Muscle Spasms and Twitching

[mrsmachine]

One of the earliest symptoms of MS that I experienced, was muscle twitches. Just like the twitches you sometimes get in your eyelid. At first they would be in the same spot and would twitch constantly for days on end. Then it would move on to a different place and stay there for a couple of days, and so on.

After my first known flare up, I started having constant twitches all over my body. It would twitch in my arm, then go to my leg, and then my eye.

Now, fast forward to the present. The twitches have now become spasms, some of them quite strong. I still have them constantly over different parts of my body.

I take baclofen 10mg, 4 times daily and at bedtime, which have significantly slowed down the frequency of these spasms. I only get a couple of dozen per hour now on most days.

I have these spasms in mostly every muscle of my body. I get them equally on the right and left side of my body, in the arms, legs, back, sides and stomach. Less frequently, I get them around my eyes, the sides of my head where you can feel the jaw muscles, and my palms in the fleshy part under my thumbs. I sometimes, very rarely get spasms in my chest/pec muscles.

For some reason, I get really worried when I get the spasms in my chest and stomach area. I start needlessly worrying about the fact that my diaphram is a muscle and so is my heart, and what would happen if they start to spasm. Hey, at least I am honest about my fears....

I have never had twitches or spasms on my feet or tongue. I wanted to note that, because I have read that muscles spasms in the tongue could be a sign of ALS.

I would like to hear the experiences from others who suffer from these spasms and twitches, as well.

[sunshine008]

hi yes fun aren't they?? my husband and I try to joke about it at night when my right leg takes off like it has a mind of its own. he's laid on my legs at times to stop the leg from freaking out basically.

it's annoying though, i'm not medicated yet and it keeps up me till middle of the night some nights.

as far as other twitches yea i have those yet didn't know they were ms related. my eye twitches on occassion, than sometimes my arms little muscles nerves in them small areas etc.

my feet has spasms so bad they hurt and sting. i don't know i just try to deal w/it what else can you do? i'm lucky though my aren't every night as it sounds like yours are.

try relaxing when it happens also. for some reason i feel like the more you freak the worse it gets. i do my meditation breathing through it.

hangin there

[Hopefuleigh]

I'm a twitcher...

Hi mrsmachine,

I have the twitches constantly, from head to toe. Like you, some of my "spots" have started spasming, but mostly I still just twitch. It seems none of my muscles are immune to this lovely (annoying) little quirk. I don't feel any pain, except in the spasms.

I also have worried that my heart or diaphragm will spasm, and in fact, my heart has skipped many times, and it felt like a twitch. My doc says my heart is fine, my BP is perfect, so apparently there is nothing to worry about. It is still a very unsettling feeling, though. I have had those for longer than my MS symptoms, though. Or maybe it was one of my first and I didn't realize.

Anyway, I know how you feel. I haven't taken anything for them yet. They are worse in a flare, but even in remission, I get them occasionally. ((Hugs!))

[maximumlite]

Never had them until I was diagnosed and that was 4-9 this year but this weekend they started in hard, not many while I was up but when I laid down for my nap and to go to sleep it was horrible.

Friday I went to bed at 1am and was still awake at 6:30 in the morning so I stayed up till 2am last night and still awake at 4:30. They are moving all around my body so I did'nt know where the next one would be hated the stomach.

Kind of like laying there with a hundred strings attached to you in a crowded mall and people grab a string at random and that is were you would feel it. There were some that felt like someone poked me first and than came the twitch, at least there I had a warning

[mrsmachine]

TO Sunshine008, hopefuleigh, and maximumlite: Thanks for your input!

I also notice they are worse when I first get up out of bed, and when I am stressed!!

[lchoppel]

My twitches and tremors interfere with my typing and texting. I can't text anyone without tapping the wrong keys on my phone! I absolutely hate them, and no of nothing to help alleviate them. Some of my temors come from spatiscity in my legs. Have you ever thought of that?

[mrsmachine]

My twitches and tremors interfere with my typing and texting. I can't text anyone without tapping the wrong keys on my phone! I absolutely hate them, and no of nothing to help alleviate them. Some of my temors come from spatiscity in my legs. Have you ever thought of that?

Hi there!

You know, you may be right! All-over body/muscle stiffness was one of the earliest signs of MS that I had. That started about 5 years to my "FNF" (first known flare). It was one of those symptoms that I attributed to "just getting older", even though it was my mid 30's at the time. Also, just like the numbness and tingling in my hands and arms, which I thought was a pinched nerve or carpal tunnel.

The stiffness has gotten progressively worse since that time, and most days, I can hardly move. I told my DH I feel like the TinMan, and need oiled. LOL!

So, maybe all of the stiffness, twitching and spasms are indeed spasticity, because the Baclofen has definitely helped the situation. I will have to ask my new Neuro about that when i go to my appointment in June.

Thanks

[candycane]

me too

I get them also, just like you described. (my first symptom too, along with a feeling of flies biting my leg & some left face numbness)
I take elavil to help sleep at night & this helps SO much!!! If I forget to take it my sleep is interrupted by twitches & spasms, & the next day I'm miserable from all the twitching.

[Alicious]

I get them from time to time as well, but so far I can ignore them and get on with things. They are a little strange, though!

[inmoni5]

Hi there!

You know, you may be right! All-over body/muscle stiffness was one of the earliest signs of MS that I had. That started about 5 years to my "FNF" (first known flare). It was one of those symptoms that I attributed to "just getting older", even though it was my mid 30's at the time. Also, just like the numbness and tingling in my hands and arms, which I thought was a pinched nerve or carpal tunnel.

The stiffness has gotten progressively worse since that time, and most days, I can hardly move. I told my DH I feel like the TinMan, and need oiled. LOL!

So, maybe all of the stiffness, twitching and spasms are indeed spasticity, because the Baclofen has definitely helped the situation. I will have to ask my new Neuro about that when i go to my appointment in June.

Thanks

Simply amazing! I too had stiffness for about 8 years before my diagnosing flare. I was even dx'd w/fibromyalgia (which it was actually the MS) I thought that I was just out of shape and/or aging as well, I am now 33. I can remember back to high school where my muscles were always so tight that I couldn't even stretch out, touch my toes etc. The teachers always used to get angry with me that I was out of shape...come on now I was a size 7 and an avid horse rider daily for hours. I don't believe I was out of shape.

[truckin]

I was on Seroquel for 5 months starting in December of 2010. It made my belly triple in size, and the doc said just keep walking, exercising, etc. My diaphragm got really tight and tired holding up my belly.

Now I'm off the Seroquel and the belly is slowly going south. Still have tightness in the diaphragm, like I'm doing a continual situp. It affects my breathing, as I am a belly breather by habit. I'm taking Skelaxin as needed, but I still gotta hold the belly up and breathe.

What keeps me from getting scared is when I walk a mile, I can breathe easily thru my nose, and slowly and not get outta breath. I can get scared at home, though--think it's the self-consciousness of it. I can sit at my computer and pay no attention to my breathing and then bam, I start shaking. Not outta breath, though.

Meds and MS gets me into habits a lot--I try to chug along, what else is there?