Twitching Legs: Help Needed

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Quoraxpider

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Hi, everyone.First of all, I'm very sorry to create one of these posts, as I'm sure you guys see them all of the time, but I'm still quite stressed out by what I've been going through recently.About 2 weeks ago, I noticed a great deal of twitching in my left leg, particularly on or around the calf. Today, I have profuse twitching in my left leg, frequent twitching in the right leg, and occasional *pops* in the arms, neck, and hindquarters. Most of my twitches are really fast little "flutters" that tend to repeat very frequently around a central location (the left calf, predominantly), though some are quite large, with one having woken me from my sleep a couple days ago. I experience the twitches at all times, and actively notice them any time I'm not moving around and doing something. I have no clinical weakness or observed atrophy. I have the well-known "perceived" weakness, but I believe that's very likely a result of me working myself up.The biggest concerns that I have are:1) I twitch a lot. I read about someone else who was driven crazy by having 5-10 twitches a minute. In my left calf alone, I probably get 5-10 twitches every 5 seconds. Again, that's not counting other locations. It's really nerve-racking. Does anyone else twitch to this extent, and if so, how long has it been going on for?2) Though the left leg, and somewhat less so the right leg, are the dominant twitching areas, I've had twitches in many locations. The ones in other locations (e.g., my arms) likely don't happen more than a dozen or so times a day, while the ones in my left leg probably break 1,000 twitches easily, based on observed frequency.3) I can't really feel the small twitches. My attention is only drawn to them when I'm actively looking at the area or focused on it after a large, nearby twitch. Again, the small ones are the ones that happen very, very frequently. When I do get drawn to them, it's like someone typing at over 100 words per minute on my leg.4) A question: When you are stressing your calf muscles and see a twitch about a centimeter away from the stressed (bulged) muscle, that's not the active muscle twitching, but just a minor neighboring muscle, right? (Sometimes they're very close and it's hard to tell.) I can't really stress all of my leg muscles at once to see if they stop completely.5) Another question: Do those of you with frequent leg twitching find yourselves keeping your legs always in motion, such as when sitting? I do. It's the only thing that seems to help make the twitching less noticeable.6) Last question, I promise: Outside of possible magnesium, calcium, and potassium supplements, have any of you found relief by other means? I've read about some anxiety meds potentially helping out, as well. Are there any in particular that are really good at suppressing the twitching?I'm sorry to sound so paranoid, and for this being such a long post. The big reason I'm concerned about these things is for my wife and young daughter. I get so stressed out over the thought of not being there for them. We're kind of homebodies and don't have a whole lot of nearby family, so we're almost all each other has.Thank you in advance.
 
I'm pretty new here myself, so I'll defer to the board's more experienced folks to answer you in detail, because that will make you feel better anyway. But, your symptoms sound pretty similar to mine. And they definitely don't sound like you-know-what. Without weakness or atrophy, and being so widespread, it sounds a lot like bfs. I know where your mind is right now, so I realize this is a waste of time, but try to relax and focus on other things. When I was coming out of the fear, it helped me a lot to think of the math......1 or 2 in 100000 get ALS, and only 6% of those have twitching as their initial symptom. So chances are, you have bfs, or at worst, something treatable like a vitamin deficiency or irritated nerves.
 
1) I twitch a lot. I read about someone else who was driven crazy by having 5-10 twitches a minute. In my left calf alone, I probably get 5-10 twitches every 5 seconds. Again, that's not counting other locations. It's really nerve-racking. Does anyone else twitch to this extent, and if so, how long has it been going on for?- Twitching is annoying, but harmless. There are many people who twitch much more than you. The frequency you describe is nothing to be alarmed about (nor is any other frequency for that matter)2) Though the left leg, and somewhat less so the right leg, are the dominant twitching areas, I've had twitches in many locations. The ones in other locations (e.g., my arms) likely don't happen more than a dozen or so times a day, while the ones in my left leg probably break 1,000 twitches easily, based on observed frequency.-What you describe is a typical onset of benign twitching. No reason for concern.3) I can't really feel the small twitches. My attention is only drawn to them when I'm actively looking at the area or focused on it after a large, nearby twitch. Again, the small ones are the ones that happen very, very frequently. When I do get drawn to them, it's like someone typing at over 100 words per minute on my leg.- Stop being consumed with how your body looks to you when twitching. Twitches come in all shapes and sizes, and look strange at first. Again, this is no reason to be concerned.4) A question: When you are stressing your calf muscles and see a twitch about a centimeter away from the stressed (bulged) muscle, that's not the active muscle twitching, but just a minor neighboring muscle, right? (Sometimes they're very close and it's hard to tell.) I can't really stress all of my leg muscles at once to see if they stop completely.- Irrelevant. You can have benign twitches in muscles during use. Testing in this way only raises anxiety and offers no useful conclusions. 5) Another question: Do those of you with frequent leg twitching find yourselves keeping your legs always in motion, such as when sitting? I do. It's the only thing that seems to help make the twitching less noticeable.- Doing things to make twitching less noticeable is normal for us, of course. Twitching is annoying (and scary at first), so we do what we can to take our minds off it.6) Last question, I promise: Outside of possible magnesium, calcium, and potassium supplements, have any of you found relief by other means? I've read about some anxiety meds potentially helping out, as well. Are there any in particular that are really good at suppressing the twitching?- There is no medication/supplement that has proven to reduce twitching in our condition. Over the years there have been people who have claimed solutions for themselves, but nothing has proven to work widely. The tried and true method for reducing symptoms and getting on with life is to reduce anxiety, living healthy, time and moving on with life (removing focus from this harmless condition and its symptoms).
 
Hi!1) i twitch at least 20-30 times per second in both calves every minute of the day, every day of the year, and this has been like this without a break for over 3years.2) i also have random twitches outside my leg areas that can happen anything between thousands of times per day to once ir twice daily.3) i have tens of thousands of small twitches everyday that i can only see in the right light everyday since this started. Totally bfs normal and nothing to worry about at all.4) twitching can and will happen in tensed muscles... The more you focus and rxamine the more "scary" things u will find!5) this is normal at the beginning. Eventually (believe it or not) ur body will adjust to the constant noise and you wont really notice it anymore unless you allow yourself to.6) nothing from supplements to diet to meds has ever reduced my symptoms for more than a few days. The ONLY thing that will help you is reducing anxiety and getting on living your awesome life. If you can do that asap this condition will just be an interesting story to tell! Good luck in your adventure,Darr
 
Thank you so much, everyone.This puts my mind a lot more at ease in this early stage of what seems like a long journey. I particularly liked hearing that others have very frequent twitches, as the frequency I experience them at seemed phenomenal, due to my lack of exposure. (I don't even think I could will my muscles to twitch nearly as fast as they do on their own!)Out of curiosity, does anyone experience real or imagined (I can't tell the difference :S) "shooting" pains? These happen from time to time in my right thigh and right leg. It could be something completely different, but figured I'd throw it out there just in case. (When I say "shooting" pains, I mean like little bolts of lightning that are very sharp and short-lived.)Thanks again :)
 

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