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Laura
USA
655 Posts |
 Posted - 01/30/2006 : 09:14:20
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I have a friend who has been experiencing intermittent muscle twitches for months now. The muscle twitches jump around his body and basically drive him crazy. The other night, he asked me to hold my hand on his chest to feel it and of course, I felt nothing. He said "It was there a few minutes ago. It's been driving me crazy all night." I kept my hand there for about five minutes - nothing. I started talking about Dr. Sarno's book and TMS. I asked him "When this first started happening to you what was going on in your life? Was there some sort of event or stress that you can remember?" He said "I've always lived my life the exact same way. I'm very focused, very driven. I get up at the same time every day.." yada, yada, yada. I said "Well, what you just described is the TMS personality, a very driven, organized, perfectionistic personality." Then he asks me "So, what do I do. What is the cure?" I tried to explain it, how he needed to "think" his way out of it and try to think about what could be bothering him, what repressed anger or rage he might have. I don't think he bought it nor did he get it.
Is there some other way I could explain this to him? Should I just hand him my book? I want to help him but am not sure how. He says he hates self-help books too. Maybe it's one of those cases of you can lead a horse to water but you can't make em drink.
Laura
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 01/30/2006 : 10:32:24
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| One good thing about this case is that even physicians will tell him that it is stress-related! Muscle twitches that move around without other symptoms like weakness or spasm are always from stress and are universally recognized as that. So tell him to see a doctor--they will basically support what you said. |
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ucreger
12 Posts |
Posted - 01/30/2006 : 13:43:25
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Laura,
The person who introduced me to Sarno did the best thing he could have. Simply said "here is a book that helped me, read it a few times before you decide" Had he tried to explain Dr. Sarno's theory to me I would have dismissed it.
Best of luck, I hope your friend comes around for his sake.
Chris |
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bsdman
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2006 : 15:06:26
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I have just learned about the condition that may explain what I have - pervceived weakness combined with muscle twitching all over. It's called BFS. Benign Fasciculation Syndrome. It's not harmful, but does drive people nuts. Fasciculation is a fancy medical term for twitching. It is often brought on by stress. Here is a link you should pass on...
http://nextination.com/aboutbfs/forums/viewtopic.php?t=201
People get frequent twitching and think it's ALS. Many more people have BFS than ALS and many confuse the symptoms. One is MUCH more likely to have BFS than ALS. Only 30,000 people in the US have it! That's like asking a randon US citizen if they live in Mt. Vernon, OH.
But the most important thing I learned is that if you have noticeable muscle twitching, with no clinical loss of stregth, you do not have ALS. |
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2006 : 15:16:18
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| You're right, that's what it's called, but so what? It's still muscle twitching caused by stress, and as you mentioned, it's exceedingly common... I think it's making a mountain out of molehill to call it a "condition". Think of it as yet another TMS equivalent. In people so disposed, they can become completely obsessed about it, and convinced they have a serious condition like ALS, going from doctor to doctor. Just another physical distraction from emotional issues--add it to the list! |
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Albert
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2006 : 16:12:16
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I believe one the key reasons people have problems accepting a psychological diagnosis, is because they've been conditioned to believe that physical problems are just physical problems. According to their mind set, accepting a psychological diagnosis is the same as stating they have psychological issues or are a hypochondriac.
As people here well know, it isn't about being insane or being a hypochondriac. It's about body, mind and spirit being connected together. If you can get them to understand this, they might budge.
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bsdman
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2006 : 16:17:50
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| What do you mean 'so what'?? People like knowing what the conditions they may have are called, so they know what they are dealing with. Plus I would call continual muscle twitching a condition - it's no mountain, either. |
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lastlostmonkey
35 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2006 : 04:01:21
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As far as I understand it, 'condition', like 'syndrome' just means 'a collection of symptoms that often occur together'. In some cases this is taken to indicate that there may be an underlying illness or disease to diagnose but in many cases all it is saying is 'you have these symptoms'. Therefore it is not at all contradictory, as someone on another topic said about fibromyalgia, to say 'I have such-and-such condition' and 'I have TMS'. It's not saying much more than 'I have twitchy muscles', it's just that a number of other people have also had similar twitchy muscles at some point so they've given it a name.
LastLostMonkey |
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2006 : 16:31:33
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Sorry my post sounded dismissive, which was not my intent. As lastlostmonkey gathered, my point was meant to be similar to that of some folks on the forum who don't like using the term "fibromyalgia" for what is likely to be a TMS equivalent, albeit a very severe one. The idea is that giving someone a clinical name for their symptoms may reinforce the concept that it is a serious and separate problem that they are "stuck with", rather than part of the TMS spectrum.
Similarly, the name Benign Fasciculation Syndrome does not really indicate anything other than muscle twitches caused by stress, which in my mind, is another TMS equivalent. Thinking of it as a separate entity, rather than part of the TMS spectrum, may be counterproductive. However, I could see that for some people, knowing that what they have experienced is something well recognized and benign, and in fact does have a name, could be reassuring. |
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Some people just don't get it
