Anyone Diagnosed With Myoclonus (Body Twitching)?

[sleeper692]

I've been telling my VA docs, including the doc in my initial C&P exam, that my arms and legs jerk and twitch uncontrollably. It feels like I am receiving an electrical shock that can travel through my whole body. This has been going on for 20 years. None of the docs ever took note or asked any questions to explore my complaint. In the last 6 months or so, the frequency and severity of the twitching has increased to the point that it is affecting my daily life. Imagine drinking hot coffee when your arm suddenly jerks, spilling hot coffee everywhere! Its also embarrassing being around other people when my body is flailing about for no reason.

I finally had a neurologist give me a diagnosis of myoclonus and has me on meds to hopefully control it. Yesterday I read an article about GWI that mentioned reports of GWV's reporting muscle twitching and jerking along with the usual symptoms. It was the first time I had read that association with GWI.

Are there any other Gulf War vets experiencing this muscle twitching?

I'm wondering if it would be possible to service connect the diagnosis of myoclonus under the current presumptives as a neurological condition. Anyone wiser than I have any educated opinions?

Thanks!!

Pete

Edited June 15, 2011 by sleeper692

[retiredat44]

Mine are violent jerking motions, of the hands, flingers, limbs, twisting muscles,,, the toes can twist into knots in directions they ar enot suppose to twist.. my leggs can kick out hard... they mostly do it when I am at rest but can happen at any time.. when it happens in my feet the bones in my feet dislocate. Clonazepam seems to work the best... and I haven't even gotten into my tremors and shaking... i had shaking and tremors on active duty... and it's in my medical records..

Edited August 10, 2011 by retiredat44

[Jerrel]

Myoclonus is a neurological disorder.

Myoclonus Fact Sheet

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myoclonus/detail_myoclonus.htm

Great post I have been taking clonazepam for several years and it seems to help, the dr. put me on 0.5 MG 3 times a day

however I still have the shaking but not very many jerking and that is a big help. I do not know if the VA will do a SC.

[sleeper692]

Great post I have been taking clonazepam for several years and it seems to help, the dr. put me on 0.5 MG 3 times a day

however I still have the shaking but not very many jerking and that is a big help. I do not know if the VA will do a SC.

I had this damn twitching, which always felt like an electrical shock to me, for years. Along with everything else, its has worsened over the years. I mentioned it in a C&P exam last year but nothing was ever done about it. When my doc put me on buproprion, which is known to exacerbate myoclonus, it made the jerking so bad I looked like a damn marionette puppet flailing all over the place. I was getting full body jerking up to 20 minutes at a time and it left me exhausted and sore by the end of the day. Finally my doc sent me to a neurologist and it took him all of five minutes to figure out what was going on. The cloneazepam seems to control about 95% of the jerking but it leaves me groggy most of the day and things like getting my fingers to work properly to type are often difficult.

I have a C&P exam next Monday for IU and I imagine they'll have the doc work up the myoclonus while she's at it. I already have the diagnosis, the C&P should confirm it, so it is really going to be up to the rater as to whether they will sc it under the GW presumptives. My VSO and I put together as strong of a case as we could citing CFR's for the GW presumptives and tons of medical info from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders (a US government agency). It may come down to what kind of day the rater is having.

Now that it is becoming clear that I'm not the only GWV with this problem, if enough of us file claims and report the symptoms, etc, maybe it will catch someone's attention and we can get rated for it without a huge fight. I will, of course, post any news considering this particular claim as it happens.

[john999]

I know twitching can be caused by long term use of certain anti-psychotic drugs. Some anti-psychotic drugs in small doses were used for depression and anxiety as well as psychotic disorders. The phenothiazines can cause all sorts of jerking and twitching. Even short term use can cause horrible spasms and jerking. Just a note.

[retiredat44]

I go to a VA neuro doctor a few times per year... my next appointment is September.. they gave me a couple of diagnosis, but are still not sure... one is Myotonic Dystrophy, th other is just essential tremors... in the service on active duty the doctors diagnosed me with essential tremors. The jerking, twisting, and other problems developed as time went on... they don't seem to understand what is going on,, my main problem was chemical exposure and illnesses caused by that... I had that problem where int he heel and toe walking wher emy left sides gives the bat wing response while trying to walk... at one time I was stuck in a wheel (for one year) chair unable to move by myself because of muscle wasting because of pancreas disease... but have been walking with a cane,, I also have degenerative disc disease.. my issues are on appeal...

[sleeper692]

Just an update. I got my copy of my latest C&P exam where my myoclonus was evaluated. The examining doctor reported that myoclonus is indeed an "undiagnosed and unexplained mulit-symptom illness."

It will be interesting to see how the raters handle this as there is no diagnostic rating code for myoclonus. I'm guessing they will use the code for tic's which only has a max of a 30% rating. That seems a bit low considering that my myoclonus affects my entire body and not just one muscle group.

I'll post the rating results when I get them. My VARO has moved reasonably quickly on all my claims so I'm hoping to hear something relatively soon.

(Edit: according to my eBenefits page, my claim has been kicked back to the development phase. Again. Probably waiting on notes from my appointment with a rheumatologist next week.)

Edited September 16, 2011 by sleeper692