Hi I am new to the forum. I do not have diagnosis but have seen neurologist and had mri just last week. Waiting to hear. I do not know what the problem is but the symptoms I have been getting have been a progression over many months. And the last 2 months have been progressively worse. What is concerning me is for the last few weeks I’ve been having random muscle twitches and very slight jerks of my body. The fasciculations more so than the jerks. But aren’t localised to one area they are in my thighs, buttocks, arms, back everywhere really. I have also noticed my right arm is heavy and achy. With cramping. I am still
working and I am a health professional doing minimal clinical work at the moment due to my symptoms however yesterday I noticed my dexterity was really affected with a slight trembling in my right hand. I’ve also noticed difficulty swallowing certain foods, mainly dry foods. I am losing my balance and dropping things intermittently too. I feel helpless as I have no clue what’s going on and no one to ask while I’m waiting. Has anyone else experienced the twitches and cramping in hands?
The biggest problem with MS is that we share so many symptoms with other diagnoses. So although some of us might share symptoms with you, it is meaningless in terms of your investigations for MS or any other neurological disorder.
As I’m sure you’re aware, all of the symptoms you mention could be experienced by any number of us who are diagnosed with MS, the tremor, the muscle twitches (spasms maybe), losing balance, dropping things, swallowing. But they could also be part of a number of other diseases. So our sharing of symptoms isn’t necessarily much help to you. I suspect what you need really is some fellow feeling, sympathy (or empathy) and understanding. All of which you have from me.
I do hope you don’t have long to wait for the results of the MRI, and maybe a diagnosis. Meanwhile, keep talking to us on here. It’s a horrible time, experiencing symptoms and yet having no choice but to wait for the neurologist to get the radiologists report, look at it in the light of your history and physical exam, rub his or her chin a bit, bite the end of their pen, cogitate and finally, set an appointment for you to come back.
Keep your spirits up (maybe gin might help matters?) and let us know the results.
Many thanks for your advice Sue. It is indeed frustrating waiting for answers when you’re going through it and it’s impacting on your daily life. The muscle twitches and trembling are fairly new and whilst painless they are troublesome and affecting my practice at work. I will of course keep you posted and I appreciate your support. Thank you.