Thank you Dr. Parks. I'll research that.
Her Sleep Study did specifically note NO airway obstruction.
jim
It does sound like she has RLS. Interestingly a paper in this month's Sleep Medicine Journal published a paper that showed that even in patients with low to normal levels (15-75 ng/ml), treating with iron resulted in significant improvements. I've referenced the abstract link below. Their goal was to raise the levels to above 75.
The other way of treating this is to address her possible upper airway resistance syndrome.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W6N-4VMX84H-2&_user=10&_origUdi=B6W6N-4VC150D-3&_fmt=high&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2009&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b07131e11de4234e71753b2c42a369c2
You are correct, the sleep study shows Alpha Intrusion throughout the study, however she does not have any chronic pain issues. Also her Ferritn levels have been checked good.
She showed 161 leg movements an index of 25 per hour and no OSA.
She does NOT want to take the RLS medication due to side effects.
Are there any other options for her? Would an Ambien 2-3 times a week help her get some restorative sleep?
This is called periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). It would be interesting to determine from the sleep study to see what percent of the limb movements resulted in arousals. Treatment is conservative for most people (certain vitamin deficiencies) to looking for various metabolic disorders, to using medications. Although she doesn't have obvious obstructive sleep apnea, it's likely that she still has sleep-breathing issues that prevent her from achieving deep sleep. They probably also saw what's called alpha-intrusion, where fast brain waves are seen intruding into slow deep sleep waves. Sometimes disrupted breathing can wake up brain waves from deep to light sleep, without leading to formal "arousal" on a sleep study. Ultimately, you should discuss your wife's condition with your sleep doctor, who can look at the big picture and make formal recommendations. Her jerks are probably severe versions of her routine limb movements. Good luck.