Kicking while awake?

RLS occurs more frequently in certain populations, including people with end-stage renal disease, women during pregnancy, and people with iron deficiency. Also, RLS/WED in the elderly and children brings other challenges. Sharing your experiences may be extraordinarily helpful to others.
jesterfest
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:52 pm
Location: Boulder, Colorado

Kicking while awake?

Post by jesterfest »

Does anybody deal with this? My legs kick involuntarily at night while I’m trying to fall asleep and interfere with sleep. When it’s bad I only get a couple hours of sleep a night. I don’t experience the usual RLS uncomfortable sensations or voluntarily move my legs for relief. I’ve been dealing with it for 10+ years. Some meds have worked but tend to fade over time. Medical workup includes normal neurological exam and normal sleep study (the scoring criteria only counts Periodic Limb Movements while asleep). The pattern is possibly a RLS variation. Anybody have similar symptoms?

SquirmingSusan
Posts: 3028
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 4:08 am
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Post by SquirmingSusan »

Yes, actually many of us do. It's called PLMW - Periodic Limb Movements while aWake. (Something like that - the W stands for awake or wakefulness or something...)

It seems that most of the people who are afflicted with that, who post around here, are people who have severe or augmented (made worse by dopamine agonists) RLS.

Annoying isn't it?
Susan

jesterfest
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:52 pm
Location: Boulder, Colorado

Post by jesterfest »

Thanks for info Susan. I searched past discussions on PLMW. My symptoms started before taking meds and are 90% in right leg with irregular jerking or flopping movements. It’s been hard to describe to doctors, so I video’d it. I’m curious if this is what PLMW looks like for other people too? I posted it online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ4c8K_MENs The intensity and frequency vary a great deal. Thanks, Erik

SquirmingSusan
Posts: 3028
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 4:08 am
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Post by SquirmingSusan »

:shock: Wow. That would certainly make it difficult to sleep. What did the doctor say? Does this just happen in the evenings when you're trying to sleep?

I guess my jerking is similar, but not nearly as frequent. At it's worst maybe I've had 6 different jerks going on in different parts of my body, at varying intervals between 30-60 seconds apart. So put them all together and it works out to a jerk every 5-10 seconds. But that's at it's worst. It's been much milder lately for some reason. I hope it stays that way.

Let us know what the doctor says.
Susan

ViewsAskew
Moderator
Posts: 16570
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Post by ViewsAskew »

I had my partner look at it to see if it looked like my PLMD while sleeping - he said this was much more exaggerated than what I do. While awake, mine were also much less frequent and more of a specific reflex jerk. But, that's just me.

Like Susan, would love to hear what the doctor says.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

sherjo
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 9:31 am
Location: New Zealand

Post by sherjo »

Hi there, I've tried to watch your video on You tube but it has been removed. I think what you are describing is what my husband does when he is falling and has fallen asleep. I would be very interested in watching your video. I too have videoed my husband while he is asleep. He has completed 4 sleep studies now and suffers from RLS. Can you help me with your video? Many thanks

jesterfest
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:52 pm
Location: Boulder, Colorado

Updated video link...

Post by jesterfest »

Video got moved to www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsw7LlEXwyY Thanks, Erik

Polar Bear
Moderator
Posts: 8797
Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:34 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Post by Polar Bear »

Wow, I just watched your video on utube. I have never seen anything like that before. You have my greatest sympathy.
Betty

KBear
Posts: 393
Joined: Fri May 04, 2007 11:41 pm
Location: Wisconsin USA

Post by KBear »

Wow, Is all of that involuntary movement? I suspect that at least the big movements (lifting legs off the bed) are voluntary movements trying to stop the involuntary movement. That's what it looks like anyway.

I think my RLS movements look the same when I'm in the midst of an episode except that I know that most (if not all) of my movements are voluntary. I may have PLMS but I've never had a sleep study done. Generally my RLS wakes me up in the middle of the night and I suspect its involuntary movements that wake me, after that I just can't lay still and I move myself.
Kathy

Link to the Mayo Clinic Algorithm:

http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/pd ... 907Crc.pdf

sherjo
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 9:31 am
Location: New Zealand

Post by sherjo »

Wow, this is very scarey!! :o I'm half way around the other side of the world and I sware that this could be my husband. What a relief to know that there is someone else out there in the big wide world that is going thru the same things as us. I've never visited utube before but I will try and upload a video that I have. Well I have several that I secretly took while my husband slept. Neville is my husband. A question for you. Do you suffer from this in your arms?? Neville sometimes sleeps on his tummywith his arm under the mattress. He inserts his arm up to to his elbow between the mattress and the base. He wonders why he wakes up with pins and needles in his arm. Most bizarre. There are large scratch marks on the leg of the bed head when he has been trying to post his arm.
I'd like to talk to you more about this. Thanks for sharing your video.

mackjergens
Posts: 406
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:10 am

Post by mackjergens »

Are you taking an antidepressant? I know when I was put on zoloft that my arms, legs and whole body would jump/jerk at times my whole body would jump up off the mattress! I knew it was the zoloft as this all started when I started taking zoloft. Once I stopped zoloft it all went away, well actually I do have a mild case of plmd at times. but not often!

cornelia

Post by cornelia »

The video could be me as well, although while awake most of the time in my arms and in bed in my legs. Strnge syndrome.

Corrie

jesterfest
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:52 pm
Location: Boulder, Colorado

Post by jesterfest »

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it! In terms of different questions: the movements are involuntary, in my legs only, and happen at night (between 9pm and 7am). I haven’t been on antidepressants. The leg jerks stop if I get up and stand or walk, but then frequently return when I lay down again. Symptoms vary a lot with good nights and bad night. If any of you have video, it’d be really helpful for me. Thanks again, Erik

cornelia

Post by cornelia »

Erik, I saw dr B's answer to your post. He said that if you suffer from PLMW you should have PLMS as well, if I understand correctly. But as I said, when I go and lie down on my bed (at any time) my legs are doing exactly the same thing as your's do and 2 sleep studies showed I have no PLMS. Personally I think PLMW's are a severe form of RLS, not PLMW, but I'm no doctor.

cornelia

Post by cornelia »

Erik,

in the last sentence of my rpevious post PLMW must be PLMD

Corrie

Post Reply