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Hello everyone- where do I even begin? It's 3:30am- I've maybe slept 30 minutes tonight because a tongue twitch woke me up- after a week of having new twitches all over my body and going down the ALS rabbit hole. i know I have anxiety- have been on Wellbutrin since April, dose upped in July. I am 34 year old mom of 2 and the thought of any symptom I have being ALS have put me in a bad spiral! Ugh! history- I had a DVT a few years ago during my pregnancy- healed fine. The leg that had that has recently been having some mild aches. I attributed this to some circulation issues post clot & went down the rabbit hole there- trigger anxiety to a level I didn't even know was possible. The next day- I noticed a few twitches here & there in my calf muscle occasionally.. now I'm HYPER SENSITIVE to every little thing my body is doing.. I now notice every little twitch... throughout the day- 1 in my calf, 1 in my thigh, 1 in my arm, shoulder, other calf, foot, hand... just a quick little twitch- that's it. Google symptoms- convinced this is ALS & go down that rabbit hole. the anxiety has been unreal since- I am losing sleep, I've lost weight due to no appetite, am checked out from my kids & husband because I'm so consumed with every little symptom & the twitches are happening more frequently & I notice every single one... tonight I got somewhat calm- then my jaw twitches (1st time) sends me in a panic.. can't sleep. Doze off finally- and wake up to a tongue twitch/spasm. Everything I've read says that is almost always associated with ALS & here we are- 3.30am, unable to sleep. i am seeing my doctor in 2 days- to discuss overall symptoms & anxiety. i have no pain (just that dull ache in the calf) no weakness that's at least noticeable or new (I'm out of shape so yea.. lol) no speech issues or falling... but the rabbit hole.. i would appreciate hearing similar experiences, symptoms... also reading so much that most twitches are caused by stress/anxiety. Seems crazy an emotion can trigger physical symptoms but wow... thank you all.

So I have had chronic lower back problems. This past weekend I hurt my back worse than I ever have and have been off work most of the week. It's believed to be a lumbar disc issue. Before this happened (about a week prior) I noticed when lying in bed I would have the occasional twitch in random spots. Sometimes it was a finger, sometimes my hand, sometimes my foot, etc. I've noticed this happening with more frequency since my injury, but nothing online says they are connected. I did read that some ALS patients present with lower back pain as an initial symptom, so now I'm super worried. This morning, I woke up at 5 and as I tried to fall asleep, I kept getting what felt like hypotonic twitches. One on my ride side (right pectoral and shoulder and once on my left). Now I'm super anxious about what is going on.

Hi all, I Am a 18yo male who are suffering from Cerebral Palsy since young. Recently I dropped into the fear of ALS. I have been noticing a localized twitch in my left thigh for about 3months. Before the twitch began I had a major stressful period of college applications. At the same time I noticed some perceived weaknesses (call it perceived because My parents have not really see any problem with my muscle besides the twitch ). It's impossible to test my reflexes because with the CP condition. My reflexes are naturally abnormal the twitch is on the scale of entire thigh muscle and NOT just part of it. When I twitch the entire muscle will visibly contract and sometimes strong enough to move my leg for a centimeter or two. The intervals of each twitch is anywhere between 5-60 seconds . The strange part is that the twitch is postural. I will twitch Only if I am sitting in my wheelchair, lying flat on the bed (with leg un- Crossed) and lying on my belly. Movement of leg muscle such as crawling, walking, or even standing and kneeling would not trigger the twitch, it doesn't interfere with sleep either. I do have muscle shrinks in both of my lower legs. But it's probably due to lack of exercise during the pandemic time... My question is whether twitch in ALS could be eased by movement? Am I safe from ALS for twitch 3 months without any weaknesses? Thanks

About a month and a half ago I had probably the worst panic attack of my life. Was diagnosed at 13, now 39. The short story is I had travelled to Florida with my family and friends, and already hate flying. On the morning of the day we were leaving to head home, I lost it. I was in complete and utter turmoil. I was convinced I was dying. The fact that I was not home made it all the more worse for me. I contemplated going to the ER, but then all my friends would know and my family would miss their flights. I was so embarrassed, but so damn frightened. I typically take .5mg Xanax and feel better, but even after 2mg I was feeling no better. I have a 6 year old, 4 year old and 2 year old, and felt like a failure not being able to keep it together. It was utterly the worst day of my life and still feel traumatized by it. Needless to say, that next day back at home I had muscle twitches all over my body. I first assumed it was due to dehydration since I had just been in sunny Florida and not drinking enough water and drinking alcohol instead. But it’s now been a month and half and I still have the twitching on and off. Some days are better than others, but of course Google led me to ALS. It’s like I can’t catch a break and feel like I’m drowning in anxiety and depression. I just started CBT therapy, so hoping it helps some. Also hoping you guys can too!!! Has this happened to anyone?????? Thank you soooo much:)

About a month and a half ago I had probably the worst panic attack of my life. Was diagnosed at 13, now 39. The short story is I had travelled to Florida with my family and friends, and already hate flying. On the morning of the day we were leaving to head home, I lost it. I was in complete and utter turmoil. I was convinced I was dying. The fact that I was not home made it all the more worse for me. I contemplated going to the ER, but then all my friends would know and my family would miss their flights. I was so embarrassed, but so damn frightened. I typically take .5mg Xanax and feel better, but even after 2mg I was feeling no better. I have a 6 year old, 4 year old and 2 year old, and felt like a failure not being able to keep it together. It was utterly the worst day of my life and still feel traumatized by it. Needless to say, that next day back at home I had muscle twitches all over my body. I first assumed it was due to dehydration since I had just been in sunny Florida and not drinking enough water and drinking alcohol instead. But it’s now been a month and half and I still have the twitching on and off. Some days are better than others, but of course Google led me to ALS. It’s like I can’t catch a break and feel like I’m drowning in anxiety and depression. I just started CBT therapy, so hoping it helps some. Also hoping you guys can too!!! Has this happened to anyone?????? Thank you soooo much:)

Hello everyone, So after about two months of twitching and worrying about ALS, I finally got up the nerve to go to the neurologist. No pun intended. I've also been hoarse off and on and I read where a doctor said hoarseness is a symptom of bulbar ALS. I told the doctor about my twitching and he said he doesn't think I have ALS. I would expect any doctor to say that to anyone because it is rare. He did tell me that in 40 years of being a neurologist he has only diagnosed maybe 5 people with ALS. He wasn't convincing in easing my concerns though. He was rather casual. And said stuff like "nah" and z"it's on the bottom of the list". He said the twitching could be benign. He tested my reflexes and said that my reflexes are a bit jumpy or hyperactive. That is concerning to me because it is a symptom of ALS. I expected him to send me for an EMG as I know many ALS worriers have had them, but he said that it's invasive and involves needles and that it's not necessary. He sent me to the lab for a bunch of tests including lupus, Lyme disease, some kind of muscular disease detected in blood, and vitamins. None of that was even on my radar so now I'm worrying EVEN MORE. He wants to see me back in 2 weeks. Why would he send me for all of those tests, what is going on? Thank you all.

Hi everyone, need help!!! 12 years ago(I was 25) I had some small fasiculations and since I suffer fron severe health anxiety, ended up consulting 5 neurologists over 2 years and 2 EMGs. All clean and got the diagnosis of Benign Fasiculations. Tried to keep my anxiety in check over the years but last 6 weeks were very stressful workwise and commitments of a young family. two weeks ago the twitching came back and back with a bang!!! All over the body but more focussed in the arms(biceps,forearms and palm) and legs(calves). With it came a lot of fatigue and perceived weakness. And this put my anxious mind in a tailspin. Was checked by a neuro last week and he did his PHD in MND. He went through my history and did a quick neuro exam including mouth and reflexes. He thinks that I don’t have MND and he talked about his experience diagnosing MND. He said if I still want I can have an EMG in 5 weeks. To be frank I am freaking out right now... Need guidance from you all.. Anxiety is making me feel like I have never felt before. thanks for reading. Felt so good writing this.

Hi, Since Friday, my big toe and 2nd toe is going numb on and off. Has anyone felt the same? Just a bit anxious with my twitching. It is going on continuously and the calves feel weird as if I am having constant goosebumps. And hating the butt twitching which feels like thumping and starts when I lie down. Praying it to go away. I know that’s not gonna happen till I ignore these twitches. thanks for understanding

Hi there, I was wondering how many of you have been dealing with muscle fasciculations? Mine happen all over my body, but primarily in my knees/thighs when I am at rest. I was wondering how many of you also experience perceived weakness in it's company? Lastly, how many of you can pinpoint these to PTSD and/or other traumatic experiences? I have a long history of familial emotional trauma, in addition to having worked in Alternative Educational programs in the inner-city of Chicago, where I have seen and been the victim of various forms of trauma from that role as well... Any and all insight is welcomed.

I am 22 years old, and the past couple years for me have been some of the most difficult times of my life, from a mental standpoint. Health anxiety is something that has affected my sister, and I never understood her pain, until recently I have realized I am going through the same thing. These past 2 years have been extremely difficult, and it actually caused me to quit a very good job and move back to my hometown, which was something I never thought I would do. The more frequent it is becoming, the worse the incidents are. Lately, the past 3 months to be exact, I have completely convinced myself that I have ALS. I started working 68 hour weeks on nights, and started twitching in my eyes constantly. I tried to ignore it to the best of my ability, but never could completely block it out. Then one night, I started to twitch right above the knee on both legs, along with a feeling that I just ran a mile. Dr. Google had come up with ALS, and of course that is what I set my mind on. The constant twitching and weakness went away, but my worry of ALS just got worse. Now, I have random twitches all over my body, and a perceived weakness in both shoulders and my right hand. I went to the doctor, and he referred me to a nuerologist, but the appointment is 3 months away. When I can keep occupied, the twitching and perceived weakness seems to go away. But once it crosses my mind, it’s there again. I can’t help myself from reading every google article that comes up about ALS, as well as patient stories. It’s getting way out of control, and it is affecting my social, work, and everyday activities. Any help, comments, tips, and just a conversation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

Before I begin speaking any, I guess I should give a little background on who I am and what I have been going through. My name is Daniel Hall and I am 18 years old. I'm currently a student at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee; I am studying conservation biology as I have always had a love for nature. I have always been a hypochondriac. I can remember multiple times throughout my very young life (6-15 years old) where I was having episodes of what I now know to be anxiety. These episodes were mostly due to the usual--cancer worries, tumor worries, etc. In my junior year of high school--to my great dismay--I was in A.P. Biology class and we watched a documentary on Steve Gleason and his journey with ALS. Ever since, it has been my biggest fear; however, it was never affecting my life in any way... until about 2 months, 1 week, and 3 days ago. I began having a twitch in my neck. I honestly don't believe it twitched more than two or three times and then stopped. Anyways, ALS had popped up in my mind a few days prior as I had read about someone famous being diagnosed with it (I believe), so, I immediately Googled "muscle twitching" and found that one of the first things to pop up was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--ALS, or as it's better known, Lou Gehrig's disease. As many of you can imagine, an immediate panic went through my body and I freaked out internally, but managed to keep my cool as I knew it was super rare and that I most likely didn't have ALS. That didn't matter, though, as within hours I was twitching body-wide, head-to-toe, non-stop. 24/7 fasciculations. Luckily, my school was just about to begin Thanksgiving break and I was able to have a week to research (wish I didn't), mope (still do), and manage to get over my first bout of anxiety. I found that fasciculations are rarely the presenting symptom of ALS, and that body-wide fasciculations are even more rare as a presenting symptom. In fact--I've never read a story of body-wide twitching being the presenting symptom of ALS ever. Queue the happy, fun, and enjoyable Daniel. Back in business! That didn't last long, however, as I began to notice a tingle in my left arm which I knew had nothing to do with ALS. I began wondering if this is maybe MS or neuropathy or whatever other inconvenient but non-life threatening disease I could imagine. Then I began to notice an odd weakness in that arm. It only felt weak; I could still perform any action that I could before the feeling of weakness, but it definitely felt weak. Queue the anxiety! Within a weeks time this went away. I'm going to make the rest of this as short and undetailed as possible as this is beginning to really drag itself out. After the perceived arm weakness came perceived swallowing issues. I was having trouble swallowing, I had choked on my water maybe two or three times, and I was absolutely freaking out. The next symptom was nasal speech that was due to a very small sinus infection that I began dealing with. The perceived swallowing issues went away immediately. Then came perceived slurred speech. My tongue felt huge and was "dragging" in my mouth. It felt heavy. The perceived nasal speech went away as soon as my sinus infection went away. Then I finally accepted that I wasn't slurring and this was all in my head. It worked! I stopped worrying and had no more anxiety--or so I thought--and was out of the rabbit hole. I wasn't slurring, and life was ready to be lived from Mr. Daniel Hall! Until I began working out and noticing that my left arm was sore longer than my right :). I strained it. Very easy to do. I used to work out a lot, but quit after the beginning of my health anxiety over ALS. When I went back to working out, I went full force and full effort. I was sore for nearly a week! Anyways, this soreness led to more perceived weakness and tightness that has now went away as my focus has shifted to a new symptom--speech changes. Last night, my girlfriend and I were laying on her couch watching a movie, and I said something to her. Her reply was "your voice sounds different." I don't believe the panic was as bad as it has been before, but it was awful. She immediately knew what she had done, and she apologized and tried to calm me and reassure me. I was beyond the realm of peace from reassurance. I panicked and was anxious all last night and all today. I have been non-stop honed in and focused on my voice and the way it sounds. The point of all of this is to show the effect that anxiety can have on our lives. I joined this forum only days ago and already have seen countless threads of people worrying about ALS. I am 18, have no family history of ALS (or any neurological diseases in fact), with a family history of severe anxiety. Everyone on my father's side relies on anxiety medicine. I have just started anxiety medication not too long ago, but it is not helping as much as I'd like it to as I am letting this fear take control of my mind. The fear is irrational and is of something that I don't have and couldn't control if I did have it. It's funny, too; I can go on someone else's thread and reassure them and give them all the 1,000+ reasons why they don't have ALS, yet I seem to make the faintest connections from dots of information that aren't even real--dots of information that are just made up in my world of fear. I hope some of those who are having problems with ALS fears, or health anxiety in general, can read this and take a step back and look at their situation from a more mature and less anxiety-ridden view. I also hope that I can get some support from those of you who have been through these fears and understand the struggle. Anxiety is a real illness that can sometimes take a greater toll on an individual and those around them than a very genuine and very serious illness, but unlike those illnesses, anxiety can be conquered if it is recognized, understood, and an attempt is made to get rid of it, and support can make all the difference in the world when trying to accomplish those three things. P.S. Sorry for rambling on. My mind has been in a fog due to all of my anxiety, and thus my writing is very random and uncoordinated.

*first post* So in September I was hospitalized for high internal cranial pressure with a diagnosis of p-acne menegitis. I lost my eyesight and had an EVD tube placed in my head for drainage while I waited in the neuroICU for 8 days. my eyesight came back except for blind spots and peripheral damage in my right eye. Keep in mind I had several tests done. Two spinal taps 4 CT scans, 3 MRIs bloodwork done everymorning. The works. Since then I have suffered severely from HA. It’s almost constant. I pray a lot and I give all my thanks to God for me being alive and well enough to be a stay at home mom to my 9, 2 and 4 year old. I’m 23 and I have my two kids to raise and a step daughter. The thought of not being able to care for them is devastating. It all started with being terrified of MS, my hands contract and when this happens my thumb and usually my pointer finger will bend into the palm of my hand while remaining moveable but it’s more labored, also my thumb pad will twitch vigorously. It doesn’t last for more than a couple hours but will happen 3-4 times a week. My eyes twitch almost constantly. I see a neuro ophthalmologist and he said it was stress and that my eyes don’t look like those of someone with MS. HOWEVER, with the muscle aches, muscle twitching and my hands being strange I couldn’t help but worry. I eventually moved on from that and stopped worrying about anything all together. But then I started googling and landed on the ALS speculation. That troubled me for about a week then after reading threads and learning more about it I stopped worrying about that. But while driving and watching tv with subtitles I started noticing “double vision” mildly and now I’m back on the MS kick. I can’t shake this stuff. It’s so hard to move on from fear off illnesses now. Help!!

Hi everyone, I am having a really rough month. Let me start out by saying that I have a really bad health anxiety/OCD condition that I have been on and off dealing with for the last 3 years. I'm currently in veterinary school and my anxiety levels lately have been going through the roof. This last month in particular has been rough as I have not been sleeping well, I have been dealing with my cat that had a horrible illness and had to get multiple procedures, surgeries, biopsies, a feeding tube placed, etc. It was right in the middle of midterms and it was incredibly stressful running around taking him in and out of the hospital. I was incredibly worried for him and freaking out it was rabies. I went to the hospital to get the rabies shots. After a while I was convinced it was ok and I stopped worrying about it. After all the stress of this, I started to develop a finger twitch in my right index finger. it happens all throughout the day both at rest but also when im using my computer or after I perform an action and then rest. It's been causing me a lot of grief over the last week and I saw 2 primary care doctors about it. Both of which refused to refer me to a neurologist and told me it was most likely from stress or anxiety. right and sometimes left arm. IDK if those are just from being more anxious and hyper-vigilant. Other things have started happening like pin and needle feeligs in my left foot and percieved weakness in my I've been worried sick about ALS, PD or MS. 6 months ago I was taking Accutane and around finals time I had parasthesia in my left arm. It freaked me out so I went to the hospital numerous times to get cervical and brain MRIs...they found nothing. I also got tested for Lymes, had general panels done at the hospital and had my thyroid levels checked (all 6 months ago)...nothing wrong. It was dismissed as anxiety or problems from the Accutane, which I discontinued and started feeling better. Im worried the paresthesia in the left arm and the finger twitching in the right index finger are related and indicitave of a neurodegenerative disease. I used to be treated for anxiety and I was taking meds. I went cold turkey and stopped taking them out of laziness about a month and a half ago. Dumb, dumb decision I know, but my anxiety has gotten out of control since then. I started seeing a new therapist and I am getting back on my medication for good. I don't know what to do. Does this sound like a neuro disorder or just anxiety? I know people here arent doctors, but have people experienced this? Just twitching in ONE finger due to anxiety???? I guess there is the pins and needles feeling in my left foot, but I'm just freaking out and I cannot think about anything else. Is it likely to just be anxiety? Should I just trust my primary care doctors and attribute it to stress??? Any comments, advice or help would be much appreciated. Im having a hard time functioning and I'm so close to going to the ER to just ask for more tests. Thanks so much all, Sorry for the rant.

I am 22 years old, and the past couple years for me have been some of the most difficult times of my life, from a mental standpoint. Health anxiety is something that has affected my sister, and I never understood her pain, until recently I have realized I am going through the same thing. These past 2 years have been extremely difficult, and it actually caused me to quit a very good job and move back to my hometown, which was something I never thought I would do. The more frequent it is becoming, the worse the incidents are. Lately, the past 3 months to be exact, I have completely convinced myself that I have ALS. I started working 68 hour weeks on nights, and started twitching in my eyes constantly. I tried to ignore it to the best of my ability, but never could completely block it out. Then one night, I started to twitch right above the knee on both legs, along with a feeling that I just ran a mile. Dr. Google had come up with ALS, and of course that is what I set my mind on. The constant twitching and weakness went away, but my worry of ALS just got worse. Now, I have random twitches all over my body, and a perceived weakness in both shoulders and my right hand. I went to the doctor, and he referred me to a nuerologist, but the appointment is 3 months away. When I can keep occupied, the twitching and perceived weakness seems to go away. But once it crosses my mind, it’s there again. I can’t help myself from reading every google article that comes up about ALS, as well as patient stories. It’s getting way out of control, and it is affecting my social, work, and everyday activities. Any help, comments, tips, and just a conversation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

Hello everyone, I am a 19 year old HA sufferer, and this time ALS is "back", but I am pretty afraid. TO be honest, I AM QUITE sure it might be ALS. About a month ago, my shoulder started twitching out of nothing, I immidietely thought of ALS, during the following week, I started getting pop twitches everywhere in my body, and continious twitches (would last a few minutes) in random body parts. However, during the weekend, I got a twich in my tricep, which lasted quite long, and was changing speeds, it was slow for a while and suddenly would become very fast. I got the same thing the next day, and suddenly it became localized. The thing that worries me is, that it was a twtich that would only have 1 continous episode each day, and then would not show up until the next day (even though I was anxous about it) and it was very random, as I said changing speeds, would be slow, there would be maybe half a minute interval between another twitch etc...I was observing it, and at first I thought I got better with movement (which I think still does...like when I go for a walk lets say - must be long) and I come back, I dont feel it then. I also did not feel it for like 3 days and then it came back (we were driving to a football game with a friend, and I got the twtiching in a car, but when we started moving and got the ghe game, it disspeared, so I was like yeah, it was anxiety, but after 3 days, it came back when I sat, and relaxed to watch a football game). This was like 3 weeks ago. Then we went for vacation, did a lot of hiking, I did observer my tricep during the hikes, and it did started twtiching once during a hike. However it was not so constant anymore on the vacation, and after the vacation, my tricep stopped twitching completely. All I was getting very full body little 5 second twiches or pop twiches mainly in my calves, thighs, but also in the tricep though. However yerstrday, I dont know how It occured, but I got really anxious while on the internet (I have been anxious the past month of so becuse of these twiches, but not so much as yersterday) and my tricep started twitching again, it is lasting also now, I went to the gym yersterday and I was still getting it. I walked home from the gym and it did stop for a while, but came about in about half an hour. Stopped before bed time, I woke up today, and in about half an hour, I started getting the twtich. These one are very fast and poweful. I dont feel them when holding my hand tight, which is weird, and also I dont feel them during walking (they might be there, but I just dont feel them because my hand moves during walking) I am afraid this is ALS because how random the localized twitching is there. If it was anxiety, would not it be there 24/7 ?? How come it went away for more then a week and suddenly came back ? Probably stronger and faster, but I dont know. I have been on the BFS forum, and I have not found a similar case to my, most people were twitching localized constatly, not so randomly as me....Also I read that twigching of dominant hand and interminnent twitching (which I have) point towards als. Also it cannot be anything in the tricep such as a pincehd nerve etc.. because as I said at the beginning, in started in the SHOULDER. I have been to the gym, still can lift 20 kg dumbells for my pecs (this excercise also uses triceps), still can do dips, etc. etc...seems like my lifts are still the same if not stronger, but I did read some stories, even studies of ppl who got twitches before weakness. Do you think this type of pattern of twitching can be anxiety induced ? I know I should go to a neuro, but the appointments are far away, and I dont ahve EMG covered insurance, which I would ahve to pay and I dont have much money atm (parents are not willing to pay, becuse they already paid for a bunch of ultrasound, colonoscopy etc..) Any advice ? Anyone with a similar thing ? Thank you so much.

Okay, I've been kinda scared about this for a few days now, and I've been trying to brush it off but I just can't take it anymore and I'm wondering if this happens to anyone else? When I flex my fingers out as far as they can go, the muscle at the bottom of my pinky starts to tremble and twitch like crazy! It happens on both of my hands and only when I flex my pinky out as far as it can go. I asked my friend about it and she told me that doesn't happen to her so that totally freaked me out!

Hello. Please let me tell you my story....Out of the blue I started having a finger twitch Sept 5th. Then I noticed another finger on opposite hand. Within 24 hrs I had muscles twitching all over my body. Twitching in places I never knew could twitch. Googled twitching & of course ALS/MS pulls up everywhere. Immediate depression & had hard time taking care of my family. Fast forward to now 6 weeks later: went to neurologist & I have had MRI head/spine (negative for MS) & EMG/nerve conduction studies done which only showed carpal tunnel. My neurologist believes I have twitching related to stress/anxiety. The problem is that I am a mess, even knowing I don't necessarily have a sinister disease. I feel like my body is vibrating inside, like an engine revving, especially in morning. Can't sleep. Still twitch, mainly in legs, some days worse than others. Weird sensations in my face. Hands often tremble/shaky. Still having hard time taking care of family & getting through work is even harder. The only thing that remotely helps is valium. My neurologist suggested I try Klonopin & asked me to discuss it with my regular doctor. My regular doctor says I need to get off valium & that he only prescribes benzos short term & gave me a prescription for Lexapro. I am nauseated with that medication. I feel trapped. Do my symptoms sound like anxiety? I was "normal" until this twitching started. I am hoping someone out there has had these symptoms & can enlighten me to how they treat them. I am at this point just hoping the doctors aren't missing a health condition & that this really is anxiety. Hope to hear from some of you!!