Sleep Disorders Community

Many people twitch for various reasons. It can be anything from a problem with your iron, to normal sleep, to a formal sleep disorder. It is impossible to tell without a formal evaluation by a sleep specialist.

I have the same symptoms, especially while I am in bed laying down. It could be anything. I think the reason I am twitching is because I was on some medication and got off. I may have been going through withdraws because I changed medication, same family, but different type and they have seem to calm down some. Again, it still be from anything. I recently had 2 back surgeries in 2006 and still recovering. It is not painful, just annoying.

I never did know the cause, but I always have those "startle" type jumps when I am just falling asleep. I've had them all of my life. I notice it's worse when I am overtired.

My entire family - me, husband, 5 kids - all do this. My youngest especially. He is 3 1/2 and was recently diagnosed with a seizure disorder following 2 seizures in December. My husband, oldest son and youngest son, as well as numerous extended family members have all had seizures in their first years of life, with no others ever occuring and the same "twitching" when we sleep. Basically, in my family's case, our brains are constantly misfiring (proven through EEGs) and that is what causes the twitching. I wouldn't be all that concerned about it if that is all that is happening. I think its actually fairly common.

I do this even when I'm awake. I don't hold a cup of coffee in my hand for very long.

I have been twitching for years now. My "other-half" has had a lot of complaints. Actually getting a sleep study done in a couple weeks. They've told me that it was from my med's and that it's Restless Leg Syndrome...I guess we'll see when the tests are done. Take Care!!

Same here! When even Im falling asleep sometimes my leg will jerk, it also does that when Im having a dream of free falling then right before I hit the bottom my leg jerks? Also when I am laying with my boyfriend and my hand is on his chest he will wake me up several times and tell me that my hand is twitching, almost as if its trying to dig into him? Yeah... weird.

I read your comment regarding "twitching". I was beginning to think there was something crazy going on with me. I've been diagnosed with RLS and pre-diabetes. I'm taking Glucophage and Cymbalta for the diabetic nerve pain I supposedly have in my feet. That's another thing - its awful. Before I could be put on Cymbalta, I had to try two other medications before I could be approved for Cymbalta (insurance regulations). Anyway, I was on the generic ffor Elavil (Amytriptylene). I took it for a while and didn't like it at all. I was also taking Clonazepam for the RLS (when I went to bed at night). I ran out of the Clonazepam so I started taking the Amytriptylene. Boy, did that ever start problems for me so I stopped using it altogether. I went to bed a couple of nights ago and I had this uncontrollable twitching in my legs, hands and arms. I would lay there and all of a sudden my hands and arms would twitch upwards on its own. I also had some problems with my peripheral vision - I thought I was seeing things out of my peripheral vision.

All of this was better the next couple of nights. I had a very stressful day yesterday and I didn't get any sleep last night. The twitching started again. I also had it happen when I was sitting in my chair watching TV. I feel like I'm going crazy or something. Guess I gotta stay off some of those meds. My sister tried Amytriptylene one time and she had some serious side effects too. She advised that I keep off that pill. Hope tomorrow will be better.

I suggest you see a doctor that is familiar with RLS. I prefer a neurologist. I have suffered for many, many years. There are medications out there that work and some, obviously, that don't. Some of the side effects can be worse than the actual RLS/PLMD - periodic limb movement. RLS can occur in the arms, legs and torso (some people think it is just the legs). Get a blood test to determine if your iron count is low - that can be a reason for your symptoms.

www.rls.org

A good site for info on RLS. Hope this helps some. Good luck. Doreen

My husband suggested I check out WebMD to find out why he twitches at night. Some nights it is only a few times, but other nights, it is all night.

It seems to be when his breathing pattern has a pause in it for a few seconds, and then when he begins to breath again, his entire body jerks, making the entire bed twitch.

He will not get this checked out, but I think he should. He is not on any medication, apx. twenty pounds overweight, and quit smoking in Feb. this year.

Any ideas appreciated. I will pass them on to my hubby.

It really sounds like sleep apnea to me. There are a couple of things you can do to treat and manage it, but as far as I know, any physician will recommend a sleep study before they'll do anything. You can have a uvulectomy (ask.metafilter.com/34088/Uvulectomy-experiences) or wear a CPAP (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPAP) both of which have varying results depending on the individual.

If it's a matter of convincing your DH to see someone, you might try placing a sound recorder next to the bed (or even a video camera if you've got the technology) and have it record a night or two of sleep, and show him the results. He might not realize how bad it is. Or, alternately, you might even realize it's not as bad as you think. It's hard for me to recommend /not/ seeing a physician, though. A bunch of us yahoos online can't really know what's going on with him.

I hope this is helpful information, though. At least you're investigating!

Thank you for the suggestions. Sleep apnea is what I think it may be also. He has been doing this for several months, but it has intensified recently.

Now to convince him to see our Dr.

Hi lynn802, I hope I'm doing this right. This is my first time on this site or ever chatting on something like this. I came to webmd tonight hoping to find some answers as to what could be wrong with me. I was diagnosed with remitting relapsing MS 3 years ago and I also have Fibromyalgia and RLS. The MS has been in remission for almost a year. I'm not on any medication right now except for Ambian so that I can sleep. The biggest problem I have right now is awful feeling I have in my legs and sometimes even in my torso. The only way; I can explain it is to imagine a string connected to both legs and it runs up through the top of your head and someone keeps pulling on it causing the insides of your legs to pull up. It seems like a spasm or twitching that nobody can see. Sometimes there is a burning sensation or it feels like someone is poking me with needles. As much as I look forward to sitting down in the evening or going to bed I'm starting to dread it because of this. I haven't been to a doctor yet cause of the cost and I know he'll just want to give me pills. I've taken so much medication over the last 3 years and have had some pretty bad side effects so my trust level is at 0. I would love to have someone to talk to. Does any of this sound like what your going through?

What you explained about the feeling of having strings attached to your legs and someone is pulling on them is exactly what I feel just before my legs or my arms twitch. It's like a warning that the twitching is about to happen. The only difference is that my twitching is actually noticeable to someone who is looking. Sometimes the twitiching is very faint like it might just be my hand that twitches or it can be a lot more noticeable like both my arms wil twitch almost violently. I haven't been diagnosed nor to I care to see a doctor about it, but from reading other's comments it sounds like I may have RLS. I hope this helps with atleast a portion of your question.