Anxiety physical symptoms - muscle twitching!

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I’m having a bit of a bad time at the moment. I have always suffered with anxiety, health anxiety specifically. But over the last couple of weeks something has changed and I’m not able to suppress or rationalise the thoughts as much as I usually can.
I am going through a very stressful and anxious time in my life at the moment with various things and I lost one of my parents last year.

I have started having muscle twitches, started in my legs but now can feel them in my eyelids, occasionally in my arms. Convinced myself I had MND and probably made things 10x worse. I’ve called the dr and am going to go and talk about potentially having medication.

I am just after some reassurance really, has anyone else experienced a lot of physical symptoms related to stress or anxiety? Anything muscle related?

I get this when I'm tired and stressed.

Yes. Particularly the eye twitch when I’m stressed.

How long do your symptoms currently last? Mine have been a couple of weeks now which is why I’m probably getting more anxious

Yes, I've had a full on eye twitch for weeks. Try and get good sleep and take multi vitamins and magnesium.

Yes. All the time. It moves around my body so I'll have leg twitches for a few weeks, then an eye twitch (had one for three months recently) and weird places like my back/ribs/back of my neck/cheeks. Always disappears when I'm relaxed eg on holiday.

I've also had calf twitches (benign fasciulation syndrome) since I was 12 and I'm late 40s now.

About 8 years ago I got a load of tests done including MRIs and nerve conduction tests but they were all normal.

I suffer with anxiety and health anxiety so it all just gets into a negative spiral.

Look up Cherelle Roberts (I think that's her name) she does some good stuff on health anxiety. And Dan Buglio (Pain Free You) on YouTube. Basically, you need to convince your brain that there's nothing wrong with you and the twitches will disappear. Keep focusing on them or worrying and they'll stay. Easier said than done!

I was worried about the same. The specialist told me MND is about “failing not feeling”. In other words, the key symptom is that your muscles fail - you lose strength, you fall over, you fail to do things. It’s not about feeling - pain and unusual sensations aren’t part of the early symptoms.

The type of twitching you get with MND is a result of the muscle dying. So first you get weakness and the muscle fails, then it begins to twitch as it dies, so you get sustained twitching in one body part. Finally the muscle no longer functions. If you’re having long term twitches that aren’t focused on one specific area and aren’t accompanied by weakness, it’s not MND.

I've been through similar struggles with health anxiety and understand how overwhelming it can feel, especially with the added stressors you're facing. It's commendable that you've reached out to a doctor for support, and remember, many of us have experienced physical symptoms like muscle twitches due to anxiety; you're not alone in this, and seeking help is a crucial step towards finding relief and managing your well-being effectively.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I actually cried reading some of them!
It is so reassuring to read others have had the same feelings/symptoms. I wish I could tell myself that was it and it was okay.

I have started taking vitamin b12, magnesium and vitamin 4…for about a week now but no improvement. I guess that’s making me feel worse as I had pinned a lot of hope on those things.

thank you again for your replies and reassurances to my post. I’ll try and let you know how I get on the doctors and I hope things start to ease soon.
HA can be so very cruel 😓

Yes!!! I've had this before. And the more you worry the more you twitch and get symptoms.
I begged my go to refer me to a neurologist. ( I live in Australia) I have Benign Fasciculation Syndrome. Once I saw the neuro, I stopped worrying and it went away..it comes back occasionally when I'm stressed.

I’ve heard of that @Weesiewoo and I did wonder, but I’m petrified to have any tests done in case the outcome is awful.
I never used to be this way, I’ve always had HA but tackled things head on even if I was overreacting.

Since I lost my dad I am so scared to have any tests done and I tend to bury my head.
I was never like this. I am worried for the doctors in case they suggest further testing but stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I have a weird relationship with Health anxiety. I worry about my kids more than myself.
Try taking some magnesium and getting out into the fresh air, it does the world of good for me and..... Don't google. 🙂
Also try Headspace the app. It was great for some meditation. I'm here if you want to chat.
I was convinced I had MND, but how it presents is very different to what o had. It sounds as though we had similar presentations if symptoms

Yes, I have a 2 year old and my worries flit from them, my partner/family and to me.
It is exhausting, I move from one thing to the next. Anyone else who suffers has my full sympathy.

Thank you so much. I’ll let you know what the doctor says