Hi all,
First time here. Hopefully this is appropriate in the MS forums. I don’t know what else to do. Thanks for your time reading this long post and any input is appreciated.
SHORT VERSION:
Only when I sleep, again, I say, *only when I go to sleep*, and I wake up usually 3-4 hours later (but sometimes as early as 1.5 to 2 hours later), I feel muscle weakness below my neck. When I say below my neck, I mean my arms, hands, stomach muscles, leg muscles. My feet, jaws, and neck muscles are not affected. It feels like I’ve been exercising for a million years, and I’m feeling lactic acid or something. That’s the best way I can describe it. It can be so incapacitating that I can’t get out of bed without help.
HOWEVER, after 3-4 hours, it goes away on its own, magically, leaving absolutely no trace whatsoever.
Does anyone know what this is?
LONG VERSION:
BACKGROUND AND FREQUENCY: I am a male, in my mid-30s. For the most part, I am healthy, with no major diseases. I do have seasonal allergies to tree pollen (Alder). I am probably 25-30 pounds over the weight I'd like, but I'm not in any physical problems (i.e. huffing and puffing walking uphill). I go hiking all the time. For the past year+ or two, the symptoms first started occurring every 4-5 months. Recently, it seems to be happening every 2-3 months. On days that I go to work, I sleep about 5.5 to 6 hours (I do 4 days a week -10 hour shift). I work sitting in front of the computer daily. On days I don't go to work, I can sleep anywhere between 8-10 hours. Having said that, it appears to revolve around sleeping. My family has no history of muscle issues or narcolepsy. I have no major diseases and do not regularly take medication, except for seasonal allergy medication (around this time).
SYMPTOMS: When I wake up in the morning (and it can be 1-2 hours before I normally wake up, or around the time I usually wake up), my legs, arms and stomach muscles become very weak. If while sleeping, if I attempt to raise my arm straight up, I feel as if my muscles and tendons are very weak and painful, especially if I extend and retract my arm. I can feel my shoulder muscles being very sore too. If I lift my leg (as in sitting down and lifting my legs to put socks on), the muscle pain on my front upper side of that leg is so acute that I can't. I have to lift my leg up with one hand and cross it over my other leg in order to even put socks on. If I try to squeeze my fingers, my finger muscles feel like they are at maybe 20-30% capacity only. When I am in bed, turning/tossing around, such as turning from facing the ceiling to sideways, is extremely painful on my stomach muscles. It feels like I did 10,000 sit-ups the day before and today I'm paying for it. In fact, it takes half dozen tries just to do something that simple!!!
For example, I might wake up maybe 1-2 hours before I would normally wake up, and notice these symptoms. I then realize I need to go release myself (urinate) but it's so hard and painful to move; I'd struggle to even get to the side of the bed. When I do get to the side of the bed, I have to pretty much mimic movements like a toddler where I face down on the bed, stick my legs out and then let my legs drop off the side of the bed. When my feet hit the ground, I rest for maybe 30 seconds and then, as if trying to carry 100 pounds, force myself up very hard to even stand up. If I attempt to get up from bed unto my feet, I feel weakness in my legs. I can walk around, but I know something's different. Weird thing is once I do stand up, I can move around. But, just the act of trying to get up is so hard. When I sit down, if I lift my legs up (like kicking the air), it's very painful on the muscles on the front of my legs. It seems like "contracting" muscles are affected. The best way I can describe it is it feels like I've been exercising hardcore for many days straight. My muscles feel that weak and that painful! One morning, I had to wake up my wife, and asked her to help me sit up on the bed, so I could get up and go to work.
Here's the kicker: if I do NOTHING and go back to bed, or simply force myself to go to work, the symptoms gradually go away. After 3-5 hours, there's absolutely no trace that I just had those symptoms. It's like nothing ever happened! I can run, jump, do WHATEVER and it's like someone just turns the switch on and off. Also, when the symptoms are full blown, my neck muscles are fine. I can move my head up, down, left, right, and I feel no pain. I am able talk fine, chew and can swallow fine. No drooping faces or anything.
CAUSES: I've noticed these symptoms occur without any triggers I am aware of. For example, one time it occurred the morning after I was exercising. But most of the times though, I haven't done anything, and I mean ANYTHING strenuous the day/night before!
***The only thing I've been able to link my episodes to is sleep.***
Usually it happens 3-4 hours into my sleep, right as I am about to wake up. One evening last week, I fell asleep early, and slept for maybe 1.5 to 2 hours. When I woke up from that nap, I noticed mild symptoms. That is the first time I've experienced it in the evenings. It's always, always, always been in the mornings. I do not recall having any dreams that were disturbing either. I don’t sleep walk (my wife can attest to that). I’m tempted to just record myself sleeping or something on video.
I posted online at (site removed), and only 1 doctor responded, thinking I got MS. I posted on Yahoo Answers, but no one knows. I went to see my doctor, but he didn’t know either. He doesn’t think it is MS or fibromyalgia. In fact, I saw my family doctor AND one of his associates and they just looked at me dumbfounded.
Does anyone know what this is? Could I just be so tense at night sometimes that it triggers my body to do this? Is there some waste byproduct that my kidney isn't filtering out (somehow only at night) that's causing my muscles to be weak? Please provide me links with evidence on these types of issues if someone comes across them. I understand someone will always be first at something and it is possible that I am the first person to experience these symptoms. I can’t find anyone describing these same symptoms anywhere.
Thanks!
First time here. Hopefully this is appropriate in the MS forums. I don’t know what else to do. Thanks for your time reading this long post and any input is appreciated.
SHORT VERSION:
Only when I sleep, again, I say, *only when I go to sleep*, and I wake up usually 3-4 hours later (but sometimes as early as 1.5 to 2 hours later), I feel muscle weakness below my neck. When I say below my neck, I mean my arms, hands, stomach muscles, leg muscles. My feet, jaws, and neck muscles are not affected. It feels like I’ve been exercising for a million years, and I’m feeling lactic acid or something. That’s the best way I can describe it. It can be so incapacitating that I can’t get out of bed without help.
HOWEVER, after 3-4 hours, it goes away on its own, magically, leaving absolutely no trace whatsoever.
Does anyone know what this is?
LONG VERSION:
BACKGROUND AND FREQUENCY: I am a male, in my mid-30s. For the most part, I am healthy, with no major diseases. I do have seasonal allergies to tree pollen (Alder). I am probably 25-30 pounds over the weight I'd like, but I'm not in any physical problems (i.e. huffing and puffing walking uphill). I go hiking all the time. For the past year+ or two, the symptoms first started occurring every 4-5 months. Recently, it seems to be happening every 2-3 months. On days that I go to work, I sleep about 5.5 to 6 hours (I do 4 days a week -10 hour shift). I work sitting in front of the computer daily. On days I don't go to work, I can sleep anywhere between 8-10 hours. Having said that, it appears to revolve around sleeping. My family has no history of muscle issues or narcolepsy. I have no major diseases and do not regularly take medication, except for seasonal allergy medication (around this time).
SYMPTOMS: When I wake up in the morning (and it can be 1-2 hours before I normally wake up, or around the time I usually wake up), my legs, arms and stomach muscles become very weak. If while sleeping, if I attempt to raise my arm straight up, I feel as if my muscles and tendons are very weak and painful, especially if I extend and retract my arm. I can feel my shoulder muscles being very sore too. If I lift my leg (as in sitting down and lifting my legs to put socks on), the muscle pain on my front upper side of that leg is so acute that I can't. I have to lift my leg up with one hand and cross it over my other leg in order to even put socks on. If I try to squeeze my fingers, my finger muscles feel like they are at maybe 20-30% capacity only. When I am in bed, turning/tossing around, such as turning from facing the ceiling to sideways, is extremely painful on my stomach muscles. It feels like I did 10,000 sit-ups the day before and today I'm paying for it. In fact, it takes half dozen tries just to do something that simple!!!
For example, I might wake up maybe 1-2 hours before I would normally wake up, and notice these symptoms. I then realize I need to go release myself (urinate) but it's so hard and painful to move; I'd struggle to even get to the side of the bed. When I do get to the side of the bed, I have to pretty much mimic movements like a toddler where I face down on the bed, stick my legs out and then let my legs drop off the side of the bed. When my feet hit the ground, I rest for maybe 30 seconds and then, as if trying to carry 100 pounds, force myself up very hard to even stand up. If I attempt to get up from bed unto my feet, I feel weakness in my legs. I can walk around, but I know something's different. Weird thing is once I do stand up, I can move around. But, just the act of trying to get up is so hard. When I sit down, if I lift my legs up (like kicking the air), it's very painful on the muscles on the front of my legs. It seems like "contracting" muscles are affected. The best way I can describe it is it feels like I've been exercising hardcore for many days straight. My muscles feel that weak and that painful! One morning, I had to wake up my wife, and asked her to help me sit up on the bed, so I could get up and go to work.
Here's the kicker: if I do NOTHING and go back to bed, or simply force myself to go to work, the symptoms gradually go away. After 3-5 hours, there's absolutely no trace that I just had those symptoms. It's like nothing ever happened! I can run, jump, do WHATEVER and it's like someone just turns the switch on and off. Also, when the symptoms are full blown, my neck muscles are fine. I can move my head up, down, left, right, and I feel no pain. I am able talk fine, chew and can swallow fine. No drooping faces or anything.
CAUSES: I've noticed these symptoms occur without any triggers I am aware of. For example, one time it occurred the morning after I was exercising. But most of the times though, I haven't done anything, and I mean ANYTHING strenuous the day/night before!
***The only thing I've been able to link my episodes to is sleep.***
Usually it happens 3-4 hours into my sleep, right as I am about to wake up. One evening last week, I fell asleep early, and slept for maybe 1.5 to 2 hours. When I woke up from that nap, I noticed mild symptoms. That is the first time I've experienced it in the evenings. It's always, always, always been in the mornings. I do not recall having any dreams that were disturbing either. I don’t sleep walk (my wife can attest to that). I’m tempted to just record myself sleeping or something on video.
I posted online at (site removed), and only 1 doctor responded, thinking I got MS. I posted on Yahoo Answers, but no one knows. I went to see my doctor, but he didn’t know either. He doesn’t think it is MS or fibromyalgia. In fact, I saw my family doctor AND one of his associates and they just looked at me dumbfounded.
Does anyone know what this is? Could I just be so tense at night sometimes that it triggers my body to do this? Is there some waste byproduct that my kidney isn't filtering out (somehow only at night) that's causing my muscles to be weak? Please provide me links with evidence on these types of issues if someone comes across them. I understand someone will always be first at something and it is possible that I am the first person to experience these symptoms. I can’t find anyone describing these same symptoms anywhere.
Thanks!
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