Trying so hard with my twitching

@Terrifiedshakes don't nap during the day today.

You had a daytime sleep yesterday. It will make going to sleep at night harder.

Also - remove your phone at night. Have a book and nothing else.

Look up Cherelle Thinks on Instagram and YouTube. She talks a lot about twitching (her account is about health anxiety, she talks about her experience with it and she now offers support to others suffering from it).

I went down the twitching rabbit hole a few years ago. Paid to see a neurologist privately, paid for an EMG, had an MRI scan. All fine. Spent hours on Google, in bed crying, obsessing over all the twitching. It either stopped, or I stopped noticing it. It's incredible what your brain does. I used to stare at my calves watching them and every twitch would send me into a deeper panic attack.

As someone with really severe health anxiety, reading your posts I honestly think you're fine and this is psychological. Seriously look up the YouTube and Insta account I recommended, her videos have saved me when I've been in a dark place.

Right. You know that thing about when you hear hoofbeats don’t look for zebras? Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck… ?

Your pressing concern is not a neurological issue.

Your pressing concern is being treated. Give the treatment a chance to kick in.
Make a note on your calendar, maybe one week today, when you will assess how it’s going and in the meantime just stop. Stop. What do you do to stop? Read? Light a candle? Have a bath? Do that.

Call 101 and tell them

Or ideally hang in there for a few more days and give the meds a chance.

What's going on? This body movement is what doctors and scientists call a hypnic (or hypnagogic) or myoclonic jerk. It's also known as a "sleep start," and it can literally startle you out of falling asleep. This type of feeling is normal, and it can happen before people enter the deeper stages of sleep.

You'd be surprised what an excess of stress hormones can do to you. That's why you HAVE to address the anxiety, it's really bad for your body to be running in permanent overdrive.

Good job on the run, exercise is really good for releasing endorphins and will help with the feeling of always 'waiting for something to happen.'

Do you like horses by any chance? They're very therapeutic and help to no end with my anxiety. It's very hard to get into negative thought spirals when they're making eyes at you for treats and begging attention and cuddles.

You could try asking at local schools if they need any volunteers to do some grooming or leaders for lessons. I led for a 6 year olds first lesson today and she was so damn proud of herself when she was allowed off the lead rein, it was just a really nice feeling. Or heck, take a lesson yourself. It's amazing for your core and you get thighs of steel. Only form of exercise I actually enjoy.

Everything is triggered by chemicals in the brain - all emotions and feelings. But the neural pathways in your brain are behaving abnormally and making you feel panicky and anxious when you don’t need to be.

Medication changes the balance of chemicals in the brain and damps down your reactions. You don’t feel as anxious or scared - equally you don’t feel as happy or excited. It takes a few weeks for the drugs to rewire your brain, and you have to come off them slowly for the same reason.

Depends what the antidepressant is. Sertraline and Citalopram are usually settled inside of two weeks. Paroxetine and Mirtazepam I think both took longer. Amitriptyline was two weeks too although the dry mouth did persist but its worth it for the benefits. That might be a good one to try if you don't get on with your current one.

Makes you sleep and acts as a nerve block at low dosages, it's commonly used for nerve pain so may help with the twitches. It's not that common as an antidepressant anymore as it's not all that widely tolerated with side effects but anecdotally I've found that people who struggle with the newer ones do better on it. I can't cope with any SSRIs at all, had everything from dodgy belly to hallucinations (thank you paroxetine!) I literally tried to serve an imaginary customer.

GP gives me Amitriptyline with dire warnings of side effects. I got a dry mouth and like two dizzy spells over the first fortnight, then nothing. Not so much as a bout of gas.

I've tried a lot of them but as a general rule if you see no improvement or still feel shit in 6 weeks, try another one.

OP anti depressants take a few weeks to work. You don’t feel hot from taking one pill. It’s anxiety and the weather.

You don't remember seizures I don't think.

I think you're suffering from something called hypnogogic jerks. They're triggered by stress, anxiety, caffeine and some medications. Very very irritating but harmless. Treatment is basically reduce stress, address anxiety, cut caffeine and consider if they coincided with starting a new med.

OP there’s the suffering that life gives you and the suffering you create yourself. You can’t avoid the former but you can choose to avoid the latter.

You have some symptoms and you are doubling your suffering by worrying about those symptoms. I know it’s hard but you need to get hold of yourself.

If you had any of those things the doctors you’ve seen would have diagnosed you. They’ve examined you and done a neurological exam and diagnosed anxiety. You are not a doctor and speculating about things you haven’t been diagnosed with isn’t helpful.

I’ve been hesitant to share my medical history for fear it influences you badly, but I get twitches and zaps as part of a chronic health condition that’s perfectly manageable. It’s just not a big deal. It gets worse the more you think about, so don’t!

Let the medication do its thing.

This sounds very positive OP, I am pleased for you. Hoping the medication kicks in soon and that you will be in a better place physically and mentally ASAP.