Twitching, hypnic jerks, Central sleep apnea!!!

Question

I get this twitching all the time, sometimes my arm or leg kicks a lot and I wake up while I'm falling asleep. maybe it is hypnic jerks, PLMD or central sleep apnea or seizure related. I haven't found a cure but klonopin seems to help a lot at 0.5mg.
Please let me know if you find a cure because sleep apnea has destroyed my life!!! I have no energy and am in a terrible fog all of the time.

This discussion is related to Twitching and possible seizure in sleep.

ill13632 · Answer

some people say klonopin has terrible withdrawal but it's the only thing that is saving my life from sleep apnea- ambien also helps but less than klonopin

ill13632 · Answer

I'm still having terrible sleep apnea and the asv machine doesn't seem to help much.  I need to take klonopin but I'm not sure if it prevents deep stage sleep.  
I've been crippled by this terrible disease and don't even know why.  I want to get UPPP surgery but it seems I have central apnea and 73% O2

ill13632 · Answer

I don't understand how I developed sleep apnea in my 30s suddenly after moving back to the US- I wasn't overweight and didn't have any brain/heart condition except MVP, right bundle blockage maybe and a neurenteric cyst in my clivus of 1.3cm diameter?
how is it possible that I can be crippled by this disease?

ill13632 · Answer

anyway it's so terrible I can't live like this, I have to sleep on a ventilator and have GI bleeding from IBS/hemmarhoids and don't have any energy and have been losing my memory and can't think or read a sentence sometimes

ill13632 · Answer

I keep reading of terrible effects from klonopin like memory loss, withdrawal suffering, but I don't seem to have them at 0.5-1mg day

is klonopin a safe drug and doesn't damage your thinking/memory?

ill13632 · Answer

is there a cure for PLMD?  the sleep lab says I have it and I've been suffering for at least 4 years now

DrAnitha · Answer

Hello and hope you are doing well.

If the jerks occur in sleep it could be due to PLMD. They disrupt sleep and cause involuntary movements during sleep. The cause is not known. They can be diagnosed with a sleep study and medications help to control them. For the obstructive sleep apnea. Ensure to use the CPAP machine regularly. Go for regular follow ups with your doctor to check to see if the apneas are under control and if your sleep is adequate.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

ill13632 · Answer

I can't understand why I have such bad sleep apnea. I suddenly developed sa and asthma and need to use the asv every day now for years. I was perfectly healthy before so maybe it's the twitching/seizures or some neurological disease??!

ill13632 · Answer

I find that I need klonopoin+ASV+oxygen to maintain healthy oxygen levels during sleep and I may already be brain damaged

ill13632 · Answer

I feel terrible now with intestinal problems and exhaustion, headache off of klonopin.  ambien helps the sa too but not as much as klonopin

ill13632 · Answer

my friend told me klonopin causes thinking problem/memory damage so I'm not sure, but it does definitely help me to sleep with PLMD and twitching in my arm/leg

have you found something that worked?  my O2 went down to 73% and I wake up with headaches and chest pains.  I can't use the machines well even ASV and keep waking up on them, I use a full face mask

Hanging_in · Answer

If Klonopin helps, you might want to stay with that a while and see if your sleep apnea improves.

I guess for people with Restless Leg Syndrome, Fibromyalgia pain, affecting sleep disorders, this is a treatment that seems to be started with - trying to find a medication that can help the sleep through calming down the twitching, etc.  

Unfortunately, for some reason the Klonopin made me the opposite of how it was meant to.  In my sleep studies, they've said I thrashed around all night long with arms and legs, looking like I was seizing, and I did have central sleep apnea.  But three different sleep studies (also showing oxygen dropping below 80% at night), none of these places or doctors have actually tried to treat any of it. I did spend a night where I was supposed to be able to try different kinds of masks for the breathing apparatus.  But the first one that was put on made it so I could not breath through my mouth, and my sinuses were completely clogged.  I was thrashing trying to get the attention of the person who was supposed to be observing up in the viewing area, and they never responded.  Turns out they weren't even in there!  I had to take it off and leave.  That negligence could leave someone dead.

So anyway, looks like you've found some help, so a big hooray for that!  If you still don't find help with the sleep apnea, go to a doctor/center that will actually work with you to find a suitable treatment (without killing you) :)
Oh, and my sleep studies found that I never enter either Stage 3 OR 4 sleep, thus no restorative sleep....and a whole lot of other issues related to all this.

At least know you are not alone.  Honestly there seems to be more and more people with this issue.  But I can see how it could actually be related to medication(s) someone might be taking for something else.  One prescription has ruined my life in ways that seem unfathomable.  So, do be careful with the Klonopin and keep an eye out for other side effects.  Also if taking any others check to see if they could be causing the sleep issues.  Please do so before you end up in nonstop excruciating pain like me.

Wishing you all the best.