Fasciculations: could this be withdrawal related or something major?

[bruno2006]

I am 18 months off but this one problem bugs me a lot--fasciculations. IF you read up on it, it is a symptom of major diseases like ALS and other nervous system diseases. It can also be benign. Here is a video that shows what I have. It is mainly in my calves and occurs daily. It started about 7 months ago. So, could this be related to withdrawal syndrome, or should I get checked out? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5t9RbOmlyM

[stan]

for me it can be withdrawal because things appear the second year off in people who took many years(6/7 for you); it is what is called tardive akathisia, tardive dyskinesia etc; for me the most things appeared the second year off(i was 13 years on),
it mimics ALS, but i think it is not, it is what we call pseudo ALS, pseudo etc

[bruno2006]

for me it can be withdrawal because things appear the second year off in people who took many years(6/7 for you); it is what is called tardive akathisia, tardive dyskinesia etc; for me the most things appeared the second year off(i was 13 years on),
it mimics ALS, but i think it is not, it is what we call pseudo ALS, pseudo etc

Thanks for your input, Stan.

Very interesting concept of "pseudo ALS". Lets hope it is pseudo because these fasciculations are the same ones ALS people have and it, naturally, freaks me out.
I was on the drugs nearly 8 years and went off in one week. I posted about these fasciculations on the other site but cannot find anyone who has had similar issues. Most people complain of twitching and spasms but the fasciulations are more than that and you can sit there and look at them and see just like the video shows.

[Luc]

It looks like a WD symptom, Bruno. I really doubt it would be anything other than this. Whether it's fasciculations or twitches/spasms, in many cases the easiest way to describe it is the latter (twitches/spasms), so most will call it as such.

[bruno2006]

It looks like a WD symptom, Bruno. I really doubt it would be anything other than this. Whether it's fasciculations or twitches/spasms, in many cases the easiest way to describe it is the latter (twitches/spasms), so most will call it as such.

yes, it would appear to be related to withdrawal/drugs but I cannot find others who have had similar issues. If you watch the video, these types of twitches are very pronounced in that they are constant and easy to see. With twitching and spasms, those arent as pronounced and tend to not be so visible. I think fasciculations, twitching, and spasms are all related, however, these fasciculations are happening every day and occur the majority of the day.

[stan]

it is normal to have nerves problems after 8 years neurotoxics, i had severe akathisia, today have it but less intense, it is changing with time, not the same i had in beginning; your fasciculations twiching will move and change with time, and slowly reduce, but often with the up and down , wave window pattern

[Sheila]

Hi Bruno, nice to see you. As Stan and Luc say, it is highly likely this is w/d, and it is very common for new symptoms to appear. I didn’t develop neuro-OCD until a year or two post-taper. It’s a good idea to think of it as pseudo-ALS. Your neurons are mis-firing due to the meds and w/d, and they will heal. People’s nerve problems take different forms – I have burning feet, which is less common.

How is your grounding going? And your supplements? How much Omega-3 are you taking?

[bruno2006]

Thanks everyone for your support. I feel better now knowing that it is probably related to the drugs. The problem is, I tend to still be in denial that at 18 months off these drugs, I am still be affected in some way. I will continue to give it more time as I have made a lot of progress and my windows are now much longer.

Sheila: I still ground. I have found that nothing beats the real deal. Mainly, getting outside, taking off my shoes, and laying down makes me feel better than hooking up to the grounding bands I have. The bands plug into the grounding hole in the socket and so its not the "natural" grounding in a sense but it does still ground the body from what I understand.

I am still taking a prescribed nutrient compound from Pfeiffer Center which is basically the basic nutrients in higher doses based on some blood work I did a couple years ago. I really need to retest as I may not even have low levels of nutrients anymore because of my diet. I am on the Paleo/caveman/primal/traditional diet. I eat no sugar, wheat, grans, starches. However, I am still experimenting and will add things like starches later. I was dealing with GI problems as I mentioned before and would have severe colon pain/spasms and other issues. Well, I did some experimenting and found that the pain was being caused by something. I took out dairy, starches, and grains while I did a sort of green juice/raw food cleanse for a few days. After this cleanse, I ate only paleo and the GI problems went away. I re-introduced oats, starches, and some conventional dairy (not raw dairy as I do consume raw goat kefir with no problems) and the pain and constipation returned in less that two days. So, I took these things out and went back on a strict paleo diet and the problems have not returned.

On the other site, I brought up the possibility that the withdrawal/drugs had created food sensitivities and theorized that the withdrawal/drugs 1. caused food sensitivies or 2. Uncovered existing sensitivities (from my knowledge and research, people can have various sensitivities like gluten and dairy and these manifest themselves not in the gut, but in other parts of the body like brain, skin, other organs, etc. So, one can have these sensitivities and not make a connection).

Besides all that, I have found that including many fats in my diet has helped: cook with coconut oil, olive oil, butter, ghee, etc. I eat lots of fats like avacado, nuts, and various oils.

Anyways, things are much better now than they were and I believe I will continue to make progress. I hope everyone else is doing well!

[m&m]

Positive update :-) Question: Did you get tested for any food allergies?

[PAROX2010]

[/U]Hello Bruno:
Possibly this is WD symptom. Anyway you may need to see a doctor to rule out other health problems.

The symtoms WD benzo is very similar to wd paxil / seroxat

Check out

I'll paste here what the manual says Dr. Ashton
I guess you know the manual, however when we are in need to be reminded wd things over and over again.

"Repeat encouragements again and again, week after week, as their words are soon forgotten". (dr. Asthon)

"...Bodily sensations. All sorts of strange tinglings, pins and needles, patches of numbness, feelings of electric shocks, sensations of hot and cold, itching, and deep burning pain are not uncommon during benzodiazepine withdrawal. It is difficult to give an exact explanation for these sensations but, like motor nerves, the sensory nerves, along with their connections in the spinal cord and brain, become hyperexcitable during withdrawal. It is possible that sensory receptors in skin and muscle, and in the tissue sheaths around bones, may fire off impulses chaotically in response to stimuli that do not normally affect them."

"...Sensory and motor disturbances
...A number of unpleasant bodily sensations may persist after withdrawal including tingling, "pins and needles" or patches of numbness in the trunk, face, limbs and fingers. These may be accompanied by burning pain or aches that sometimes seem to originate deep in the muscles or bones. Some people complain of an "inner trembling" or a sense of vibration, and some have described bizarre sensations as of water or slime running over the body or a serpent-like writhing on the scalp. Motor symptoms that may persist include muscle tension, weakness, cramps, jerks, spasms and shaking attacks.

In my clinic, nerve conduction studies in patients with such symptoms revealed nothing abnormal - for example, there was no evidence of peripheral neuritis. However, the symptoms were sometimes enough to puzzle neurologists. Three patients with a combination of numbness, muscle spasms and double vision were diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. This diagnosis, and all the symptoms, disappeared soon after the patients stopped their benzodiazepines."

Manual Dra. Asthon:

Hugs