Body Twitching issue

JinZ

JinZ

Messages
98
Location
SoCal
Anyone else with body twitching issues? I notice the last thread was back in 2013.

This is still a constant issue for me. If I try to relax my body, it'll twitch / spasm out. Sleeping is probably when it gets the worst. Typically twitching gets more frequent as more tired I get.
 
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wigglethemouse

Senior Member
Messages
776
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fredam7

Senior Member
Messages
159
Yes, I have this and badly . Also , when I lie down or try to sleep , the twitches get much worse and I guessed it's because I'm trying to relax and not on guard .

Do you get muscle contractions as well or leg kicks and arm jerks and flops ?

I had leg kicks and arm jerks for a very long time when I tried to sleep and long before all this illness but I just ignored it and thought it was because I was tired. I also got a very irritating feeling in my legs like they were confined and I don't know how to explain it but I couldn't sleep when it got bad and it was such an irritating feeling

Now it has escalated pretty bad and I think it's nerve damage . Do you have nerve pain or hsve you been evaluated by a neurologist ? Have your reflexes been checked ? Do
You still have reflexes ?

Epsom and magnesium help some people as suggested , better to stick with things like that . I ended up on neurontin and strongly regret it , it can cause brain damage and more neurological issues but yes it helped at the time

If I could use mag and take epsom baths , I would . Give it a try
 
H

Hope4

Desert of SW USA
Messages
473
I get this when I don't eat enough salt, or take enough minerals, or if my carbs are too high, or if there is too much stress.

Sometimes it happens, and I can't really pinpoint why.

I tried some ornithine the other night, and got a horrid, great jerk. I don't know if it was the ornithine, but it was an off-putting coincidence.

Salt and potassium salt help me, when it gets so hot here that I have to drink lots and lots and lots of water.
 
JinZ

JinZ

Messages
98
Location
SoCal
fredam7 said:
Yes, I have this and badly . Also , when I lie down or try to sleep , the twitches get much worse and I guessed it's because I'm trying to relax and not on guard .

Do you get muscle contractions as well or leg kicks and arm jerks and flops ?

I had leg kicks and arm jerks for a very long time when I tried to sleep and long before all this illness but I just ignored it and thought it was because I was tired. I also got a very irritating feeling in my legs like they were confined and I don't know how to explain it but I couldn't sleep when it got bad and it was such an irritating feeling

Now it has escalated pretty bad and I think it's nerve damage . Do you have nerve pain or hsve you been evaluated by a neurologist ? Have your reflexes been checked ? Do
You still have reflexes ?

Epsom and magnesium help some people as suggested , better to stick with things like that . I ended up on neurontin and strongly regret it , it can cause brain damage and more neurological issues but yes it helped at the time

If I could use mag and take epsom baths , I would . Give it a try
Click to expand...

I have not taken anything for it. Sometimes it's just elbows and leg kicks, other times it's whole body twitch where my whole bed shakes. I think I got use to do it well I just sleep through it now. The pattern I notice is more tired/more closer I get to falling asleep the more intense the twitches are. It's ironic with CFS ME we can't relax without a symptom :]. I don't recall a night where I fell asleep without dealing with the twitches in the past year.

No nerve pain and haven't seen a neurologist, I'll bring it up to Dr. C when I see him next month. When I'm at the office if I just sit down, close my eyes just to relax my body and my body would twitch. Essentially anytime I just to relax and calm down it becomes automatic.

I'll try the magnesium but can't do the bath salt, don't have a bath. I already get 700mg from my diet but guess a bit more won't hurt.
 
S

SherDa

Messages
88
The are called hypnic jerks (or myoclonic jerks). I think they may be related to low dopamine just as restless leg syndrome is. I get them periodically. Sometimes they respond to iron, but for the last few days, I've been going through a phase where they respond to copper. I can induce them by taking NAC for a few days, and I always get anemia symptoms that respond to copper after taking NAC for a few days. (I'm not anemic but have anemia symptoms, and since it is worse at night when cortisol drops, I think that likely indicates that inflammation is affecting iron availability.) Other items that affect iron availability and may potentially help include B2, B6, B9, and B12. There are more, of course, but those are what I take when they are bad, and I want to throw the kitchen sink at it so I can sleep.
 
Hip

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
18,161
There are myoclonic jerks, and there are also fasciculations.

I believe that fasciculations when they occur are localized to one muscle, or part of the muscle, like the twitching hand muscle in this video.

Whereas myoclonic jerks are movement jolts that involve larger portions of the body, as shown in this video.
 
valentinelynx

valentinelynx

Senior Member
Messages
1,310
Location
Tucson
I used to get bad hypnic jerks (looks a lot like propriospinal myoclonus, and maybe it was) when falling asleep; it was very disruptive and unpleasant. I developed the habit of reading myself to sleep, to slow sleep onset. If I let myself relax to fall asleep quickly -BAM- a big whole body jerk! and I'd be awake again. This has abated, but I still read myself to sleep every night.

Here's an article about the phenomenon and it's treatment with clonazepam (a benzodiazepine) and levitiracetam (an antiepileptic). I wonder if some of my current medications are preventing this symptom or if it just got better on its own. I have seen other papers attributing it to spinal cords lesions, either cervical or thoracic, from atrophy, compression or demyelination. Makes me wonder if this could be another symptom of craniocervical instability.
 
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