Myoclonus, Fasciculations, Achalasia

Millennium_blaze · 03-04-2003, 03:49 PM

ill try and keep this short.im a 16yr old female, in the uk. I was

having problemes with my ear, i had a tapping sound in it, which was

quite frequent.I tryed to cope, but this continued for 5mnths. as i am

in my exam year, the noise became a nuisence, and i was refered to the

ENT by my doctor. They were unsure of what i had so has order an MRI

(which im waiting for). I was transcribed part of the letter the prof.

at the hospital had sent to my docs, which mentioned "myclonic

phernomina.* SInce then the tapping noice stoped, and a clicking noise

began. i think this is some type of myoclonus, but i am unsure. From

about dec/jan i have started getting muscle spasms when i am sitting

down/resting. I think these are fasciculations, but gain i am unsure.

Also, i have always had a problem when eating, when it comes to

actually swallowing food, ive always been fairly slow to eat, and

always drank alot of liquid when eating. If i do not drink, i feel as

though the food has not gone down, and is stuck in my throat (i have

to get a drink to solve this) - i think ive had this all my life i can

rember having it at a lesser degree when i was about 5. But currently,

after eating food, i bring some of it back up, sometimes i just

swallow it again, sometimes i have to spit it out. I just feel like im

being sick on a small scale. Today i just decided to type in on a

search engine about my problems with swallowing - and it came up with

"Achalasia" is it possible i have this? if so - is it really that

neccessay that i see my doctors?
any answers would be greatly appreciated.

cindyandbob · 03-08-2003, 10:26 PM

Hi millinium. Besides muscle spasms, hearing and swallowing problems, have you noticed any other symptoms? Do your muscles get weak or tired towards the end of the day? How is your vision? Do your eyes droop or do you have trouble walking sometimes?
I am not trying to scare you, but difficulty swallowing is a symptom of Myasthenia Gravis. Do a search on it and let me know what you think.
My husband has MG. He often has difficulty swallowing and has other symptoms I mentioned above.
It is a disease one can live with. It is not curable but can be controled (treated).

Please let me know what you've learned!

Good Luck!

------------------
Cindy T.

"We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety, a hundred
years at the very most. During that period we must try to do
something good, something useful with our lives. Try to be at peace
with yourself and help others share that peace. If you contribute to
other people's happiness, you will find the true goal, the true
meaning of life."

~ The Dalai Lama

kim simone · 03-08-2003, 11:07 PM

I had exactly the same symptoms you are describing. First my left ear was clicking (especially at night) very bothersome. Then I began twitching. Little muscle spasms everywhere off an on. I had trouble swallowing too!

Much of this has been diagnosed as stress related. But I also have thyroid troubles which makes one have anxiety and these types of symptoms.

Have your TSH levels checked (Thyroid Secreting Hormones) Blood test to see if you have low or high thyroid levels. Mine was low and I'm on medication to help it. My symptoms have really gotten better since meds.

Don't worry, this could be something very easy to deal with.

P.s don't go searching for answers on the web, you will always find something horrible that will match your symptoms. See a Dr. and believe what HE/SHE says.

Kim

[This message has been edited by kim simone (edited 03-08-2003).]

[This message has been edited by kim simone (edited 03-08-2003).]

Millennium_blaze · 03-09-2003, 02:31 PM

hey, thanks for all the replies.
At the moment have another problem, im getting "ringing" in my ears - something ive never had before.

As regards to vision
(well currently i think i have an eye infection - it keeps stinging - and im waking it the night because its itchy and feels dry - but i assume this is not related) well, somethimes i get little white dots which just seem to "dissapate" for want of a better word. At other times i get little spots going across my vision, and a couple of months ago i was getting (sorry this is going to be hard to describe) like bits of mirrored glass in straight lines going across my sight? (also, im getting the twitching below my eyelid - but i think thats because im strugelling to sleep)

As regards to muscular problems, im not sure, sometimes my muscles feel tired after small amounts of movement (like going upstairs) but at other times, like in pe, im fine, im quite active and i dont get pain (although sometimes my asthma gives me problems)
and finally, in regard to walking, i think i have a weird walk, i dont know why, (another thing that is hard to describe, as, i dont notice it unless a person points it out to me) when i walk, to other people it appears as though i have a "spring" in my step, and i kinda move up and down in a "bobbing" motion, personally i cant see it.

One thing i didnt mention in my last post, i was perscribed tablets "clonazepam" - but i didnt take them because im doing exams - *the proff led me to believe they were pain killers* and when i went to my docs he was willing to perscribe me three different drugs, i refused them all, he understood that i didnt want to take them because of my exams.
sigh. the wait for the MRI goes on, knowing my luck, it will be on an exam date.

Thanks for reading

Millennium_blaze

cindyandbob · 03-09-2003, 06:38 PM

Kim is right. You really need to see a doctor and have some blood tests. There are ALOT of autoimmune diseases and they share some of the same symptoms. I also have Grave's Disease which is a thyroid disease.
The internet has been a wonderful source of information for both my husband and I as it pertains to our medical problems. If it had not been for the web, we may have never known that he has Myasthenia because it is rare. We made the suggestion to the doctor and it turned out we were correct.
BUT - that is a very rare occurence.
Like I said before, I was not trying to scare you but rather let you know that there is a wealth of knowledge on the internet. Just be smart about whom and what you believe.

Good luck to you and also on your exams!

Cindy T