In one of my previous posts I mentioned a crush/stretch injury to my sacral nerves while rock climbing as my safety harness wrapped around my pelvis and constricted bloodflow. That was 8 years ago in April 2002. 4 months afterwards, in August 2002, I developed muscle twitching all over my legs and feet, which my neurologist termed benign fasciculations, as his workup on me didn't show any signs of a cause. I'm assuming its from my injury but the neuro said he would have expected them to start shortly after my injury, not 4 months later. Anyway, I've had them since and they seem to have died down from their peak activity. But they are still there and are a nuisance.

Has anyone here experienced such twitching? Is there anything I can do to stop them or to limit their frequency?

Thanks,
Joe

The basic thing to try is soaking in epsom salts. This contains magnesium and often helps twitching. Do not use hot water in the tub...only tepid/lukewarm....about 6oz to a bath tub and soak at least 20minutes to a 1/2 hr.

Taking oral magnesium also helps. I have a thread to help you decide which one:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html

Many people do not eat magnesium rich foods anymore, and therefore become low. The estimate is 70% in USA are at least 50% low in this mineral. Aim for 200mg a day to start, which is 1/2 the RDA.

What is it about the leafy green that we so eschew it? Hmm. Perhaps a magnesium margarita would help our deficiency. All these deficiencies, altho completely valid and true, are making me want to go out to the field and eat a handful of dirt!

Joey, I would stick with the recommended ideas of MRSD...the drugs for such things won't mix with your active lifestyle.

Could we have a link for what foods are high in it? I am sure there is one somewhere in the archives. I can only think of leafy greens and every one runs when I wave them at my family!

Don't you just HATE that word benign?????? I do at least!

Everything seems to be benign to the doctors if they don't have an answer to the cause of things! For instance, why did I suddenly become magnesium deficient or anything-else-deficient the very day that ALL my other constellation of symptoms started, on 3rd August 2007? Thirty thousand to forty thousand fasciculations per day when I was soooo unwell (with nary a fasciculation in sight before that exact day) seems a little more than suspicious to me!

I know this hasn't helped you with your question Joeybags 73 but I just had to vent!

.......and I do so hope that you get some more rational and sensible answers than this one - lol!

Mine were caused by the medication I was on, since I changed medication they stopped, almost I only get them every now and then.

I hope things improve for you both Joe and Megan.

Take care.

Can you have benign pain?

There are nuances in the word benign, like "Doctors who don't treat this are not sued" and opposed to *Doctors who don't treat this can be sued because the patient might die."

Doctors are on the look out for and are geared up for "acute" conditions, which are conditions that can go bad really quickly (and get you sued if you don't spot them) rather than "chronic" conditioins, which patients can keep coming back with for years, not recovering but not dying either.

While persistent fasciculations might be "benign" by doctors, from a petient's point of view: they sure get on your nerves!

CS

Hi Megan,
Sounds pretty bad.
So, may I ask? What happened on that date?
Anything?

I am curious because I too had fasciculations starting on a very precise date (29 November 2007) but I had a car crash on that date, so there is a pretty obvious explanation as to why I had them afterwards but, to quote you, "nary a fasciculation in site before that exact date".

CS

I have (benign) muscle fasciculations that started with my (benign) abnormal sensations and (benign) neuro pain. Notice I use the word benign sarcastically. My doc loves that word too, thinks it gets him off the hook. He should live with all this benign stuff!

Does benign mean it won't progress, or does it mean we won't die from it???
Can abnormal neuro pain sensations really be classified as benign??? Idiopathic maybe, but benign?

Invisable, I have the same smyptoms as you. They all started together too. I think benign just means not life threatning. I find that the Lyrica has slowed down my fasciculations.

Actually my sensations of prickeling, pain, burning, water feeling on skin, pin-pricks are much more frequent than my muscle fasciculations. I am on Gabapentin, but thinking of asking to switch to Lyrica, but not sure if it would be the right move. Weight gain and water retention and hair loss on Gabapentin (just to add to the fun!)

P.S. My Birthday is November 29th.....the date when a few of you started with symptoms.........how weird!