the time.

Aleep Apnea is a sleep disorder where a person "forgets to breathe" and wakes him/herself up hundreds of times per night gasping for air--but doesn't remember it. Snoring is an indication. It doesn't hit ONLY people whp snore though. Apnea can be dangerous--it's what SIDS babies die from. [so cheery of me to mention, huh?] Here's a little info anyway. Who knows what it could be that you have.

"Awakening is often accompanied by a fierce headache, which lessens in an hour or two. But the person may remain irritable and forgetful, often finding it difficult to concentrate for the rest of the day. Interest in sex may wane, and the person may become depressed. Of far greater concern is the tendency of sleep apnea sufferers to fall asleep, suddenly, during the day. Dozing can prove embarrassing in business meetings or classes, but in some situations, it can be deadly. Martin Scharf, Ph.D., director of the Center for Research in Sleep Disorders in Cincinnati, says, "There are 200,000 auto accidents a year where people fall asleep at the wheel. I see people every day who say they fall asleep whenever they are at a stop sign."
~U.S. Dept of Health & Human Svcs.

Best of luck finding out what's going on. Try to relax.
Hugs--
Mya

I agree...I have sleep apnea and I have BFS symptoms also...do you ever have sleep paralysis?

Get tested for tick-borne illness like Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Babesia. Not everyone develops a rash with Lyme. The tests are very inconsistent for lyme.

I would go see an LLMD (Lyme Literate M.D.) and visit the Lyme board here at healthboards.

NCgirl88