Originally Posted by Ragtop262

A while back there was a thread about fasciculations, in which I posted a link to a study that did skin biopsies on a number of people with "benign fasciculations" - and found that a high percentage showed decreased nerve fiber density. The implication is that fasciculations were a essentially a symptom of small fiber neuropathy.

Since my symptoms started as fasciculations, I previously spent a bunch of time on a BFS forum. The people with benign fasciculation syndrome frequently complained about buzzing. (And, I occasionally feel some buzzing as well.)

The "official" symptoms listed on the BFS forum include: Frequent muscle twitches (fasciculations or fascics), generalized fatigue, "pins and needles" sensations, migrating numbness, muscle cramping and/or spasms in the affected areas (usually the feet and calves), muscle aches and stiffness exercise intolerance, headaches, and itchiness. Often the symptoms will get worse at night, or during periods of sickness or viral infections, stress, or overexertion.

Although they don't specifically list burning, pain, or buzzing - many of the members report those symptoms as well.

Then there's the other name for BFS: "Peripheral Nerve Hyperexcitability Syndrome".

Typical prescription treatments for BFS are anti-epileptics, antidepressants, and anti-spasmodics. Non-prescription treatments include epsom salt or dead sea salt soaks, dietary improvements, magnesium supplements, etc.

Any of this sound familiar?? After spending time researching both "conditions", I really wonder if BFS and SFN are really just slightly different manifestation of the same disease.

Originally Posted by janieg

Ragtop,

In all your reading about BFS, do you know if it's common/uncommon or unheard of to just have it in just one part of your body, like say your left leg?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Healthgirl

Is the BFS diagnosed by skin biopsy? It sounds pretty much like the same thing or maybe just one level below since it doesn't have the extreme shooting pain type of neuropathy.
It really sounds the same. Ive never heard of BFS.
This is interesting to me. I have always had hyperexitabliliy of my nervous system, but never this pain, spasms, twitching and autonomic dysfunction anything like this.

Originally Posted by glenntaj

--that benign fasciculation syndrome and small fiber neuropathy are quite the same thing, as small-fiber neuropathy refers specifically to dysfunction of small, unmyelinated and thinly myelinated sensory nerves and fasciculation involves muscle, and even the smallest muscles are ennervated by more thickly myelinated nerve fibers.

There's nothing that says, though, that a similar originating process or etiology may be behind both in some cases. Moreover, it is common to have mixed types of neuropathy, in which both myelinated and unmyelinated fibers are involved. Often, a process that attacks the axon--the nerve fiber itself, instead of the myelin covering--will affect both small and larger fibers. (Small-fiber syndromes, be definition, are axonal; larger fiber syndromes can be axonal, myelin-based, or both.)

Originally Posted by KnowNothingJon

I just wanted to ask how your symptoms compare to a month ago? Are you writing a journal? It can take a lot to distill what is useful over time. An example? Well, I have about three years (with a few "oh the humanity pauses involved) of journal. Pain scale just doesn't have the reverb I hoped and I stopped that after a few months. Yesterdays three feels like todays one in the mirror.

I usually note odd changes or that it id day so and so of this muscle in my calf soasming bad enough my leg is turning in. That sort of stuff.

I'm pulling for some relief for you.

Jon

Originally Posted by Ragtop262

Many of the BFS'ers talk about "hot spots" - an area that has the highest concentration of fasciculations. But, for many people the hot spots move around and I would say that very few had the symptoms limited to one specific area. Again, like SFN - the symptoms can wax and wane, change location, etc.