Body Spasms Prevent Me From Sleeping

[rebirth]

I manage to get no more than a couple hours of sleep every night.  I am tired and fatigued the entire day, but I can't manage to get into bed until 5 or 6 in the morning.  Once in bed my body begins to spasm continuously.  If I do manage to drift off to sleep, a spasm wakes me up.  This happens over and over; until I finally become so angry with my body, that I just get up and watch television.  Lately, I have been chewing my tongue during my brief hours of uncomfortable sleep.  I wake up with a bloody and sore tongue.  I recently took part in a sleep disorder study.  I managed to sleep only 45 minutes.  The remainder of the time my body was having spasms.  For years doctors thought I was epileptic, and I was prescribed a variety of medications; none of which stopped the spasms/convulsions.  What is going on?  I don't know; and neither do any of my many doctors.  Sleeping meds cannot be prescribed because I am suicidal.

[Gregg D Jacobs, Ph.D.]

I was going to suggest that you need a sleep study since this is not insomnia (and this is an insomnia forum). Since you had a sleep study, it is up to your sleep doctor to interpret your results and provide treatment options. It sounds like you also have a delayed phase disorder since you can't fall asleep until 6am, which means your body temperature rhythm is shifted too late. This often requires chronotherapy (going to bed 3 hours later each day for a week to shift around the clock) so ask your sleep doctor about this as well.

Dr. Jacobs