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What is happening to DH?

The TVClubHouse: Archives: 2004 January - Arpil: What is happening to DH? users admin

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Abbynormal
Member

08-04-2001

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 2:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I will try to explain this as best as I can. Sometimes when DH is asleep he will jerk. You know how sometimes when you are just about to fall asleep and you jerk? Well like that BUT he is in a deep sleep AND it is rhythmic (sp). I have literally gotten out a watch with a second hand and timed him. On different nights they will be as close as 20 seconds apart to up to 1 minute. He has been doing this for over a year, but not every night. Maybe every couple of weeks or so. Last night I actually woke him up, because it scares me, I wonder if he is having some kind of seizure? I spoke with him this morning and I think he needs to at least see a doctor about this. It is just dang weird! Sometimes the jerk will just be a slight contraction of the leg muscles that will last for perhaps 3 seconds.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Kstme
Member

08-14-2000

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 3:24 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Abby, my DH does a weird arm jerk thing. He's also VERY sound asleep when this happens. Like yours, it doesn't happen every night, but it drives me nuts when it does. He had surgery years ago on his left elbow and that's the arm he jerks. He has to be on his right side for the movement to happen. I wake him up, cause I seriously can't sleep. He rolls over and we all go back to sleep.

As far as your DH, I have NO idea! BUT, because of his previous history, I'd also suggest he see the dr. Can't hurt!



Karuuna
Member

08-31-2000

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 3:27 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Abby, what your husband is experiencing are called myoclonic jerks or twitches. When falling asleep, these are quite normal. Like hiccups, it is a sudden involuntary muscle contraction.

If it is just limited to his legs, it could be a syndrome called 'restless leg disorder' (which usually has some other symptoms as well) or more simply 'periodic limb movement disorder', which can be treated thru medication. Since you mentioned his legs, and the rhythmic nature, PLMD sounds to me like the most likely explanation.

Also, they can be caused by inadequate oxygen. If your husband snores, or has sleep apnea of some kind, it can cause less oxygen to the rest of the body - these are usually twitches that occur throughout the musculature, not limited to the legs.

Myoclonus can also be stress related. Since you say it doesn't happen all the time, I wonder if it's related to particularly stressful situations during the day?

Myoclonus while one is awake can be indicative of other problems, so it's also important to know if this ever happens while he is awake.

I agree that he should be evaluated by a doctor. It's most likely one of the three conditions I mentioned above, none of which are serious. But a medical checkup is the best course of action. So that you can both sleep better!

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 3:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
it looks like a problem called restless leg syndrome. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/restless_legs.htm

hope this helps.


Abbynormal
Member

08-04-2001

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 3:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Weird Kstme. Can you time his jerks also? Sometimes my DH will go on for around 30 minutes if I don't do something to stop him.

Also I was thinking this morning, he came in yesterday afternoon and took a nap.He NEVER takes a nap. He slept for almost 5 hours! I finally woke him at 7pm because I knew he'd be mad he slept that long, plus it was so out of character. (I kept checking to make sure he was breathing-lol) But he went back to sleep around 12am, so I am wondering now if maybe the jerking happens when he is just so totally exhausted. Which he obviously was, poor guy.

Still this can't be a normal thing. I wonder why it has taken me so long to really worry about it. It has been going on for a long time, and he doesn't have a clue it happens.

Abbynormal
Member

08-04-2001

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 3:45 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Oh! I was posting when ya'll responded. Thanks for the info. It is not always just a leg, most times it is his whole body. Sometimes it's like he will be doing a kind of stretch, sometimes it's a full out jerk. It's hard to explain. Sometimes it's a gentle jerk, sometimes it's a JERK. Ya know?

He did have a stressful day yesterday though. That's the reason for the nap, I think, plus he really didn't feel all that well.

Kar, he is not by nature a snorer, but he will snort and grind his teeth sometimes. Now that you mention it, I have realized that when he has one of these episodes, he doesn't make a sound. He breathes normally but not loudly at all. WOW. I'm going to make him an appt. with his dr. on Monday.

Abbynormal
Member

08-04-2001

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 3:56 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Landi, thanks for the link. This sounds like it!

More than 80 percent of people with RLS also experience a more common condition known as periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). PLMD is characterized by involuntary leg twitching or jerking movements during sleep that typically occur every 10 to 60 seconds, sometimes throughout the night. The symptoms cause repeated awakening and severely disrupted sleep. Unlike RLS, the movements caused by PLMD are involuntary-people have no control over them. Although many patients with RLS also develop PLMD, most people with PLMD do not experience RLS. Like RLS, the cause of PLMD is unknown.

Although the only awakening and disrupted sleep is mine!