Body jerks in the evening?

[SnappyK]

For the past few months, I occasionally have some sort of jerks or spasms when I go to bed. They don't happen when I'm sleeping, only when I'm awake. It used to be that my lower left leg would kick at the knee a few times, maybe 15 to 30 seconds apart. Then after a few weeks it was both legs at the knee. Then after a few weeks it was both legs at the hip. Sometimes it doesn't happen for a week or more. But last night was incredibly frightening. I must have had 40 or 50 of these jerks or spasms that involved my entire body over a 30-minute period. My legs, my arms, and my head would all go flying in different directions at the same time. I gasped every time at the same time, a loud intake of air. I also had some heart palpitations in between some of the jerks. I changed positions several times but that didn't help at all.

At some point the jerks just stopped, and I curled up on my side and fell asleep. This morning I woke up in pain at many different spots (feet, ankles, calves, right hip, lower back, shoulders, neck). I have no idea if these areas all hurt because of all the thrashing around I did or not. I'm also having a lot of problems today with grip and balance, and at one point I almost fell because my left side contorted while I was walking and my foot didn't go on the floor when it should have. I was also so tired and slept in by three hours. Sleeping didn't make me feel any better.

I'm wondering, is this a symptom of CFS? If not, does anyone have any idea what it might be? I don't know what kind of doctor I should see about this if it gets worse. I've shown several doctors video of my facial twitches and no one has any idea what they are, so I'm not much more hopeful with the twitching. Next time I should get my husband to take a video of my jerks in action, but since I don't wear PJs to bed, that could be a problem!

 

[Mya Symons]

Do you have fibromyalgia too? Involuntary muscle spasms are a common symptom of Fibromyalgia and so is imbalance. I have the muscle spasms. They happen most often when I don't get sleep or I am sick with something else. They are more common in the evening right before bedtime.

Once I was at work standing in front of the counter talking to the receptionist/assistant and I suddenly kicked the counter. I had such a hard muscle spasm that it moved my leg with a lot of force. It was loud. Another time I was taking some supplements after lunch and my arm jerked so much that I tossed the case and the supplements across the table. I was so embarrassed.

 

[SnappyK]

Thanks for responding so quickly. I was just diagnosed with fibromyalgia a few weeks ago, but the doctor who made the diagnosis said that it was a weak diagnosis. I think he came up with it so he could write a physical therapy prescription for me more than any other reason. But he could certainly be right. All of the diagnoses that the doctors have been considering lately have a lot of the same symptoms.

What you're describing sounds a lot like what I'm dealing with. Maybe it would explain my falling too. On several occasions I caught myself falling, and twice I happened to look down and see that my right leg was not where it should have been. I am wondering now if maybe I had a muscle spasm and didn't know it.

 

[Mya Symons]

If you can find a doctor who specializes in fibromyalgia, that would probably be best. Your average doctor doesn't really understand Fibro and doesn't know that some of the symptoms are muscle spasms and imbalance. Specialists are hard to find, however. I found mine through a fibromyalgia support group. You can find those online in your area with a search.

Cycolbenzaprine, a muscle relaxer, really helps me at night when I am having the spasms. It slows them down so I can get to sleep.

I had a problem with imbalance in the beginning. When I was standing in one place I often had to put a leg back to catch myself. It went away, however, with time. What is strange is that when I talk to other people with Fibromyalgia, they say it also went away for them with time.

 

[SnappyK]

I'm trying to find specialists in my area but most of them don't take insurance. I'm still not sure if I really have fibromyalgia or CFS or Lyme or something else or a combination of all of these. I will keep looking for the right doctors to help me.

I actually have a prescription for cyclobenzaprine that my GP gave me for my neck. Sometimes my neck gets incredibly tight and sore, and the meds help with that. I didn't think of trying them for the body spasms, but that makes a lot of sense. I'll do that next time and hopefully it will help. Thanks!

 

[*GG*]

I think you might be having Myclonus jerks. I used to have them when I was falling asleep, don't think I get them anymore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoclonus

GG

 

[geraldt52]

Try to associate it with something you are eating, @SnappyK. Wheat and corn cause me to have horrible jerking while falling asleep, just as you describe. Sugar also does it.

 

[ahmo]

This may be irrelevant, but could also be a problem. B12 deficiency. Check out the vid.

Diagnosing and Treating Vitamin B12 Deficiency‬



http://www.b12deficiency.info/

This site was created as a hub to bring all the key websites on vitamin B12 deficiency together in one place.

 

[caledonia]

jerks or spasms when I go to bed.
heart palpitations
woke up in pain
problems today with grip and balance,
left side contorted while I was walking and my foot didn't go on the floor when it should have.
so tired
Sleeping didn't make me feel any better.

I'm not sure about the grip and balance part, but everything else are symptoms of magnesium and/or potassium (electrolyte) deficiency. It's probably also happening while you're sleeping, thus the poor sleep and sore muscles.

This can be due to adrenal fatigue in which case the electrolytes are not retained like they should be, and need to be replaced.

Taking a medication that depletes magnesium is another possibility. Google the names of your medications and "depletes" to see what might be depleting what. Drug Muggers is a book on this subject.

I had trouble with Pepsid AC (a proton pump inhibitor) depleting magnesium. If Ahmo is correct about B12, a proton pump inhibitor could deplete both magnesium and B12.

Note that it took about two months after I discontinued the PPI before it wasn't depleting magnesium. The reason is it takes that long for the proton pumps in your stomach to grow back.

Anyway, it would be easy enough to try some magnesium and see if it helps. Anything but magnesium oxide which doesn't absorb well - so magnesium citrate, taurate, glycinate, malate, etc.

I have adrenal fatigue and have to dose magnesium and potassium four times a day, with a double dose of magnesium at bedtime to get me through the night.

 

[JAH]

I have had many jerks in bed. But that's a different story...

 

[irlen scotland]

I agree mycolonic jerks. I have this and find both sugar and alcohol make it worse. I also feel it has got substantially better after taking b12 as per the protocols here. I have had episodes where I have ached the following day too, yes scary. Mine was like restless leg syndrome for many years.Just a few twitches once a week at night on bed. A metal/mercury detox pushed it to the levels you describe. Iy seems to be worse today as I have been off the b,s for a few days Hope this helps.

 

[Dainty]

Not saying this is what it is, but there is something called hyptic jerks, which, to simply quote wikipedia, are:

"an involuntary twitch which occurs just as a person is beginning to fall asleep, often causing them to awaken suddenly for a moment. Physically, hypnic jerks resemble the "jump" experienced by a person when startled,[1] sometimes accompanied by a falling sensation.[2] Hypnic jerks are associated with a rapid heartbeat, quickened breathing, sweat, and sometimes "a peculiar sensory feeling of 'shock' or 'falling into the void.'"​

Some nights I have a lot of them, other nights not so much.

You would know better than we would whether these jerks felt like your "normal" jerks or not. It would make sense to me that with all the jerking around you describe you'd be in more pain the next day, even if the cause of the jerking around was harmless.

Taking magnesium and potassium is a good idea. Some sort of gentle muscle relaxant wouldn't be off the mark either.

It sounds like an awful experience, hope it abates for you soon!

 

[taniaaust1]

Myoclonic jerks, I used to get these myself with the ME, it's neurological hence why you also currently are getting confused where you are placing your feet.

I ended up getting leg drag with this and at one point went into 2-3 weeks straight of constant jerking and spasming... at that point a doctor called rhymatic myoclonus. My jerks got so severe that my head was being thrown side ways to the point i was worried about getting whiplash and even on one occassion a body jerk caused me to get thrown to the floor from being seated on the lounge.

You'll be glad to hear that I dont have this symptom any more with my ME, it went away itself as my ME symptom complex shifted. (I've had many tell me think I have lyme by my symptoms but I havent tested positive)