Anxiety or something neurological ?

[nxs436]

Thanks in advanced for anyone taking time out of their day to read this. I developed anxiety after graduating college and I noticed that my biggest symptom were these weird shakes/twitches I would get in some social situations, specifically stressful ones that involved my job. After about a year of these nervous ticks, I developed these 24/7 body wide muscle twitches. They are sometimes very fine and small in nature but can also be these giant ripples that are quite terrifying. This started 26 months ago andit has not gotten much better. The only time it did seem to get better was when I was on active duty for the military for 8 months and it seemed to diminish significantly or maybe I was so busy, I stopped noticing. A few days after active duty ended, the muscle twitches returned worse then ever. This was in October. The symptoms have seemed to get worse since then. Feeling of weakness in my hands. Numbness and tingling in my feet and hands. My limbs seem to fall asleep easier in certain positions. The worst part about it is, I had a job interview and was a total wreck. The interviewer asked if I was extremely nervous due to my shakes. I had no idea it was that bad. I withdrew my candidacy immediately. Im not sure if my anxiety stems from the muscle twitches themselves or the other way around. I visited a neuro recently, the basic neuro test was normal and so was my blood work. I am having an EMG in a few weeks. Unfortunately, the Neuro wasn't very reassuring about if it was something potentially serious or not. Maybe because of the language/cultural barrier. Has anyone had anything like this? Could this be something serious?

[Teafrenzy]

It's almost certainly stress. By all means, get tested, to be 100% sure. But based on what you are saying (how this came about after a stressful time in your life), it sounds like stress. Your symptoms are very common stress related symptoms.

[gypsylee]

Hey and welcome :)

I was wary of responding to this because I worry (LOL) it could be something serious and I'm not qualified to say, so I say nothing. But seeing as Teafrenzy has replied I will, haha.

I've been thinking about all this nervous system stuff and in my opinion a big part of the problem is it just isn't understood well enough. I have a friend with epilepsy who has been seeing Neurologists for years and they still don't really know what's going on. One time he ODed on the medication (taking the amount he'd been told to) and he was so sick a friend and I had to basically carry him to the doctor, who called an ambulance straight away. He's very conscientious with the medication but STILL has seizures, so now they're talking about surgery.

My mother also saw a Neurologist when she was having the problems with her legs (ended up in a wheelchair) and he sent her to hospital where she had all these tests including a lumbar puncture (absolutely horrible). That visit was a COMPLETE waste of time and it was only during her next visit when they discovered she actually needed a double hip replacement. So Neurologists are certainly not my favourite medical professionals and I'm very glad my illness is diabetes and not epilepsy. At least Endocrinologists have some idea what's going on and the illness is generally much less complex.

Anyway, it could well be just an over-sensitised nervous system. Good luck and I hope you get some reassurance.

Cheers,
Gypsy x

[silver lining]

Just know that doctors and specialists rule things out one at a time. If you're looking for a quick result, you're most likely not going to get it.. so be patient, try to stay positive while you wait for results and further tests. Mean time just hope for the best and try to stay calm.. But I know what you mean, it sucks when you have NO ANSWERS. Peace.

[kkleco]

Hey I just read your post and I am having nearly the same issues as you...
I was also military and deployed (5 years ago) and I am wondering if something triggered me, do you think this for you? Although I deployed in combat I never really related any of my shit to it until now after I think I had a trigger and I wonder of it's the same for you and I am really curious to know.
Anyways if that is NOT your case, I still really think it is anxiety- BUT I am about to do the same as you- visit the nero etc.. so annoying it sucks
keep us posted

[threelittlbirds]

Really sorry to hear about your muscle twitches, but you're not alone. Like you, I experience muscle twitches all over my body. My arms twitch. My calves twitch. My neck twitches. Feet, stomach, shoulders...you name it. It happens all over and pretty regularly throughout the day. It started in my mid-20s and has been happening for years. When it first started, I was really worried it could be something awful. But after a year of stress and multiple visits to neurologists -- including some of the best neuros in the world in San Francisco -- I've accepted that the twitches are totally harmless. A couple facts about my situation that will hopefully give you some reassurance:

1. I've visited multiple neurologists and had a battery of tests and everything came back negative. It took me a long time to accept that there was nothing wrong with me but eventually I learned to trust my doctors and stop obsessing over my symptoms, which only made them worse.

2. Your symptoms started 26 months ago. If it was anything bad, other symptoms would have emerged by now. Those symptoms would be unmistakable and your neurologist would have spotted them immediately. Trust me. The really scary stuff doesn't hide. Without the presence of other symptoms -- which would be obvious to your doctor -- the twitching is no more significant than an itch.

3. For what it's worth, I also get tingling in my hands, and my limbs fall asleep easily in certain positions. But hey, so do a lot of other people. And they don't rush to the doctor thinking it's a terrible disease every time their leg falls asleep. :) They just dismiss the symptoms as normal sensations, because that's all they are. One of the hardest parts of health anxiety is that you become hyperaware of what's going on in your body and misinterpret harmless sensations as something bad. The more you focus of your symptoms, the worse they get. But as soon as you stop thinking about them, they fade away. That's a telltale sign of anxiety. I'm not saying the twitches are necessarily caused by anxiety. But it's anxiety that leads you to harp on them and ultimately makes them worse. If you stop paying attention to them, eventually they will go away. It may not happen right away, but one day you'll notice they are gone, and then you'll think "hey, that guy on the message board was totally right." :)

Having gone through a similar ordeal and wasted nearly a year of my life worrying about muscle twitches that ultimately turned out to be completely harmless, I'm hoping my story gives you some reassurance.

[Kirk]

Welcome to the forum. I remember when our daughter was in college and was preparing for final exams (she is now 26). I remember her complaining about being
under stress and having this severe eye twitch. After the exams were over it stopped. My physician told me that typcially twitches are nothing to be concerned about.