Twitches

[allih]

When I try to go to sleep at night I have almost violent leg and body twitches for several minutes as I try to relax an go to sleep. Is this a normal thing with FMA or is it maybe something else that I need to look into. Some of the twitches are really almost like spasms as they last a few seconds before the muscles release. It's really annoying.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks

Alli

[SnooZQ2]

Hi Alli,

The short answer is, yes, it's common in fibro.

If you want to do something about it, three things to consider:

1) Are these spasms perhaps "hypnic jerks -- whole body jerks that occur when the brain is in a certain brainwave pattern, at the boundary of sleep. Occasional HJs are normal, but a high number may warrant consult with a sleep specialist.

2) Is your magnesium level optimal? Mag deficiency is common in the USA & even more pronounced in PWF (people w/fibro). Magnesium deficiency will cause and/or intensify muscle spasms & muscle pain. There are many mag supplements available. Go slow if you decide to supplement as too much mag can cause diarrhea. The RDA for magnesium is about 350 mg/day, however, individuals with kidney disease should ck with their HCP first as mag supp is contraindicated in severe kidney disease.

3) Deficiencies of calcium, sodium, and potassium can also contribute to muscle spasms. Check your diet. Potassium is tricky, if sodium intake is high you need even more potassium (& calcium, for that matter).

A personal note: when my free T3 thyroid hormone levels are suboptimal, I get more muscle spasms of all sorts. This is anecdotal, however many PWF have low or low-normal free T3, which is rarely tested unless you request it. Free T3 level is a specific test, not the typical thyroid screen that is run.

Best wishes.

[Fayelle]

I often have those twitches, whether it is fibro or not I have no idea since I have so many underlying disorders as well.....Including restless leg syndrome...

Often times I will start to doze off and my limbs both arms and legs will twitch violently.....This will of course wake me up all of the way and then I relax and go back to sleep....

There are times too when hubby will notice after I go to sleep that I start to twitch in my sleep as well.....

The joys of these incidents are numerous and plentiful :D .....

One thing I can say is that my life is never boring hehe....

Fay

[allih]

hmmmm.. I take several supplements including potassium and calcium. I'll have to check to see how much magnesium I'm getting in my multi-vitamin and maybe bump that up.

When the twitches and cramps started getting bad I added the potassium, but it doesn't seem to help much. I'm also on a pretty high dose of anit-convulsants one for Trigeminal Neuralgia and one for Chronic Migraine, so I find it really strange that I have spasms. You'd think the anti-convulsants would stop them. But then, maybe they come from different parts of the brain...

It looks like a sleep study might be in order if this gets worse. I am learning that this is a very complicated syndrome. Can I just say UGH?

Alli

[BrokenBladder]

I will say UGH with you!!! I do have some twitching when I lay down at night. I don't really know what causes it but I didn't have it until after the FMS diagnoses so you know what my conclusion is........another symptom.