It took me years, MRIs, CT scans, nerve tests, and half a dozen doctors to finally find one who put a name to what I have been suffering with. Benign fasciculitis. I was so relieved to finally have a name for what has been plaguing me. At last I could get more information, but sadly there doesn’t seem to be a cure and the few remedies that I had found that work for me provided only partial relief.
My symptoms consist of a pulsing that starts mostly in my left leg after I’ve been in bed for an hour or more. The pulsing travels down the left side of my left leg from knee to ankle. As the night progresses the pulsing becomes more intense and then my foot starts to twitch from the ankle. If I didn’t jump out of bed at that point, I developed a very painful cramp on the left side of my left leg, just to the side of the shin bone. This cramp did not dissipate quickly and I have had to pace my apartment, sometimes for as long as 15-20 minutes until the pain subsided enough for me to go back to bed. If I was lucky, I was able to sleep for a few more hours without incident.
The remedies I mentioned consist of the following: I eat a banana and drink about 6oz. Coconut water during the day. 400 mg. Magnesium citrate about an hour before bed, 300 mg. Gabapentin when I get into bed. Most nights this provided enough relief so I could make it through the night with only occasional setbacks. Finally, I have recently discovered that a VERY firm mattress relieves a lot of my symptoms and I am finally getting a good night’s sleep most nights. I’m hopeful that this will continue to provide the relief I’m now enjoying.