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-   -   Thumb twitching and spasms, what is this? (https://www.neurotalk.org/neuromuscular/247228-thumb-twitching-spasms.html)

biba_yu 05-21-2017 09:41 AM

Thumb twitching and spasms, what is this?
 
Can anyone help me with these symptoms? I am 44, female. It started 5 weeks ago with light twitches in right thumb flexor muscle (on the base of thumb, flexor part of thenar muscles), only when provoked with strong actions of flexor.
I did not think about it but it did not go away, in fact it's getting progressively worse.
3 weeks later twitches were much more easily provoked, with light squeeze or pulling with thumb and happened more times during the day. I decide to rest my hand to let it heal, but it just got worse instead.
Neurologist scared me to death, even thou I did emg about 2 weeks before twitches ( I had twitches on left arm but they were gone soon after) started and it was normal. AT his point I am VERY worried and obsessed with thumb.
4 weeks, twitches started to appear spontaneously and unprovoked, together with strong spasms of flexor, so my thumb moves uncontrollably and sometimes gets "stuck" and my hand feels slightly sore. It starts to appear at night waking me up.
5 weeks, still worse, ortoped diagnosed tendinosis and RSI (I am software developer for 20 years) at thumb but I am still worried as it gets worse. It starts to wake me up at night and twitches look more like spasms still on flexor. Thumb moves and sometimes just sticks to palm. At night it's worse this can last for minutes, it starts to hurt, muscle is sore. At day it happens without being provoked or with, usually if provoked just twitches and last short but if unprovoked spasms. Feels worse at night and when I am not using hand but now whole hand is sore. I am not sure which symptom is real and which I provoked by thinking of it all the time. I tend to get obsessed about als and to fear worst. It is still bad, woke me up 2x times, can't rest, hand is tense and sore, thumb spasms from time to time which is SCARY.
I am really depressed, scared, and also to mention badly anemic (still no reason for that too), iron deficiency anemia. Ca, MG, Ph, k and Na in blood ok, thyroid fine.
More than thumb I am worried I am going crazy with this obsession that I am dying. Couple of doctors told me not to worry but I can't help it. I am tired, almost suicidal.
I am afraid of medications as I have bad bad experience with these.
Does anyone know what is wrong with my hand? Could it be really just tendinosis, with no pain?
So scared...

mrsD 05-21-2017 01:06 PM

I read your other posts too, and wonder if you know what your
B12 level is? It should be over 400pg/ml. Low B12 is the end stage of some anemias.

Also try some soaks for your restless legs and hand twitches, in epsom salts. Use only lukewarm water. A 1/2 hr in a bathtub with 6-8 oz of epsom salts may work for you.

Low blood sugar is also often a cause for muscle twitching.
So is compression at the carpal tunnel for thumb, first and second finger symptoms.

biba_yu 05-21-2017 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsD (Post 1243341)
I read your other posts too, and wonder if you know what your
B12 level is? It should be over 400pg/ml. Low B12 is the end stage of some anemias.

Also try some soaks for your restless legs and hand twitches, in epsom salts. Use only lukewarm water. A 1/2 hr in a bathtub with 6-8 oz of epsom salts may work for you.

Low blood sugar is also often a cause for muscle twitching.
So is compression at the carpal tunnel for thumb, first and second finger symptoms.

Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. My blood sugar and b12 are normal, emg did not show carpal tunnel, in fact it did not show anything abnormal. But I am still worried as my right hand problems are getting harder to handle. I can't use it which is difficult, as thumb goes into spasm as soon as I touch it. Usually those are some kind of repeated spasms that move thumb, but sometimes, they look like twitches, I am not sure how to differ those.My wrist is somewhat sore also, so are most of hand muscles, probably of improper use.
I could try with epsom salts, but I am worried what this is.
I used to draw and paint now I can't even hold the pencil anymore of spasms. :(

mrsD 05-21-2017 02:30 PM

If you respond to the epsom salts, do them once a day for at least a week. The magnesium in them opens up small blood vessels to improve circulation there and also they block pain signals from the NMDA pain receptors.

It is safe, inexpensive and easy to use epsom salts as a soak, as long as you don't use hot water.

Look at what you are eating. Too much sugar or carbs, or MSG in processed food (including restaurant food), or histamine containing foods can cause nerve problems for some people.
Some react to hot sauces which are nightshades. Avoid hot sauces, chilis , paprika for 2 weeks if you eat them alot. You might be surprised at the improvements you may have.

There is a histamine thread in the subforum at the PN forum here. Search "histamine" on page one there and I have some links you can read.

biba_yu 05-21-2017 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsD (Post 1243344)
If you respond to the epsom salts, do them once a day for at least a week. The magnesium in them opens up small blood vessels to improve circulation there and also they block pain signals from the NMDA pain receptors.

It is safe, inexpensive and easy to use epsom salts as a soak, as long as you don't use hot water.

Look at what you are eating. Too much sugar or carbs, or MSG in processed food (including restaurant food), or histamine containing foods can cause nerve problems for some people.
Some react to hot sauces which are nightshades. Avoid hot sauces, chilis , paprika for 2 weeks if you eat them alot. You might be surprised at the improvements you may have.

There is a histamine thread in the subforum at the PN forum here. Search "histamine" on page one there and I have some links you can read.

I will absolutely try epsom salt baths thanks for the advice.

I do eat a lot of sugar, possibly carbs too, also some histamine foods. I could try with antihistamines and to cut it.

What is bad is that I can't sleep well. Spasms wake me up and sometimes won't subside for an hour. I am very tired and there is anemia too.
I am worried that spasms are mostly in that thumb muscle the rest are minor and rare and move around. Only this one is focal but strong enough to bother me.

mrsD 05-21-2017 04:16 PM

Typical antihistamines do not really work on food allergies or food induced histamine.

The H2 blockers work better on food issues. This is Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet. Allergists use these for food reactions.

Another thing that works on food problems is Sod. Bicarbonate.
AlkaSeltzer Gold or the plain tablets. This blocks histamine receptors and can reduce chronic pain. No more than 3 times a day. But avoiding the triggers is the best way to do this rather than supplements after the fact..

If you are engaging in some exercise to stress your hand, like boxing, making fists, or grasping some tool with stressful force, that has to stop. Some yoga positions may stress the hand and palms.. Are you using some squeeze balls or hand energizers?
If so stop them.

Baby yourself for at least a month. See if things change.

Wiix 05-21-2017 04:45 PM

You know, sometimes these things resolve themselves on their own. :o

biba_yu 05-22-2017 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsD (Post 1243352)
Typical antihistamines do not really work on food allergies or food induced histamine.

The H2 blockers work better on food issues. This is Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet. Allergists use these for food reactions.

Another thing that works on food problems is Sod. Bicarbonate.
AlkaSeltzer Gold or the plain tablets. This blocks histamine receptors and can reduce chronic pain. No more than 3 times a day. But avoiding the triggers is the best way to do this rather than supplements after the fact..

If you are engaging in some exercise to stress your hand, like boxing, making fists, or grasping some tool with stressful force, that has to stop. Some yoga positions may stress the hand and palms.. Are you using some squeeze balls or hand energizers?
If so stop them.

Baby yourself for at least a month. See if things change.

Omg, I do cardio kick-boxing and boxing, at least I did up until a week ago! But I loved it... :( Also I did yoga, yes, a lot of it on hands. It's tough to give up workouts when you worked on it for so much. I will have to find something that would not stress my hands. What could it be?

I am also a developer which means I use my thumb a lot at work, which is hard to avoid. That part will be hard to repair.

mrsD 05-22-2017 07:19 AM

There is one more factor I'd like to mention:

If you have used in the past a drug from the fluoroquinolone family (Cipro, Levaquin or Avelox)...you need to know that these drugs which are common antibiotics and used for UTIs and pneumonias, can affect the tendons and cause ruptures and other pathology. Somehow they interfere with tendon maintenance. This usually happens AFTER the treatments and is often overlooked by doctors. The toxicity of these drugs is considerable.

This may be a factor for you in addition to extreme physical activity that also stresses tendons.

Tendon injury takes a long time to heal. It might be a good idea to see a hand specialist at this point.

biba_yu 05-22-2017 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsD (Post 1243379)
There is one more factor I'd like to mention:

If you have used in the past a drug from the fluoroquinolone family (Cipro, Levaquin or Avelox)...you need to know that these drugs which are common antibiotics and used for UTIs and pneumonias, can affect the tendons and cause ruptures and other pathology. Somehow they interfere with tendon maintenance. This usually happens AFTER the treatments and is often overlooked by doctors. The toxicity of these drugs is considerable.

This may be a factor for you in addition to extreme physical activity that also stresses tendons.

Tendon injury takes a long time to heal. It might be a good idea to see a hand specialist at this point.

Thanks for information, MrsD,
in fact I did use cipro for UTI, but it was in December 2016, so about 6 months ago. After just few doses my left arm started to shake and give up when i was working out so I found horrible stuff about cipro and requested another antibiotic (which I got).
NOw I am not sure how much damage can 3 or 4 days of cipro can do, and how long effects can last, but after what I read, this medication should not be given to someone who exercises or plans to exercise. Also, you should never ever take NSAIDs (any) during or soon after you are finished with cipro.

mrsD 05-22-2017 09:20 AM

Unfortunately the tendon damage I believe goes on for months and even years. These drugs damage DNA...and somehow affect tendon maintenance which may be permanent. I sure hope not.

This effect because of the long delay in onset was first discovered by doctors who used the samples willy nilly on themselves and their families and subsequently later much after the infection was over, ruptured knee tendons and achillies tendons! We had a poster here in the past who ruptured a biceps tendon moving furniture. I have yet to see any research about this explaining how it works, but the fact remains that the tendon damage remains a LONG time after the drug is stopped.

Your age and gender are against you now... lowering estrogen affects many things for women. Also if you have been pregnant in the past, you join women whose tendons change after pregnancy. During pregnancy, the body makes a hormone called relaxin to help the pelvis dilate during delivery. It relaxes ALL tendons and it can weaken some in those with a tendency to have connective tissue problems. Women notice their feet get bigger after pregnancies and this is one obvious sign that relaxin has loosened their feet which are held together by ligaments/tendons. In your case you might have additive triggers for your problems today.

A hand specialist may have a treatment or surgery to help you. At least a hand doctor can give you a support or a brace of some type to immobilize your hand to enable faster healing.

biba_yu 05-22-2017 02:42 PM

I read that too about cipro. Also, my arm tendon was damaged long ago, so one push from this medication could have made it much worse. Of course, I was pregnant thou it was long time ago, but it could made some damage too.
Currently I am going to physiotherapy and I use hand brace, but I still have a lot of spasms, especially at night. I have to take some muscle relaxers to sleep, because it's waking me up.
My tendinosis is weird since it's not painful, well, almost not. But the spasms in hand are scary as hell, especially as I feared it's something neurological (i still hope it's not).

Wiix 05-22-2017 03:50 PM

How about total rest of that area for an extended period?

mrsD 05-22-2017 04:30 PM

So do the epsom salts before bedtime . The soaks are really
good for relaxing things before sleep.

biba_yu 05-23-2017 01:25 AM

I tried relaxing first, but it's hard since I am right handed and single mom who does everything. Pretty much I can't afford to rest my hand, I even tried but it seemed that made spasms much worse somehow. I think I tried too hard to make my hand "limp" so instead it was even more tense (because it wasn't natural but forced rest) and trying too hard to rest it makes twitches even more apparent and visible.
I will have to soak my legs too now since I am getting cramps in calves too.
What bothers me is that just 2-3 months ago I was in top shape. Now I feel like a wreck. :(

Wiix 05-23-2017 10:45 AM

I know how you feel about those darn leg cramps. If I don't take my Centrum and my MSM they are horrible. Sometimes my toes go in different directions and it hurts like crazy.

biba_yu 05-25-2017 01:23 AM

I also think cramps are mostly caused by electrolyte imbalance. But are twitches too?
And can they be located on certain "weak" places, like above knee, back side, thumb, even mouth sometimes...?

Hammy55 08-26-2021 09:43 PM

Ugh I’m experiencing a lot of the same.

ibisbird55 09-12-2022 12:33 PM

Myoclonus thumb twitching
 
I find that taking corn syrup, corn starch and corn out of my diet reduces myoclonus jerks in my hands. Read labels carefully as things you wouldn’t expect like cough drops and probiotics have corn products in them.
Hope this helps you.
Jean


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