NovemberTrue

As I mentioned before, I’ve been struggling with muscle twitching and anxiety for months now. I started Prozac a little over six weeks ago and aside from a little sleepiness and lightheadedness, I was feeling better. Until this week. I had noticed every now and then for the past few weeks my head would have a mild tremor in social settings. It wasn’t every time and would last just a few seconds. I just thought it would get better with the Prozac eventually. This week it began getting worse. Monday i had a violent head tremor episode when eating lunch with a friend. So, I called my dr who upped my dose. By Thursday I was having tremors 4-5 times a day. It feels almost like a mini seizure. My neck locks up and my head tremors but I’m fully conscious of everything around me. It lasts for just a couple of seconds but is beyond unnerving. The muscle twitching all over my body has also worsened in the last week. I called my dr back yesterday, and she told me to stop the Prozac but that she didn’t believe it could be causing the issue. She though that I needed to keep my appointment with the neurologist but that this could be all related to my anxiety. Has anyone had this side effect? Or is this another sign this could be ALS? I’m starting to feel like I can’t go out in social settings in fear that I will have another tremor episode.

I wanted to update. Twitching has slowed considerably. But I do notice it ramps up when my shoulders/neck muscles are tense. Weekly acupuncture seems to help with that. It’s also helped me SO much as a mother and a wife. I feel present, where before I felt like I was watching them behind glass and struggled to be fully present. I do notice that when I have been stressed and I attempt to fully relax/sleep my muscles have pretty gnarly jerks. I got an earlier appt with a neurologist so I will ask about that as well. I do have a new symptom though. I’m one month into the Prozac and for the past two days, I’ve been exhausted. I do still take my b12 shots once a month. I time it with my monthly cycle starting, so I’m due to get another shot on the 14th. I don’t know if it’s just that shot wearing off, or if the Prozac could cause sleepiness after a month. Or maybe my body is even attempting to fight off a cold. Anyone experience this before?

I get these same issues during allergy season every year. Its almost like my allergies drain into my ears vs out my nose, if that makes sense. I have actually used peroxide too and it does help. But ear candles worked even better for me. If all else fails, a visit to the dr and a steroid shot fixes it up within a few days.

Thank you! I am glad to know I am not alone, though I hate anyone else to be going through this as well. Right now the Prozac I was prescribed is 10mg. It was really helping. But yesterday, my anxiety ramped up (after allowing the news to stay on in the background...this seems to be a trigger for me). This morning I woke up and my neck and shoulders were hard as a rock and my tingling and numbness were back. I’m starting to wonder if maybe my tense muscles, obviously from stress, are not pinching something in my spine causing the twitching and tingling.

Thank you both for replying! I really hope this is all due to anxiety. The Prozac has slowly started “kicking in” and the main thing I find is that I’m not obsessing about it all day long anymore and that I’m not feeling as jumpy. I actually had several days of almost no symptoms/twitching, but all day yesterday and again this morning the twitching has come back with a vengeance. I don’t feel any more stressed this morning than I have been, so I’m not sure why they would come and go like this. I am definitely going to continue acupuncture and focus on restoring my mental health.

Hello, I am a 38 year old mom with 3 kids. I homeschool them, so I’m with them 24/7 (was homeschooling before Covid). Like everyone else, the past year has turned our lives upside down. My husband lost his job and decided to start a new business in the midst of it all. My anxiety this year has been higher than ever. Five years ago, I started with a high heart rate and irregular heartbeats. They put me on Atenolol. This past July my left shoulder and neck began aching, sending pins and needles down my arm and causing my thumb to twitch. My heartbeat was also getting even more irregular. Went to the dr, she said stress was causing the muscles to tense and pinching a nerve. She sent me to PT and gave me a prescription of busperone. She also ran some labs, found out my B12 and Vit D were low and sent me home with B12 shots. I went thru 3 months of PT, started getting better, and within a month of leaving PT started getting tight muscles again. I went to a chiropractor and after a few adjustments, the twitching started all over my body. I also still get pins and needles and a heaviness feeling that moves from limb to limb throughout the day. I had an MRI that came out completely normal. That has now been going on for 2 months. The twitches are all over the place and all different. Some feel like buzzing, others are hard jerks, and others feel like the muscle is moving under my skin. It occurs more when I am sitting vs laying down or standing. The pcp has scheduled me with a neurologist but they can’t see me until June. She has rechecked my B12 and it’s up, but she said it’s just from the bulk doses she’s given me in the shots. She also said my B12 and D deficiency would not cause the twitching, that it appears to be neurological or psychological. I’m terrified this is ALS. And that I won’t be around for my kids. I just started Prozac at my doctors urging yesterday. I also am going to an acupuncturist. Anyone else experience this?