Anyway to stop benign muscle fasciculations???
 

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!

Benign!!!!!
 

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. :sorry:

Take care. :circlelove:

Benign symptoms
 

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

3 Aug 2007
 

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

What exactly does benign mean?????
 

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.

November 29th..........
 

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!

Rose - Did you get a firm dx? or what is your Doc calling it?

Invisable, I don't have a firm diagnosis yet. Dr. says might be small fiber neuropathy, after I suggested it. Before that was told nothing wrong! So now I'm finally getting skin biopsy next week, after insisting on it.

fascicullations
 

I would like to know what is causing this to happen to you ? Is the pain in both your legs and what is being impinged to cause fasciculations? What meds are available for it?

Benign?
 

Benign pain? I guess it would be benign if it was warning me to get hand off the hot stove but pain for unknown reason? How can damaged or dying nerves be benign? :rolleyes:

No kidding right! Its amazing what doctors say. I spent an hour telling a Dr. I had pain without loss of any sensation and he diagnosed me with "numbness!" Just goes to show how much they just don't listen.

There is a condition called BFS which is defined here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benign_...ation_syndrome

I have been helped enormously by putting an unwrapped bar of soap under the bottom sheet of my bed. I read about it when it was posted here a few months ago and by golly, it works! I know it sounds totally nuts but since using the soap trick, I've been muscle-cramp-free.
For more testimonials, google "muscle cramps cured by bar of soap."

I suffer from chronic neuropathic pain and fasciculation
 

I'm hoping someone can help, i was in a car accident many years ago, and permanently injured my nerve, causing chronic sciatic pain shooting down my right leg and fasciculation in my right leg. The fasciculation in my right leg has increased in intensity so much in the past six months, I'don't know what to do, It has recently started happening in my left leg also. My neuro specialist put me on baclofen for the past three years at the max dosage, but I am crawling up a wall, i can't sleep (even with sleeping aids).

I feel like i am going to loose my sanity...........

can anyone give me an alternate treatment????

please help!

Pat

It's no fun...
 

to be twitching 24 hours a day. I know what you are going through and it is a real ****** and quite frightening wondering what the heck is happening.:confused:

I started in March 2011 4 months after my weakness and foot drop started I was given a BFS diagnosis too, even with foot drop, weakness, and abnormal EMG, idiopathic PN. After much time and almost begging for an explaination, tired of hearing "don't worry" I was told the BFS was a response to my irritated and very irritable nervous system.

I took mag ox which really did not help and learned to live with them. I am no longer anxious about them, they are disruptive at night but....like many others
I was just started on Lyrica for neuropathic pain and tho' I hate the side effects, my fasics greatly decreased in intensity and they are occuring much less. Took the med for a week before the improvement. Individual response to Lyrica is varied, quite frankly if I was offered the medication strictly for fasiculations, I would chose to twitch.:eek::eek::eek:

By benign the docs are infering the fasiculations are not related to motor neuron diseases like ALS or demylinating diseases such as MS. For that I am very, very grateful to be diagnosed benign.

I go thru episodes of fasiculations, which will go on for weeks, then it seems to stop. I haven't noticed a pattern, or a medication that helps it.

MagOx does not work. It is not absorbed from the GI tract.

I'd suggest the topical lotion we are using now... CVS Epsom Lotion, or a chelated form of oral magnesium. You will be very surprised at how it works!;)