Twitches and jerks driving me mad!!!

[emanticoff73]

I have an appt with a therapist in a week. Which hopefully helps me. i had two bottles of Zoloft my doc had prescibed a while back. I started taking 25 mg 5 days ago out of desperation. Could this be causing the jittery anxious feeling? Feel like i want to jump out of my skin. Its even hard to type because my fingers are jumping all over the place. Like i cant coordinate my fingers to type. Im so nervous. I am dealing with these horrible twitches and jerks at night and sometimes during the day. Last night i was laying on my stomach and my leg jumped all the way up and kicked me in the butt. Is that normal? What in the hell is that? My arms jerk non stop and my feet. Its worse when i am awaken by my baby and want to go back to bed. While i'm laying there is when i get hit with the worse twitches and jerks. When i first try and go to sleep i get my leg jerk and few arm jerks as well as facial and lip twitches. Im laying there like you have to be kidding me right!!! Even as im typing this i"m getting twitches in my butt. The twitches jump around my body like a circus. Is that a good thing that jump around or is that worse? Help me please. Has anybody had these. If i sit still during the day i even feel them in my feet and fingers especially. I was diagnosed with fasciculations. I thought fasciculations were worm like twitches that are non stop in a limb. So confused. Im deathly afraid this is Parkinsons disease. I feel so jittery and jumpy all day and like i cant think straight. I was a normal girl 3 months ago. I never even heard of the word twitch. This literally all happen over night. I don't want to go back on the ativan, but there the only thing that helps with it. I don't know what to do i'm desperate for normalcy again. My family is suffering because most of the time i'm in my own world thinking the worse. . Mornings are the worse for me and night time. I have no weakness or numbness. Can still walk on my toes and heel walk. I can balance on one leg for 6o seconds or more if i wanted. My balance is great. I have no weakness. I type and my fingers want to punch the letter on the keyboard twice instead of once type of feeling. Like jumpiness i guess. My muscles are super duper tense. oh god when will it end. Okay that is the end of my rant. :weep:

[Elliejane44]

I am not an expert but I believe anxiety can cause both twitches and jerks .
I currently having these too.
Medication side effects maybe too. I not familiar with the drug you mentioned .

I think it supposed to be good if they jump around though ! Again no expert . I found a good articles on twitches on a website called scary symptoms . Not that I advise googling .

Sorry could not help anymore. Other than to say I believe twitches are common. Other people might have more insight

Ellie

[emanticoff73]

Omg I just read about twitches on that site today. They tell you about what strength tests to do to. I wouldn't mind if it was just at nite but I get twitches during the day and extreme restlessness. My my muscles want to do there own Thing. Scared of parkinsons. Not so Scared of m.s , but parkison's, dystonia,and .tardive dyskenisia. Those scare me . If one person can tell me there arms jerk or leg flysup like mine I would feel better. But right now I feel alone and like the only one.

[Elliejane44]

Parkinson's does not present like this and I believe tar dive dyskinesia is to do with drugs side effects . So I would forget about these.

I gave this twitches too and some jerks . I thinks lot of this forum probably does or has too at one point.

I really think it is anxiety but if you are really worried see your gp. Let me know how you get on

Ellie

[Annaboodle]

Hello again. I had mild twitches and jerks and weird sensations like numbness in my limbs with anxiety and these became so much worse with my benzodiazepine tolerance and withdrawal (I spoke about the latter a bit on your previous thread). I found it impossible to know what was anxiety any more and what was drug-related symptoms. I know I had pretty violent leg jerks with the diazepam withdrawal (like my leg would jerk out uncontrollably it felt across the bed). I remember sitting on my legs in bed to try and control the movements, if that makes any sort of sense.

For what it's worth, while I think your symptoms could possibly be a mess of anxiety and Ativan withdrawal or could just be anxiety-related (they honestly could be - it can be this bad as you know from so many threads on here), I would bet anything that you do not have a neurological disorder.

I hope the therapist can help you start to unravel things. I feel like it would be good if there were some communication between your doctor and therapist about the meds that are involved - the Zoloft is a new one and could well be affecting you too. I don't know what it's like over there as I'm in the UK, but I'm guessing I'm being too optimistic hoping for communication between doc and therapist.

[emanticoff73]

That's a great idea. I will try that out. So tempted to go back on ativan. I just want to feel relaxed. My teeth clench most of the day. I'm so scared I have some movement disorder and I will be disabled soon. Or shaking and jerking all the time. It's maddening.

[Fishmanpa]

With respect a question... You're saying that these jerks and twitches are so violent and strong that it makes you kick your leg out or your arm to suddenly fly out... like so much so that someone walking by at the inopportune time would get hit?.... that's how I'm reading this.

If so and no medical professional has seen it, I would be committing myself to the hospital so they could document it!

Positive thoughts

[Anonybrit]

It's called benign fasiculation syndrome, that's presumably what your doctor was telling you, I had it myself and it as a result of anxiety.

Serious neurological disease do not cause random isolated jerks in muscles all over the body. I am a doctor myself but health anxiety takes over and I had a bad time with this too, thinking it was a terrible progressive neurological disease. It got to the point where my calves would ache from constant twitching.

Lowering your anxiety + time is the cure, as it is for almost all of our somatic symptoms of stress. A few years on I am now again having a terrible period of health anxiety for another reason but even now my brain has seemingly given up on bothering with the fasiculation.

They just slowly fade over time when you stop thinking about them. I think it took me a few months before they weren't distracting and uncomfortable, then another few months until I was completely unaware of them, now they are gone completely when I'm not stressed and when I am stressed if I think hard I can detect a few of them but it has no impact on my life at all.

[melfish]

Anon, what about in the tongue? Did you get them there?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hello again. I had mild twitches and jerks and weird sensations like numbness in my limbs with anxiety and these became so much worse with my benzodiazepine tolerance and withdrawal (I spoke about the latter a bit on your previous thread). I found it impossible to know what was anxiety any more and what was drug-related symptoms. I know I had pretty violent leg jerks with the diazepam withdrawal (like my leg would jerk out uncontrollably it felt across the bed). I remember sitting on my legs in bed to try and control the movements, if that makes any sort of sense.

For what it's worth, while I think your symptoms could possibly be a mess of anxiety and Ativan withdrawal or could just be anxiety-related (they honestly could be - it can be this bad as you know from so many threads on here), I would bet anything that you do not have a neurological disorder.

I hope the therapist can help you start to unravel things. I feel like it would be good if there were some communication between your doctor and therapist about the meds that are involved - the Zoloft is a new one and could well be affecting you too. I don't know what it's like over there as I'm in the UK, but I'm guessing I'm being too optimistic hoping for communication between doc and therapist.

I agree with Anna.

You already had these symptoms hence why you were following up on tests but benzo's are well known for these types of side effects and you've gone cold turkey off a very difficult drug to get off.

This is likely going to be a difficult period to you and cold turkey of these drugs is known to cause rebound anxiety. It's all going to add on top of what you were already going through.

Whilst your HA mind will be trying to get you to panic about what it could be, you need to try to accept it has worsened due to stopping this drug abruptly.

I really think you need to talk to a doctor about this because I think you are putting yourself through more anxiety than you need to when you still could have come off that drug whilst minimilising the side effects.

[Anonybrit]

Anon, what about in the tongue? Did you get them there?

I didn't but any skeletal muscle can presumably fasiculate due to anxiety.

Jerks so strong that you actually violently kick out your limbs are not fasiculations and I doubt the GP would have made that confusion.

Worrying fasiculations are the end stage of diseases like motor neurone disease. They are rhythmic down a whole muscle group not just the odd twitch here and there, and they are after a long period of disease in which that muscle will now be both very weak and visibly atrophied. You would have been unable to walk on that limb long before the fasiculations started if it was MND.

So far this all sounds like classic anxiety.

[emanticoff73]

I told her I had jerks. I showed her on the table. She said her husband does the same thing. But this is not allowing me to sleep. No it's not bad enough for someone to get hit. I sleep with my baby. But my leg lifted off the bed like I was doing a calf raise. They are strong.my whole body jerks . My lip twitches then it shoots down to my toes, then my calf, there strong enough to make my foot move and my hand move. All started from one day to the next. No one in my family us listening to me. My husband doesn't get it. My mom treats me like a hypochondriac. That's it. It's just my mom and my husband. That's all I have. And there not there for me. I'm scared to deal with this alone. I don't want to end up disabled or worse. I'm extremely sleep deprived. Sleeping with a 1 yr old in a town bed is torture. She won't sleep in her crib. She has me up all night with her screaming in her sleep every 20 min , then she's up by 4 am for good. I'm a zombie. I'm a nervous fidgety tick all day. My cognitive functions are off. I twitch during the day to, just not the big jerks I have at nite. Then I have to get up and take care of two children. It's torture.
I

[Annaboodle]

I know what the sleep deprivation thing with a young one is like. I am an appalling sleeper normally and naively thought "I'll be FINE with sleep deprivation with a bub cause I'm used to it". Nope. It's awful, and the worst thing for a chronic insomniac was to know, "guess what, you've got 30 MINUTES now to get some sleep Anna. Get on with it!). Can you get a big king size mattress and stick it on the floor for you and your 1 year old? I wasn't sure what you meant by a "town bed" but I'm assuming it's small. Just thinking a big mattress on the floor doesn't have to be expensive and might help as will give you and the 1 year old more space.

Does your husband help at nights? I didn't cope with nights with my first child at all. I felt like a depressed empty ghost of a person. I know that sounds over-dramatic but it's how I felt. I don't know if I had post-natal depression looking back now (I defy anyone not to get a bit frickin' depressed on pretty much no sleep and little support!). I was like you - I just had my husband and no family around me at all so there was no one.

I figure that you will be making a start on dealing with your anxiety with the therapist, but the other parts of what you're going through need unpicking and chipping away at them somehow - so any little thing that might help with your sleeping. Then the doc - I feel like maybe you need them (or another doc) to get on board with the effects of these meds on your anxiety. I know these things might seem too big to deal with at the moment, so that's why maybe little steps and changing what you can? I'm sending you a big hug through the ether as I really feel for you and what you're going through x

[Fishmanpa]

Sleeping with a 1 yr old in a town bed is torture. She won't sleep in her crib. She has me up all night with her screaming in her sleep every 20 min , then she's up by 4 am for good. I'm a zombie. I'm a nervous fidgety tick all day. My cognitive functions are off. I twitch during the day to, just not the big jerks I have at nite. Then I have to get up and take care of two children. It's torture.


I recall when my daughter was around two and my ex and I had a similar issue. To get her to go to sleep, my ex would bring her into our bed and then put her in her crib after she fell asleep. Sure enough, she would wake up and scream and we'd be up again (mostly her as I worked nights). We brought it up with our pediatrician and his advice was basically tough love. We had to put her to bed in her crib, sit there with her until she fell asleep and if she woke up, we would go in, comfort but not take her out of the room.

I had to be the "bad guy" as my ex couldn't deal with it. That first couple of nights was hell! OMG! I remember standing there outside her door while she screamed bloody murder for close to 30 minutes. She got out her crib and was literally banging on her door for Mommy! Finally, she fell asleep on the floor by the door. I went in and put her back in her crib and she slept the rest of the night. The next night was similar but the duration much less. Within a week, it was all good and we didn't have an issue anymore.

Perhaps a chat with your husband and a plan to help change the habits and subsequent behaviors that are causing you so much stress would be in order.
All I know is sleep for a parent of a young child is paramount.

Positive thoughts

[emanticoff73]

Yes that is what I am going to do. It's tough love time! I have given my all and then some. Do you think the jerks are from sleep deprivation. I'm getting off the Zoloft in case there making them worse. I'm so paranoid that I over think every move I make. For example, did I turn the key fast enough, did my hand just shake when I grabbed my mug of tea, wait my finger just moved while holding my phone, an I shaking inside, is my head bobbing while I'm walking, oh no it's parkinsons. I am over analyzing every move I make. My eye is still twitching after 7 days. I feel my nervous system buzzing through me. Going to try benadryl tonite. Wish me luck. Hope one day I can look back on this time and be thankful I got through it. Just doesn't feel like it now. This had been going on 2 and a half months the twitching and jerks. Would I show some other symptoms of disease by now nuerologically. I'm still very strong and no weakness.

[Elliejane44]

Hi

I am getting jerks and twitches along with it seems many others on here.
I have no babies waking me up , I am on citropram and have health anxiety

I would say it is a combination of sleep deprivation , anxiety and probably the tablets too.

I really feel for you to have this and a baby.

Could you go back to gp and say how much you are struggling and how worried you are

Ellie

[emanticoff73]

Yes, I need to find a good doctor. So hard here on long island, N.Y.. She you say you get jerks do you mean a limb moves? Cuz mine move. Even my shoulder shrugs a bit. It's like a dance. The jerks jump around. Like from my lip twitching, to my foot moving to the right, then my hand moving to the left fro. My wrist, then my whole body jerking, then my finger twitches, then my toungue will push on the roof of my mouth, etc..... Like a dance till I fall out. Then if I wake up and try to fall asleep it starts all over. :(((

[Elliejane44]

Yes like leg jerks or arm or shoulder jumps just for a quick second

Mine only started this week and I sure it anxiety related .
Does not stop the worry though .

I remember when my boys were babies and I was so tired I did get more jerking I think looking back . I did not have any health anxiety then so never paid it much attention

Look on here for the countless posts on twitches and jerks . That proves that it connected to anxiety

Keep positive . Hard I know as I the worst too . You just wish for whatever symptom that you currently worrying over to stop but for me something else replaces it

Ellie

[emanticoff73]

I wish something else could replace this one. This is the worst yet. Thank you annaboodle, hugs right back at ya. Nuerological diseases are very scary.

[Jett81013]

Emanticoff - hoping your twitches go away soon.

i'm also in a neuro disease fear...i used to have arm, butt, back (lower and upper), face, lip, foot, right temple, legs, hips, crotch twitches....that started a month and a half ago...i read tons of BFS articles and say it's normal and that neuro diseases usually start off as local (one part of the body)...so i calmed down a bit....NOW it's localized only my my outer calves (both legs)...go figure...now i want the twitches somewhere else so i can at least say ...whew it's not localized.

I'm paying a visit to my neuro on Tuesday to bug her and see if i can get an EMG or something...

Health Anxiety really does stink. BTW i'm in the city...let me know if you want to see my neuro...she's very caring and kind of accepting of my anxious nature

[emanticoff73]

Your in New York? Where is she located.

---------- Post added at 17:05 ---------- Previous post was at 17:02 ----------

You are brave. I'm scared of those nerve tests. I ran out of my nuerogisy office before she asked to do one. Is that only to test for ALS?

[Jett81013]

I'm not brave...i'm so scared but I just need to know why my twitches haven't stopped even though i thought i calmed down in my anxiety.

I'm scared that i might have some type of MND...so part of me doesn't even want to test but i need to do it for my sanity and my family....

i sent you a PM regarding doc

[ServerError]

I can tell you why your twitches haven't stopped. Firstly, your body takes time - sometimes years - to react to your new state of mind. Secondly, you're clearly still anxious to some extent.

But benign twitching can exist without any underlying disease.