Hypnic Jerks

[shamrock]

I have been treated at CCF for hypnic jerks for about 4 years now.  After about 8 years with this condition I have done extensive research and can never seem to find out the cause.  Any new discoveries about this and why?  

Thank you.

Shamrock

[Lele Bug]

Oh, and I have read in alot of different placs that caffeine, nicotine and refined sugars can make these worse lay off all that stuff!

Makes a huge difference for me... My daughter and I watched a movie last night and I ate some of her sour patch kids. Wow, thought I was going to junp out of my skin!

[feed up]

Hi Timebomb,
I am 47 , and my symptoms are aexactly the same as yours..........mine started about 2 months ago......the first twitches I noticed where in my stomach (felt like a baby kicking), and now they have spread everywhere..........how annoying. Heaps of women our age on the net have them. Although men get the too I think our anxiety levels are higher during peri menopause so make us more likely to get them in this age bracket. They are VERY annoying.
I have been trying the tonic water and magnesium calcium supplement , and eating bananas........and I think it has helped a bit.Some days and especially nights are worse than others for me.

Take Care all.

[Lele Bug]

Hi Lou,

I'm so sorry you are having a bad time. Take it easy on yourself and be patient. You'll get through this.

So you got to sleep last night ok and got 8 hours. That's really good. Don't let the jerking in the morning get you down. I get it too. Just go ahead and get up if you've had enough sleep.

Keep up with your electrolytes (try the new Power Option, it works best for me)take a good supplement and, get your room just the way you want it and try to relax. Drink a few glasses of wine at night if you need to. And go see your regular doctor and see if he can give you something to take the edge off right now.

Are you under alot of stress right now? If you are anything you can do to help manage that will help.

I hope things will get better for really quick. Be happy with the good nights and don't let then bad ones get you down or freak you out.

Keep in touch,

Lele Bug

[Lele Bug]

I'm so happy for you!...I really believe getting on top of the anxiety is the key.

I know you can beat this thing.

If you feel the anxiety coming take deep breaths from your abdomen. Meaning, push your stomach out when you breathe and this will keep you from breathing shallow which will make you feel lightheaded and spacy (hyperventilation). You will be surpised at how quicly the anxiety dissapates.

Also, I'm serious about the feather mattress pad and pillow. I LOVE my bed now, it's sooooo comfortable and I look forward to going to bed. I think it is important to associate your bed with comfort and positive thoughts. If I wake up in the middle of the night I just think about how comfortable I am and I go right back to sleep. If I feel a jerk, I just think "oh well, they won't last long" and they don't!

I'm so glad that you are doing better. If you have a bad night don't let it set you back. Just keep doing all the things you know will work.

Please let me know how you are doing! I'll help anyway I can!

Sweet dreams

Lele Bug

[slothman]

Thanks a million for your reply.
It really helped.
I slept last night!  YEAH!!!!!
I probably drank two gallons of Gatorade.

You are absolutely right about the stress building up and worsening it. I woke up once during the night and felt a few jerks. I thought about what you said about your husbands way of ignoring them and not allowing the anxiety to take over. I was able to fall back to sleep shortly.
What a difference a good nights sleep makes.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tonight.

I can't tell you how much I appreciated your response.
Thank you for your kind words.

I'll repay you buy doing something helpful for someone else.





-Lou

[Lele Bug]

Hi Lou,

I know exactly what you are feeling....I have been there.

The most important thing for you right now is to try not to let this freak you out anymore. It's hard because you are sure your life and your sleep will never be normal again. right? It will be normal again, I promise.

I have done literally hours and hours of research on this thing. What I can tell you is that the central theme I have found is that unrelenting stress and anxiety seem to play a key role. I think the stress depletes our bodily resources which is why suppliments and electrolyte balancing (like power aid or gatorade  help) It is very easy to develop sleep anxiety once this starts and this will make things SEEM worse and also keep you from going back to sleep if you wake up during the night.Try to keep things in perspective.  Also, chronic pain or discomfort is a trigger for these jerks so if there is anything that is making you uncomfortable in or out of bed fix it.  Get a feather mattress pad and a great new pillow. I know these things sound like minor things but all of them have helped me and the cumulative result has made a huge difference. When you are trying to fall asleep tell yourself it's ok if you feel a few jerks, eventually you will fall asleep. The more you can manage the anxiety this can produce the shorter the cycle back to normalcy will be.

Don't be to hard on yourself about how you have managed this thing. Wine works great for me too. If you need it, do it. I know you are waking up after a few hours and this is common but if you can relieve the anxiety about falling asleep it will help you.

Don't despair, you will get to a place where this is not a big deal. I know EVERYONE has jerks, I think the difference is how we react to them. My husband has them everynight, believe me, I'm a witness, but they don't bother him. I think it is because he doesn't react to them and therefore they don't cause the anxiety and produce the adrenaline rush. I would say he has at least 10 as he's falling asleep!

Stay in touch, Lou and don't be afraid and upset. Things will get better!

Lele Bug