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Constant muscle fasciculations after MDMA abuse. Did I do permanent brain damage?

My DR called back with blood-work results today.

Everything came back normal except for 2 things.

The 1st was my Vitamin D was a little low. But he said no worries, as that is very common in the winter. (since people get less sun they get less vitamin D)

The 2nd was that my muscle enzymes were elevated (CPK). A normal range is around 200-something and I was just above 500. He asked if I had been "playing any rugby lately or took a bad fall". I explained how I had been going to the gym every day and often doing intense cardio on high resistance while using the elliptical, and doing push ups. I also explained how the night before the bloodwork my shoulders were sore from doing too many push-ups and I had been at the gym for an hour.

He said my elevated CPK was likely due to that, and to keep going to the gym every day but not to kill myself so much. He said I should have some gym days where I just lightly jog and do nothing else. He said he wants to test my CPK again in 2 weeks, and that my CPK level would likely return to normal or at least be lower. If my CPK level is the same or higher in 2 weeks, he was going to refer me to a specialist.

He also said if my fasciculations or myoclonic twitching was still unchanged, or in any way worse, one month from now, he wanted to refer me to a neurologist.

Unfortunately my legs still spasm while sitting or laying down, so I guess I'll see where I'm at in a month and see the neurologist if necessary.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas.
 
Just relax! You will be fine, trust me! :) Mine are almost gone.
Also, try not to stress! that brings mine back.
 
Hey everyone, I hope you all had a good New Years.

Unfortunately I am still twitching and having fasciculations. I am still abstaining from MDMA, cannabis, though I did have some drinks over Christmas and New Years.

I have also started drinking Green Tea, even though it has a little caffeine. I've been taking a multivitamin, fish oil pill, and CoQ10. I stopped bothering with the 5HTP since it didn't seem to do anything for a month and I actually read a couple places it could make myclonus worse.

I went back to the lab and had some more blood drawn the other day to check my CPK enzyme levels and a couple other blood tests to check for inflammation, my DR said he only thought thought my CPK was elevated 2 weeks ago since I had been hitting the gym too much, but wanted to be sure and that's why I went back to have more blood drawn.

I should hear back from him soon.

He said should that bloodwork come back normal he might refer me to a neurologist if my symptoms don't go away. Since I'm still twitching away, I guess the next stop is a neurologist.
 
Good luck bro. Keep posting updates please. I am sure they will get on top of it for you.
 
My opinion is this is a nerve excitability issue that they won't be able to do anything about, but I do believe it's not harmful. After all, they call it "benign" fasciculation syndrome for a reason
 
I guess my hope is that it is related to my serotonin system being out of whack, which should calm down over the next couple of months with abstinence and proper diet and cardio.

It has been nice to see the positive effects on my BP and cholesterol levels with a month now of dedicated gym visits. I've also lost some weight. Can't be upset about that.

If I have mild nerve compression issues which combined with my serotonin being out of whack has caused these issues to surface, hopefully things should go back to normal. Probably not for some months, but hopefully after some time.

Should I go back to normal I would like to resume smoking canabis at some point, but not for now. I've also quit alcohol and coffee (drinking green tea for now).

I will still go see the neuro, it doesn't hurt to see one, and explain my situation. I doubt he/she would order an EEG (or whateve it's called) based on
my symptoms, but I might request an MRI for peace of mind. Since MRI's are magnetic imaging I don't have to be exposed to radiation like with a CT scan.

Im also very fortunate to have a good job in the states which gives me fantastic health care, so the additional visits and any MRI's will not cost me anything.

Thanks to Cotcha Yankonov, NightElf, and Savior999 for posting and PM'ing to me.
 
If this twitching never goes away, and you have it for the rest of your life, would you be able to accept it?

You're getting a lot of support and attention for a mild tic that is hardly a serious health problem in my opinion. You seem very healthy.

To state the obvious it would be wise to never do Mdma again, since you seem to be have a natural inclination towards abusing it. I've had twitches after using Mdma; once my left arm twitched for a few days after I rolled, a few times each minute. Then it went away, because I only used Mdma 3 times that year. I no longer use it at all because I personally think it causes long term cumulative brain damage beginning with the first cap.

This thread just seems like a blog to me. Personal speculation on the state of your health, updates from the doctor... I think you should chill out, man do you ever seem high-strung over nothing. Half the people here probably have way worse health problems than whatever rebound effect you are obsessing over. I think there is a bigger issue here than just the mild tic you've been dwelling on.
 
Yes, I would be able to accept it. I would have no choice...

I would not say it is "mild" since it affects things I love that require fine motor skills (my job, playing guitar, playing video games). These things have been affected, whenever the mouse jumps across the screen, or my fingers fail to strike that chord, as a result of a tic randomly firing off it affects me. My great hope is it either eventually dissappears or become minor enough not to affect things I love, that prior to mid-November were never an issue.

I just wanted to seek the opinion of others who might be able to offer advice or
knowledge, and/or whom have been through a similar experience. (like NightElf and Savior999)

Since I got exactly that, I am incredibly grateful for it.

I sure am hoping I am healthy... and since my insurance and medical facilities can give me exams and testing to make sure it's truly benign, why not follow through on those visits?

I found this website while Google-ing my symptoms, and if these posts and others like it possibly help someone going through a similar experience in the future, what is the harm in posting and asking questions?

Also, I was asked in the thread to keep it updated. Since others helped me, I was happy to oblige.

Surely if you're dismayed by this thread, you could just not click on it, not read its contents.

Also, you shouldn't assume that just because I've been dwelling on these symptoms that popped up mid-November (and persist) means I will dwell on them forever.
 
Hi, sorry my bad...

Yes the 2nd muscle enzyme test result was normal. So the only reason my muscle CPK enzymes were elevated on the first test was because I happened to have been pushing it at the gym the night before. (apparently this is common among athletes)

When I went for the follow up muscle enzyme test I made sure to skip the gym for a couple days before, and my results were normal.

Unfortunately I am still having spasms/twitching in my arms and legs and feet every day. I still get occasional fasciculations too.

I have still been abstaining from MDMA, cannabis, and alcohol. (never did anything else) The only caffeine I consume now is green tea (gave up my beloved coffee). I did have some wine on Christmas and New Years, but I've pretty much gone totally clean for now and I'm still hitting the gym 5-6 days a week and doing cardio plus push ups... But unfortunately it's been 2 months + a week now, of having this twitching.

I'm pretty bummed about it, I was hoping to see some improvement.

I smoked cannabis for a decade and never had issues like this. It was only once I abused MDMA too often and in too high of dosages over the summer and into the fall that I developed this issue, but it's my fault for being foolish.

My DR referred me to a Neurologist, I am waiting for the appointment, when I visit him I'll come back and post what he says.

Thanks for asking about me,
-IcedCoffee
 
Thanks icecofee yea come back and post the results but I am thinking what is causing this problem?
 
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My DR referred me to a Neurologist, I am waiting for the appointment, when I visit him I'll come back and post what he says.

Thanks for asking about me,
-IcedCoffee

I just remembered this: the only symthom I have left are this small switches. I went to a specialized Dr., explained everything to him, and he told me that PERHAPS it could cured with this: Valproic Acid

But the side effects are SO BAD that it was not worth it. So it was up to me if I wanted to try. I didn't.

Every day that passes I feel better and better. The twitches are almost gone, except on certain times of the month (ovulating, or when I'm on my period). Also they aggravate when I drink alcohol. They do NOT aggravate when I consume MDMA.
 
The fasciculations are very likely from over excitable nerves and something like valproate would probably indeed help however it's not a drug you want to take long term, a safer alternative that might also work better would be Eslicarbazepine. It has more affinity for very excitable nerves that display epileptic like activity and it tends to leave normal transmission alone more.

But it's called "benign" fasciculation syndrome for a reason, no reason to whip out big medications.
 
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So I went and saw a neurologist.

She said all of my reflexes and strength tests were normal. She did notice a couple small twitches while she had me in her examining room. She said the way my symptoms are presenting would not be consistent with ALS or a brain tumor or Parkinsons, since my clonus and fasciculations are generalized and not localized, and I don't have any muscle weakness or wasting, nor headaches or essential tremors or other symptoms.

I explained my past with MDMA and marijuana. She said she didn't think this was a result of my marijuana use, and she didn't know enough to say if it's a result of my MDMA/Ecstasy use. She promised she would read up on Ecstasy more and it's side effects. She said it was strange this issue popped up many days after my last use and that it has persisted months after I quit MDMA, marijuana, Alcohol, and coffee. (still drinking green tea)

I did drink a few beers and smoke 1 joint last weekend for the first time in over a month, and that seemed to really aggrivate my twitching all of a sudden. I noticed when I was sitting on the couch watching TV with my friends after we smoked, my thighs were twitching like crazy. Way more than usual. Luckily I don't think anyone noticed, and I'm going to go back to keeping things clean for another month or two and see how it goes. Pretty bummed marijuana caused it to act up so noticeably. I miss pot and my mate has been growing excellent stuff recently.

So I am still having this issue unchanged, unfortunately, for 2.5 months now. It hasnt got worse and hasn't got better either. The twitching is just sort of there still.

I'm going to stop bothering with all the multivitamins and fish oil and CoQ10 and magnesium, I eat a healthy diet with plenty of fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and fish anyways.

I will keep going to the gym and eating better, the bonus of loosing weight and lowering my blood pressure has made me feel better. Also, I've noticed I remember many of my dreams each night now, and (sorry to get so specific ) I have morning wood each morning now, like I did when I was in college. The GF has liked that. I wonder if it was marijuana that caused me to remember less of my dreams over the years. Oh well, at least the dreams are usually pleasant. Also, in my dreams I don't twitch and I feel normal. So that's nice.

I am going for an EMG and a follow up with the neurologist in late March.

I'll come back then and report what the EMG says.

Hopefully this goes away eventually.

I have found at least 6 examples of people posting online about this issue after MDMA use, and in 2 it went away (savior999 had it go away for him, took 2 years though), in 2 it reduced greatly (NightElf has had it reduce, but she still gets it occasionally), and 2 others who said it persists years later. I found more examples than just those 6 people, but often they never come back to report if it resolved, so it's hard to say.

So I dunno what's going to happen.

Once I have the EMG, or if anything changes, I'll come back and post an update.

Thanks everybody.
 
Ice thanks for the info first sorry if my typing is not great I'm doing this from my mobile, my browser keeps cruising, icecoffe I personally quit soda because it seems to make it worse for me I quit everything like alcohol weed for two years now clean I will keep this routine . lesson learned for me. To be honest with you I will never recommended this awful drug to anybody.Ice honestly I hope you recover soon and Manny others that are suffering from this. I suggest you to try for the spams (muscle therapy gel with arcania) and to mention I'm trying to go back to school so Keep the post Ice take care and be safe
 
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