United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Have any of your children experienced this?

Tonight is Maia's first night without her capsulodesis splint. Maia put it in the trash - one day early - but well what's one day right?

Would you believe she's not sleeping well tonight? Has woken up a bunch of times. I guess she's just not used to it?

So I go in her bedroom and snuggle her and hold her hand (affected side) and praise it for being so brave, etc. and how nice it is that I can hold her hand again - I could only hold her thumb when it was in the splint.

So Maia's hand normally shakes when she is trying to do something but tonight when I held her hand I noticed that she has constant 'ticking' - like little spasms. It never stops moving in jerk-like motions.

The explanation for the shaking while trying to perform a task was becuase the muscles were so weak that they shook when trying to do something. But this is totally different. Sometimes people refer to 'ticking' as a 'nervous tick' - so do you think this is her nerve damage coming through her hands?

Anybody else notice this?

thanks for your responses,
francine

Francine-
Emily has had this in her hand but more noticebly in the trapezius of her affected side. She has had "sessions" that have lasted days and have driven her nearly to tears. The first time it happened, after her muscle "ticked" for three days straight and she couldn't sleep, I took her to three different doctors who looked at us like we were both nuts. I would love to hear what you come up with, if anything. Her tic was so strong you could actually see it pulsing, this was not a mild "flutter".
Wish I knew what it was too! It resurfaces occassionally but hasn't been that strong again.
Take care. I hope Maia's goes away quickly. I know it was difficult for Emily to deal with.
Sue

They are called fasciculations and I have experienced them my whole life. Fasciculations are muscle contractions and are present when one has nerve damage. They are more present at rest, they are not strong enough to cause joints to move (except when they happen in the fingers) although they can be quite irritating. They are irregular and not constant. I have found that I get them more often after exercise. Whole weeks can go by without any occurring and then they can happen every day for a while. I found that I had them more frequently after the mod quad but that they have levelled off and are back to the old infrequent and irregular routine.

The medline encyclopedia has a good article about them:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 003296.htm

Nancy

Thanks Sue and Nancy...

when I went back to sleep, Maia was in my bed, I held her hand until I went to sleep. It was just so interesting to hold and feel the progression and randomness of it. I'm going to ask maia what she thinks about this today.

-francine

Nancy & Fran

I am so happy to see this on the board. My hand and arm always twitched like an eye lid would... just thought it was me... never asked anyone.... did not want the glazed over look....

Now the mystery of the twitching arm hand is solved...

It is never to late to learn...
Mine are rare now or perhaps I don't notice anymore...not sure...

Thanks for sharing the information
Kath

Hey, Thomas's hand does the same thing! I have been worried about it but no one could explain it? I see it when he is trying to play with something and yes at night when I rock him to sleep I hold his hand and it always shakes. I feel like if I hold it it will be still.

Katie's whole body does this on a daily basis (it has gotten better as time wore on but has leveled out to at least 6 times a day) which we eventually had diagnosed as autonomic nervous system damage...don't know if it is the same thing or not. Hers is a "tremor" that just moves down her whole body and lasts just seconds.

She does have the fine tremor in her hand as well but it is very rarely.