Twitching Muscle Series: Part 5 - How This Muscle Twitching Syndrome Wreaks Havoc on the Mind

Imagine a doctor walking into the office where you've been waiting. He's not smiling. Clipboard in hand, he pulls up a stool and licks his lips, eyes lowered a moment. Then he makes eye contact and says, "I'm so sorry. The test came back positive. You have ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease. There is no cure, and life expectancy is usually two to five years after diagnosis."

How would you feel?

Well, this is pretty much the feeling experienced by many healthy people who suffer from benign fasciculation syndrome (muscle twitching). This harmless condition really messes with the mind, because a lot of people who have an annoying muscle twitch or twitches will invariably do an Internet search, not because they already fear the worst, but because they are merely seeking relief from bothersome twitching. They expect perhaps to find some dietary or supplement advice, or maybe something about a salve or cream that can be applied to the twitching area.

Instead, their search takes them to ALS sites. Muscle twitching is a symptom of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a muscle wasting, fatal disease caused by progressively degenerating nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

We all worry at some point or another in our life that we have a killer disease. Who hasn't worried they have cancer, after noticing a strange birthmark on the back of their leg, or having a persistent cough, stomach cramps, a missed period or strange pain in the knee? Who hasn't feared diabetes when they awaken one morning with tingling toes? Who hasn't feared a brain tumor from a headache, or an imminent heart attack from some chest discomfort?

But people with benign fasciculation syndrome (BFS) go way overboard. This is no laughing matter. The anxiety and fear of ALS is overwhelming. Many sufferers have NOT -- I repeat -- have NOT had any other hypochondriasis involving other medical conditions before. The ALS scare is their first. Victims can be any age, including 20s, even though ALS is extremely, extremely rare in this age group.