Jerking in sleep

[dmhmom]

My 13 year old son jerks in his sleep. This wakes him a little. He is tired all the time. Any help on this would be great. Thank you.

[Suri123]

Hi dmhmom, how is your son keeping? Hope he is doing well? Is he under medical care of a neurologist and currently under any medications? You need to have lot of patience in caring him at this age as he may be stressed due to his studies and knows what is happening with him. Sleep deprivation coupled with the illness can be the cause for him not being active and feeling tired. Have you got an EEG done? Do not let him go outdoors unattended. It is always good to consult a neurophysician at earliest. Do update on the progress and take care.

[asofthrt2]

I have been very frustrated with the same problems. We adopted our daughter who will be 3 next month. She was exposed to opiates, meth, alcohol, marijuana & cigs. in utero. She was born 7 weeks premature, through emergency c-section (the umbilical cord :prolapsedcausing decreased oxygen) she had a seizure at birth. She is very bright. The doctor just diagnosed her as IED. Interm. Explosive Disorder. She to was tested for Autism/Aspergers. They said no, because she has a very large vocabulary, even though all of her therapist think differently.
She has NEVER been a sleeper.No naps.. She takes 3 mg Meletonin and 1/2 tab Clonidine before bedtime and still wakes up often, and even in a so called sleep state, she is tossing and turning, jerking, yelling all night long. Sometimes she jumps up screaming and brushing her body to "get the bugs and spiders" off.
Her O.T. has expressed concerns about posible seizure activity when she was working with a "hugging swing" . We have tried 4 times to get a sleep EEG done on her, but; even with the medicine (suppoisitories and Tenex prior) she never fell asleep. She tried to walk and she just kept moving her body We had also tried for a MRI 4 times. Never fell asleep, the 4 try they gave her meds through an IV, she did fall asleep but within 10-15 minutes, she started moving around in the machine so they stopped it.She starts her day as if she has had 20 cups of coffee, and goes up from there. She is ALWAYS in MOTION. She has more and more aggressive meltdowns, where she is screaming, hitting and biting me or her father, to becoming very emotional and crying. It breaks my heart. She has many sensory issues.. They also thing that she may be bipolar, as well as AD/HD. My quiestion is, if her brain does not slow down enough to sleep WITH drugs, then how can my daughter get the rest she needs to rest her mind and body.

[ChristyC9]

I have a question, my 68 yr old hubby, not a coffee drinker, no drinking etc.
Jerks in sleep all night long, he "scratches" the sheets with fingers nails and toenails, does whole body and limb jerks. It can be mild twitches and also severe jerks. I can wake him a bit for more relief, which makes me realize it is mostly during his deep sleep. I cannot sleep well because of it. He doesn't experience any of it during the day. He also has shaky hands while at rest, some of the time. It is hard sometimes for him to write. Any thoughts??   ChristyC9

[Suri123]

Hi dmhmom, how is your son keeping. Is this started in recent time or he has been suffering since long time. Have you consulted any specialist till now? Does he have any sleep disturbance along with these jerks? Can you specify is it a localized to any one part like limbs or generalized one? He seems probably having restless body/leg syndrome, which is a neurological disorder where there is compulsion to move the limbs usually or other parts of body to relieve the discomfort, frequent walking in room or massaging limb. There is worsening of the symptoms at rest and in the evenings or on sleeping. There can be family history of same disorder and other conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, iron deficiency, and peripheral neuropathy. Treatment consists of identifying and treating the underlying condition. A variety of different classes of drugs are available. Sleep hygiene education and a healthy sleep habit are important. There needs to be change in lifestyle such as avoidance of alcohol, caffeine, and medications etc that can be triggering factors. You may consult a neurologist if it continues. Take care and post your thoughts.

[Coolio Hernendez]

I am not a doctor but, I have had RLS my whole life and have rocked my self to sleep even when  i was a baby.

Most important is the med's they can cause this even over the counter med's.

I am not a doctor, just trying to help.

[dmhmom]

Does anyone have any comments about our problem? I know there probably is no easy solution. Any suggestions would be appriciated. Thankyou.

[dmhmom]

He jerks after he is asleep. I have noticed it at all times of the night. Sometimes it is a leg or arm or trunk. I'm not sure how long they stay. He also sleep walks sometimes. He also sleep talks. I did have him sleeping on the couch in my room and sometimes, for no known reason, he would start screeming and be totally asleep. I have tried not letting him eat or watch tv or use the computer before bed and nothing works. I'm not sure if the jerks are every night or not. I just know that some mornings he is just exhausted. We don't know what to do. He has seen 2 different neurologists and they aren't for sure what is wrong with him. He has tried different meds. I don't remember the names, but they were for seizers or for RLS. Nothing has worked. Any ideas?
THank you!!

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Can you elaborate on the symptoms a bit more? Does he have whole body jerks or only some parts? How long do the jerks stay?

Does he jerk throughout his sleep ?

There are some types of hypnic ( = of the sleep) jerks or twitches which are normal. Hypnagogic twitching (while falling asleep) and hypnopompic twitching ( while waking up) are normal.

Regards