Heathbar

HI All, Lifelong ALS fearer over here. It comes and goes and I am happy to say I had a 2 year long stretch without it. But alas its back due to a twitch in my thumb that past 3 weeks, along with feeling fatigued in that hand. Sometimes its a fine twitch, but over the past 3 weeks it has grown into full blown movement- like my thumb is being pulled toward my hand. I am trying to keep cool- doing an okay-ish job. My question on BFS and twitching is this... Can benign twitches or hot spots be elicited by tightly squeezing our muscles and then letting go? I was a the playground with the kiddos over the weekend and noticed after I tightly grabbed the monkey bars that my thumb sort of locked and began twitching a bunch. Ive tested this since and I can repeat this occurrence. Thank you all!

Wow so funny to point out that we don't focus on 2 things at once. I've been suffering with ALS fears for about 3 weeks now due to twitching and feeling weak in my foot. The other day I had an actual UTI and actually forgot about my foot for a few glorious hours. I don't have HA about utis but I was anxious about having one over Thanksgiving. Even the weak feeling in my foot went away. Alas the anxiety is back now, but it really makes you think...

30 from Rhode Island here :). pleasure to "meet" you all!

We are with you and we know how difficult this ALS fear can be. I've read that ALS is not often associated with pain. Take some comfort in that. You do NOT have ALS. Easier said than believed I know. I'm struggling with similar fears right now myself. What movie did you watch? Hope it was something good :)!

Thanks stealth! It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one with this type of suffering. My friends listen, but don't really get it and my boyfriend (who bears the brunt of my anxiety) doesn't get it either. Don't get me wrong hes great and empathetic, however he doesn't understand how catastrophic my thinking can be. I mean who wouldn't lose patience when your gf is making you test her reflexes 100x as per instructed by YouTube videos ;).

Yes when I say isolated twitching, I do mean hot spot. I kind of wish the twitches did move around, I think then I'd be less worried. I feel like the muscle is my left foot is not as tight when I flex my toes, as my non-twitching right side. Oh dear, deeper into the rabbit hole I go. That really freaks me out. If I DID actually have some slight atrophy, I'd have clinical weakness, right? As I mentioned I can tip toe, and heel walk, and resist pressure with toes. Idk how else to test my arch for weakness lol. About 5 years ago, I had my first ALS Anxiety flare up. At that time I had widespread twitching. Although I do remember the same feeling of muscle fatigue. After some time the twitching and fears disspated I haven't worried about ALS since, which was really nice. I'll admit that I've been more stressed as of late. I ended an old job and will be starting a new one on Monday. I've had this week off, which at first excited me, but now it's given me way too much time to worry.

Thanks for the responses! I actually purchased a magnesium supplement yesterday and will look into formula 303. I have some additional questions re: twitching in general. Thanks again! Has anyone else had benign ISOLATED twitching? Can focusing on a twitch actually cause more twitching? (I know the brain is a crazy powerful thing) I can still feel and see the twitch while standing, but I thought bfs should stop when the muscle is activated? To that end I don't feel it when I actually move.

How did your emg go?

For the past week I have been experiencing a twitch in my left arch of my foot. it is usually a strong twitch that is visible to the eye. Sometimes I just feel the buzz in my foot and see nothing. I noticed that when I flex my toes in a strong downward motion, I also see a finer twitch on the bottom of the sole of my foot, this one really freaks me out. I'm terrified of ALS. I feel like I can see muscle wasting on my left although it would be extremely small difference and perhaps the deviation in my foot always existed. I'm still able to my walk on tippy toes and heels and when I try to push my big toe forward or back, I able to resist pressure with my toes. I feel "funny" when I walk but I know anxiety can do that. I had my annual appointment yesterday, and showed a video of my foot twitching to my doc. He said he did not see muscle wasting. He suggested that I try arch support in my shoes as I have high arches. If the symptom does not go away in a month, he said he'd refer me to a neurologist. I'm starting a new job on Monday and I can't have this being such a distraction on my mind. It's all I can think about. I stare at my foot and test my stength constantly. I am Embarrassed about this however I need to be honest. Any help would be very appreciated. Thank you.