Big News: Cured of Twitching

[Ryan]

Lee NC,

As recently as May before I really began twitching, I was an avid runner. I would run as much as 50 miles a week and regulalry entered 10k races. I stopped running because my twitching became so bad and also my legs began to ache real funny on occassion.

Last month I started excercising to convince myself that I did not have ALS (on the theory that I could not run if I had ALS because alot of the twitches were in my legs and feet). Anyway, I stopped working out because after running a few miles maybe 2 I began to do my usual stretching. Then my legs began to really twitch (thumpers) and I got scared so I stopped. Looking back at that workout, I also realized that I was barely sweating (a sure sign of dehydration).

I now know that I twitch after excercising because I am dehydrated. I think I am going to go for a run tomorrow and take another step into reclaiming my life.

[LeeNC]

Ryan:

10K ?!? 50 miles per week ?!? Whoa, buddy, you are out of our league. I only run in case of fire!

Enjoy your run tomorrow. In a well-hydrated state.

Will report on my Gatorade experiment.

--LeeNC

[IFaith]

Hi Ryan

I'm not very concerned about the twitches that I have as a result of BFS, what I find difficult is the pain.

Does Gatorade take away the pain too?

Thank you, Ian.

[Ryan]

I have found that my muscle pain has also been greatly reduced. I think the bottom line is when your muscles don't get enough of what they need, be it electrolytes, vitamins, or rest--they become irrated and twitch. I have noticed a difference.

[IFaith]

Hi Ryan

How many mililitres of Gatorade do you drink each day? And what times during the day/night do you drink it?

Thank you, Ian.

[Ryan]

Ian,

I must confess, I am an American and thus pretty ignorant of the metric system. Initially I drank between 64-96 ounces a day. I presently drink about 40ozs or so a day. I am not sure how that converts. I drink Gatorade morning, noon, and night.

Ryan

[garym]

Ryan,

I'm glad to hear that gatorade is helping your sxs. Just on a side note, you might want to look for an electrolyte drink that doesn't have so much sugar.

Take care,

Gary

[tristan]

Read this thread and ran immediately to the store to buy enough aquarius (also a rehydration drink) to supply a complete sports team!

The last 7 days i was working at home. Sitting behind my computer i was practically living on diet coke and allot of chocolate. In the evening i indeed drank red whine for some relaxation. The reason i am checking this forum again is that my twitches are worse than they have been in a long time so this theory perhaps holds some truth. Hope this helps!

[amy_twitch]

This might be a complete coincidence, but after seeing Tristan's post, I have to add a comment.

My twitching has been greatly reduced (almost non-existent) over the past few months. I'm not sure exactly why---but after learning a lot about postassium and electrolyte imbalances on this board and elsewhere on the web, I decided to make some changes in my diet. Sure enough, these changes did coincide with my twitches diminishing. It might still be a coincidence--but there's been a lot of good discussion about electrolytes lately.

Anyway, I read some good info on how tannins in foods can disrupt the cell regulation mechanism in balancing electrolytes--specifically potassium. Foods with lots of tannins include: teas, chocolates and red-wine.

Well, previously, my diet consisted of a few cups of Lipton tea every morning...red wine at night...and chocolate here and there.

I nixed the tea completely--went to black coffee instead. I also stopped drinking red-wine at night (have an occasional margarita or beer instead). I also cut back on chocolate. Lastly, I started drinking a HUGE glass of water first thing in the morning right after getting out of bed...around 32 ounces. I stuck with this regimen for many weeks--and it did coincide with an improvement in my symptoms. I also watched my soda intake....I switched to juice or gatorade instead.

I absolutely love tea---so as of late, I've been allowing myself a cup or two a couple times a week.....and it does seem like my twitching is more noticeable on those days.

Who knows for sure---but lots and lots of fluids and dropping tannins out of the diet might help.

Worth a try anyway--

Amy

[PDR]

TRY

http://www.crampnomore.com

If you are looking for an alternative....this is straight OVER THE COUNTER IV solution....called E-LYTE....used mosty for Athletes.....

Also.....Low Sodium V8, or V8 for that matter, has a TON of Potassium in it, LS V-8 also clinically proven to lower Blood Pressure....and the good ol' Bananna will work for Potassium as well....

And of course a favorite for athletes is good ol' PICKLE JUICE....(for the vineger).....

[emmyangel]

I've been reading this thread with great interest. I am fairly new to this twitching business ( 10 weeks) and have tried many different things to stop or at least slow down the twitching. (vitamins of all types and Klonopin). Nothing has really made a huge difference. I've often wondered if it could be I'm simply dehydrated. I have twins, I work and barely have time to take care of me. Anyway, I was wondering if the Gatorade worked fairly quickly ( I'm on my second day) and if one has to keep Gatorade consistently in their system ( ie a glass every 3 or 4 hours) to cease the twitching. When I look at what's in Gatorade, it's basically just sodium and potassium, some Niacin and B vitamins.
I'm wondering if it's effective mostly due to the hydration component vs the vitamin content. Any advice and reassurance would greatly be appreciated. As a "newbie", I still fight the *** scare in my head, but I'm not obsessive about it. I will have a repeat EMG in 2 weeks. First one was normal and neuro exam has been normal. Thanks to this board for maintaining my SANITY!
Kristy

[Ryan]

Amy,

Great post. Now that I think about it, right before my twitching started I stopped drinking coffee and started drinking lots of tea. Because I was so stressed working on a case, I began to eat alot of chocolate during the day, and I would drink red wine at night.

I have stopped the tea but not the wine or chocolate but I will now.

This is such a great site because doctors really know so little about BFS. All my doctor told me was what I was experiencing was totally normal and it is benign. How many of us have friends who twitch that say nothing and don't freak out because they never "googled" the term "muscle twitch."

I have finally come to terms that my twitching is a result of diet (electrolytes) and anxiety over ***. In the past week I have increased my electrolytes and decreased my stress and my life is better for it. After 6 months of constant panic, I finally feel like myself again.

For those of you reading this who are twitching in silence, I encourage you to become a member and make a post about your story. I went on this site for months without making a post. I was too scared. It is almost like an alcoholics first step to recovery is to publicly admit they have a problem to strangers...the first step to beating your anxiety (which is worse than the annoying muscle twitches) is to tell others. I have been there and now know I wasted months of my life fearing that I was dying and my doctors were wrong. This almost cost me my marriage. I spent hours on the internet searching ***. I thought about *** every second, it was my obsession. When I tried talking to my wife and doctor they did not understand what I was going through and brushed it aside as anxiety and benign. The people on this board understand. They have been there.

Take this from me, I am not a hypochondriac. I never went to the doctors for anything. I never worried about my health until I "googled" "muscle twitch." BFS is serious, I went from feeling great to feeling as bad as one can feel. I became neurotic and constantly begin testing my strength, walking on my toes and heels, and staring in the mirror at my tongue to see if it was twitching (which it was, but ask who ever is in your home to stick out their tongue and you will discover their tongue also twitches when extended). I thank God everyday for this website and its members.

[JGB]

Ryan,

Just got back from the store with gatorade. I'm willing to give it a whirl. Like you, I'm an avid runner (about 15-20 miles a week in my case). I haven't been able to run for 4 months now, and I can't say that it's easy. I'm starting to confront the possibility that I won't run/play sports again. This thing hit two days before I went on a trip to New York. I had been planning to run Central Park each morning of the trip. I made it about half way across the park on day 1, and had to hobble back. Since then, I've only run about 5 times, never making more than a couple of miles. I've tried to make the best of it (I spend the time that I used to run, talking a half-hour walk with my daughter every night and then wrestle with my son for about 15 minutes). They're great, and can't even tell the difference since this has happend. I also just ordered an electric guitar.
I'm willing to try anything. I don't worry about the A-word anymore. I went through the same thing you describe... very tough on my marriage. My wife has always been supportive; when she'd see that I had been on the internet all night looking up this stuff and worrying, she started getting upset, and didn't understand how engulfed in panic I was. Also, I'm a research professor at a med school; so I'm surrounded by this kind of information. I started driving one of my neuro colleagues crazy with questions.

After the EMG, I've put the worry behind me. The guy told me that there was essentially no chance of ALS. Now, I'm just trying to get my old life back somehow.

It's encouraging to read your posts. I'm happy some of you are finding your way out of this.

JGB

[Ava]

Amy,

Interestingly, I too gave up caffine free diet soda for ice tea - I drink lots of it and not the decaf. This happened about 2 months before onset of twitches. I still drink the tea and I love it. I think I'll water it down or substitute water for most of the tea to see if this helps with the twitch.

Ava

[Roger]

Am very interested in all the excitement about possible electrolyte imbalance ( I have suffered from BFS for 33 years - is this a record?). However, I live in the UK and have never heard of the stuff. Does anybody know what the British equivalent is called and whether I would need a doctor's prescription to obtain it?
Roger