Legs jerking all night

[lstrl]

I've had issues with spasticity off and on for over two years now. Usually it's that I have to stand there for a minute after sitting for a while to basically stretch out my legs until they're ready to move again. I also commonly get a crampy feeling at night. Occasionally they'll get jerky when I'm sitting, but last night they were jerking all night long, preventing me from sleeping. It wasn't painful, just very uncomfortable.

This is the first time I've ever had it last so long. I'm hesitant to take meds because I'm already so tired all the time, but if I can't sleep because of it, then things are going to be worse anyway. Is it worth calling the dr about? Or would I be better off to see if it continues? I've been having symptoms indicative of a flare lately and have wondered if this is just something that's going to be worse than usual for a little while, but of course, there's no way to know.

[Nicoly3467]

Hi Istrl,

Sorry to hear about the leg jerking. Have
you ever tried baclofen only at night before
bed? It is a muscle relaxant that I only take at night
cuz it makes me a little tired during the day.

The other thought I had for you is restless
Leg syndrome, which is associated with MS or
other conditions. Tell your Neuro doc about this.

[ejonesbowlie]

I have constant spasticity and take baclofen. This helps tremendously in my case. Sound like yours may not be as bad so perhaps you could talk to your doctor/neuro about a small dosage....especially for nighttime. I also take Mirapex as I get all kinds of weird sensations in my legs when trying to sleep.

I can totally understand how this effects your sleep. In my case, taking the baclofen and etc. was well worth it as my body did adjust fairly quickly and it controlled the symptoms enough for me to actually get some sleep. You may be a little groggy at first, but on a smaller dosage I would imagine the benefits would far outweigh the negative. I am on 80mg a day if that tells you anything...so pretty high dose!

I guess you could also be having a flair and in that case may be worth talking to your neuro about it as for me steroids have given me some temporary relief and brought it under control at least for the short term.

I wish you the best and hope you get some relief soon

Beth

[lstrl]

It's never been bad enough for me to talk about, so I haven't taken anything for it before. The thing that scares me about taking something is I have been on Flexeril (a muscle relaxant) before when I had some severe jaw pain due to grinding my teeth and that stuff would make me feel lethargic for two days before it got out of my system. Yes, it provided pain relief, but I could barely function, I was so tired.

If it is because of a flare (my neuro doesn't think I'm having one but I do since almost half my body is numb and I'm weaker than my normal), it's too late to do anything about it and my only hope is it won't last long.

I'm thinking I'll see how tonight goes and if it's not any better, I'll be calling in the morning to see if I can give something a try.

[Diamond57]

Restless Leg Syndrome

Hi Istrl!

I have RLS along w/spasticity and take a high dose of gaperpentine which does give me some relief. Since I've been off sugar I've noticed improvement also. I also take bacufen but it makes me dizzy so I prefer to stick with the gaperpententin. Hope you find relief real soon. When it interrupts my sleep I'm done in.

Susie Q.

[Lianne]

Hello Istrl. I don't know if you are open to trying LDN or if you can find someone to prescribe it. I used to have the leg jerking thing a lot before going to sleep at night and I haven't had it in quite a while. For me it's been an unexpected benefit of taking LDN (and no side effects).

[Zuzus11z]

Second that option of LDN. Same thing for me - the spasticity right around bedtime. I will try the Baclofen sometimes but I have to be desperate. Don't like feeling dopey the next day.

I have also been experimenting with CDB for the past several weeks. Liking the results so far.

Best of luck to you.

[karenwb2]

spascity

I do have RLS and since I found out my doctor gave me 1/2 of a clonazepam at night. It has really helped me to get a better nights sleep. I hope that you can find something to help you.
Karenwb2

[Scooter24]

I told my dr about same thing along with bad leg cramps at night,I have previously tried baclofen and tizanadine with no success, she gave me Ropinirole .5mg which is a restless leg med but also used for parkinsons patients to help them move their legs. I has helped with cramps, and also leg twitching which I realized I also had a problem with during the daytime so she has put me on it twice a day and it has also helped with reg spasticity also.

[poppydarling]

Low dose naltrexone (sp?) really helped me, but muscle relaxers made me groggy the next day, so I couldn't take them.

What really helped was: no dairy! That really made my legs jumpy. And taking calcium and magnesium before I went to bed. I was in such distress with the jumpy legs and loss of sleep that I searched around on the Internet and found a forum where they talked about natural remedies for RLS, and this one really seemed to help.

[Christoff]

Sorry to hear about the sleep disturbance... Tizanidine worked great for me for a few months, but I kept getting breakthrough spasms. Now I am on the highest dose and I still can't sleep. Guess it's time to try something new. Keep us posted on your progress. Hope things improve for you soon.