For the last few days, I’ve noticed a small twitch in my right thumb. It’s not a constant, obvious twitch, but a subtle one, something I notice on quiet occasions, like when I’m driving in my car, or going to sleep. It kind of tightens a bit, and shakes a little. It’s the best way to describe it. I’m 19, and I’m scared about this. My mother has multiple sclerosis, and I’m just praying this isn’t the beginning of some phsyiological disease. I’ve been bowling recently, and bruised the end of my thumb a bit, so hopefully that has something to do with it.
Should I seek a professional opinion about it? What tests would they have to do to know if it’s the start of something serious? I’m pretty scared about it. Advice appreciated.
From the exalted height of age 47, I am here to tell you that as your body ages, things start to break down. Even at 19, you aren’t “as young as you used to be”. It’s the equivalent of hubcaps falling off your car. I have weird twitches and numb spots all the time, and I don’t have MS.
My first thought would be something like a repetitive motion injury. What do you do with your hands besides drive a car? Do you play a musical instrument? What kind of job do you have? Do you spend a lot of time at a computer keyboard? Do you bowl frequently? All these things can give you a weird thumb twitch without it necessarily being MS.
It’s not a simple “blood test” type of thing, is what it means. If it really bothers you, I suggest you pay the money, consult a neurologist, see what he says.
There’s a ton of information on the Web on MS. Huge page o’ links.
See a doctor - preferably a neurologist. What you describe COULD be an early sign of Parkinson’s Disease. It’s the first symptom Michael J. Fox noticed - in his case, it was his little finger and I believe he referred to it as “the pinkie rebellion.”
I’m not an alarmist, and I’m honestly not trying to scare you, but this has been in the news lately, and better to have it ruled out than not know at all.
I’ll second what LifeOnWry says. MJF and his early symptoms were the very first thing that popped into my head after I read the OP. Definitely ask whatever doctor you talk to about this possibility.
After a re-reading, it also occurs to me to ask about that bruise. How exactly did you manage it? It’s possible, (IANADoctor, however) that if you jammed your thumb (IOW you drove it back into the knuckle joint, with or without dislocating it), you managed to pinch a nerve in the process. Not nearly as serious a prospect, but still, see that professional.
The bruise is on the tip of my thumb, and is less a bruise than it is just a blister. I was just hoping that it would have something to do with it. God, please, anything but the worst.
As far as what I do with the hand often, I mostly sit at the computer and type. I’m a writer, but I don’t see authors going around complaining about thumb twitches.
I’ll go see a neurologist. Is there anything that can be done if early signs are detected? I heard that once you notice the signs, it’s already too late. God.
Sounds like it might be a repetitive stress injury to me. I had a similar twitch in my right thumb for 6 months – it disappeared when my laptop was down for a week. I realized that my hand position was putting stress on the base of my thumb. I got a gel wrist rest, and all is well now. I don’t want to discourage you from seeking treatment if you really want or need to, but referral to a neurologist and an MRI is way more expensive than a $10 wrist rest…
Good luck, and try not to panic. It’s always best to think the worst first, because you get to be wildly relieved afterward. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
I’ve gotten these from time to time over the past, oh 15 years or so. The main thing I’ve noticed is that if I take lots of vitamins, it clears up, so it might simply be your body’s way of saying you’re not eating right.
Well, today it’s stopped. In terms of what I eat, I am deficient in vitamins, so I think that could be a good reason for it. My mother was cautious about forwarding it to a neurologist, but she said if I really wanted to, I could. Thank you all for your warm thoughts. I appreciate them greatly.
It’s the equivalent of hubcaps falling off your car. I have weird twitches and numb spots all the time, and I don’t have MS.