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Insomnia - Adult (Expert Forum)
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
Answered by
UMass Memorial Medical Center
Questions in the Sleep & Insomnia Forum are being answered by Dr. Gregg D. Jacobs.
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
by s54, Apr 03, 2009 11:46AM
I've been suffering from very severe day-time sleepiness for years and doctors have not been able to figure out why. I currently take stimulants (Adderall (adderrall) and Vyvanse) because that is the only thing that can keep me awake. If I do not take those meds, I sleep for about 15-20 hours per day. I had a polysomnogram and multiple sleep latency study one year ago (which didn't provide any definitive answers about the severe sleepiness) and I recently began looking over the results of the study to see if anything was over-looked the first time around. I have a few general questions that I hope you can answer for me.
What would be considered a high 'spontaneous arousal index', and what would be considered a low or mild 'spontaneous arousal index'? Also, what would be considered high and low for the 'leg movement arousal index'?
Is it normal for everyone to have arousals during their sleep, or do people with no sleep disorders have generally no arousals at all?
The other thing I wanted to know is what the diagnostic criteria is for Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. Is there a certain number of periodic limb movements that has to happen during sleep? Does the PLM index have to be higher than a certain number?
What would be considered a high 'spontaneous arousal index', and what would be considered a low or mild 'spontaneous arousal index'? Also, what would be considered high and low for the 'leg movement arousal index'?
Is it normal for everyone to have arousals during their sleep, or do people with no sleep disorders have generally no arousals at all?
The other thing I wanted to know is what the diagnostic criteria is for Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. Is there a certain number of periodic limb movements that has to happen during sleep? Does the PLM index have to be higher than a certain number?
Doctor's Answer
by Gregg D Jacobs, Ph.D., Apr 03, 2009 02:50PM
, Apr 03, 2009 02:50PM
This question should be posted for Dr. Park in the Sleep Breathing Disorders forum since he is trained as a sleep physician to read and interpret sleep studies (I am not).
Dr. Jacobs
Dr. Jacobs
Member Comments (2)
by Lasilm69, Apr 04, 2009 07:03PM
i have the same issue..sleep in wayy tooo long all day if know one wakes me up.cant even hear my alarm sometimes. severe tiredness and headaches during day..feel hungover at times when i awake.along with alot of other strange symptoms.
