Night Tremors

[jtruner]

I have recently been waking up almost nightly with my body literally trembling all over and my heart racing.  I am not waking from a bad dream.  The first time it happened, I wondered what was making my bed vibrate and then realized it was me.  I have been on ambien for several years and have started using the generic form in the past 4-8 months.  This problem started in the last 4 months.  I also had a period where my memory was literally shot.  I had days where I wondered if something had happened or if I'd dreamed it, I was in such a fog.  Could all of this be coming from the generic ambien?  I don't even know what kind of doctor to go to about this, as I don't know what it is or what is causing it.  I've taken ambien all these years because I have trouble getting to sleep at night.  When I would get to sleep on my own, I would wake up every fifteen minutes until the wee hours of the morning when I would finally start to sleep good just to have my alarm go off to get up and start the day.  I have always been considered a night owl since I was a child and taking the ambien finally enabled me to live in a normal persons world/hours.  Can you please give me some idea of just what might be going on with me, if it is anything to worry about and if I need to see a specialist of some kind.  When I talked to the family doctor about it who prescribes the ambien, all he said was that it wasn't something he specialized in and at first offered to send me to a shrink, then giving me zanax, stating that it was probably stress but if it didn't clear up, I needed to either see a shrink or a neurologist.  He didn't question anything that I said, my meds, anything.  I don't believe I am nuts, nor do I believe I have a stress problem.  I don't have these episodes nightly or at least not that I can remember.  If it is any help, as I child I had night terrors to the point of being able to hear my mother talking to me but unable to see her even with my eyes wide open.

[jtruner]

I had taken 10mg of ambien for a very long time and only take 5 mg these past 6-8 mths. so that has already been lowered.  I also would rule out the periodic limb movement because I don't have anything like restless leg syndrome, etc.  I can put a hand around the top of each of my arms (around the muscle) when this is happening and feel the muscles literally twitching.  It is almost like every nerve ending in my body is vibrating.  I am not sure that the heart is racing, since my whole body seems to be vibrating.  I know I always make myself cough in case my heart is racing and to get myself more awake and then I lie there and wait for it to subside.  It doesn't last long, probably no more than a few minutes.  I have checked out our sleep clinics and am told I will have to go to sleep on my own for an evaluation.  I have trouble going to sleep away from home even with a sleep aid, let alone on my own and no trouble at all at staying awake the entire night.  So what good will a sleep clinic do for me if I cannot even get to sleep for them to evaluate me?  I am going to check out the CBT but to be honest I am doubtful of finding any answers.  I have spent years researching sleep problems and have tried everything known to man.  Since you have came to the same conclusions as I, as in the ambien does not normally have this side effect, is a sleep clinic my last resort?

[Gregg D Jacobs, Ph.D.]

Your symptoms could be due to Ambien, since it is associated with parasomnic behaviors (a behavior that occurs during sleep) such as sleep walking or eating although I have never heard of it causing trembling, or you could have another underlying sleep disorder such as periodic limb movements or REM (dream sleep) behavior disorder. Either way, you should be evaluated by a sleep clinic or a physician that is trained in sleep medicine.

You should also investigate CBT for insomnia since you may need or reduce or eliminate your Ambien. You can learn more about CBT on my website.

Dr. Jacobs
www.cbtforinsomnia.com