Pain, sensory, twitching

[andman]

Hello,
I'm almost 6 months into twitching. My current status is the following:
Twitching: hot spot calves, random arm, forearm, above knee, lip...
Pain: Left pinky and ring, left palm (pinky side)
Numbness/tingling: left pinky/ring, right thumb and next 2 fingers, fight foot (top of foot and big toe).
I do have cervical isues protruding c5-6, c6-7 disks, but the left ulnar nerve should be at the c8 root, which was OK in my MRI.
My NCS in 12/2012 states suspicion of urnar entrapment in the left elbow.

Can anyone relate?
Has anyone experienced ulnar problems during or after his/her twitching experience?
At least I hope somebody will confirm that pain and numbness point away fron anything nasty...

__
Take care,
Andy

[andman]

Forgot to add, that I don't feel any weakness...
Except the discomfort from tingling in the foot and pain/numbness in the L pinky and ring fingers...

[Floydian]

Hi Andy, pain and sensory issues and the fact you have no weakness steers you away from ALS.
I think ulnar issues, disc bulging, nerve entrapments can be the cause of all this crap. I had and still have a lot of issues in both my arms, so I can relate to you.

[Yuliasir]

ulnar symtomes should nto always start at the root. it is enough (at often, s far as I know, it prevails) to have damage at elbow or wrist level (for carpal branch). Anyway when it was a disease of typists, diary milkers and carpernters, it was exactly local damage due to repetitive motion.

[andman]

Thank you,
Once in a while I really need to hear that it is not ALS.
Yulia, you're right. I dont think it's my neck this time causing the finger pain. But I really am not forcing my left arm. I'm trying to use it as least as possible, but it dosn't seem to help.
Andy

[Yuliasir]

My sister in law had carpal tunnel syndrome last september... classic one - sharp pains, partial loss of grip, etc. It took her several month to got just moderate improvement and she took a physio, massage, some antiinflammation meds etc. So it is a really long story.

[andman]

Hi,
Visited a neuro today because of the pain in the L pinky and ring fingers. She examined me and prescribed me anti inflamatory shots for cubital tunnel syndrome which she stated to be the case this time. Also a PT to try to release the nerve in the elbow. She read also from my december NCS results that the signal is being slowed down in the elbow and regarding my symptoms she said there's no doubt that it's an ulnar nerve entrapment in the elbow.
She saw no motor deficits, my reflexes were symmetrical, and when I told her about the twitches she wasn't even impressed. "Supplement magnesium for some time"...

One reassuring sentence in the end for BFSers who had their clean EMGs and are still worried.
She said that she analysed EMGs of *** patients. She stated that it is such a rare disease, that it was difficult for her to find a dozen of patients with the disease for her studies.
During only few months there would be significant signs in the EMG if it was something nasty. And the EMG would be worse from month to month...

__
Take care,
Andy

[avanti8]

I have the exact same pinky and ring finger pain going on in my right hand right now (which is kind of a pain since it's my dominant hand. Get it? Pain? Wakka wakka). It either started after slipping on ice, or after putting in heavy miles on the bike last season (as I heard cyclists can get ulnar nerve issues from constant road vibration). Probably some combination of both. Either way, it kinda hurts...

[andman]

Avanti,
You're right. I've had numbness and tingling back in Aug 2012 in these 2 fingers. But recently it turned into pain and it's really hard and unpleasant to use the hand, eventhough it is my non dominant.
I'm trying hard to keep it straight but it's so unnatural, that I often forget and bend my elbow.
Do you try to spare it from bending and does this help?

__
Take care,
Andy

[avanti8]

Honestly, I have no idea what to do about this. I did read that keeping your arm straight in bed can help the pain, and you can make sure it stays straight by wrapping a towel around the affected arm. I'm writing or typing most of the day so keeping it straight is usually impractical. Also I found some info on "ulnar nerve flossing" which is come funky Tai Chi lookin' maneuver that's supposed to move the nerve through it's range of motion and take pressure off of it. But then again, that's just what I've read on the internet, and we all know how reliable that is.

I see my doctor for an unrelated issue in a few weeks... if I still have the pain by then, I'll ask her if it's worth it to see a PT. It hasn't gotten any better or worse, just remained a constant, and there's no detectable weakness, just pain and sometimes tingling.

[Floydian]

Keeping my arms straight in bed helps me. Besides that I have to sleep on my left side otherwise I wake up with tingling and sleeping arms.