1. Community
  2. Symptoms
  3. Sleep Problems

Excessive twitching during sleep

Posted , 4 users are following.

M1234
M1234

I wondered if anyone could help with this. My fiancé has been twitching a lot in his sleep recently, his hands, legs and whole body will start twitching and jerking while he's drifting off to sleep and the twitches continues while he's asleep. He said he's aware that's he's twitching so excessively in his sleep and it wakes him up and the twitching and jerking stops when he's awake but starts again when he falls asleep. It's been keeping me up all night too and both of us are struggling to get a decent sleep. Does anyone know what may be the reason for the twitching and why it's getting worse. Thanks smile

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • RobertT
    RobertT M1234

    Posted

    Try reading up on periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), hypnic jerk and myoclonus and see if they correlate to his experiences.

    Is it affected by whether and how much he has eaten, his blood glucose level? ​Does he take any medications for any condition at all?

    • M1234
      M1234 RobertT

      Posted

      Hi Robert,

      I don't think it's PLMD as my fiancé said he is fully aware while he's sleeping that's he's having twitching and jerking movement cause he can feel it but he can't stop it. I read up on PLMD and it said for this the person isn't aware they are moving or twitching until a partner points it out. I don't know if it's hypnic jerk either as it doesn't just happen while he's drifting off to sleep but continues while he's sleeping too until he wakes up. I'm not sure if it's affected by his blood glucose levels but yes he does take medication daily, I forgot to mention that! He takes fluoxetine, but he's been taking that for almost two months now and the sleep twitching had only recently started to get worse.

    • RobertT
      RobertT M1234

      Posted

      Hi M1234

      I googled fluoxetine+night+restlessness and got a load of confirming results, I'm sorry to say.

    • lily65668
      lily65668 RobertT

      Posted

      Yup - it's the fluoxetine alright! The side effects take a few weeks to kick in so it's normal he's only been having the twitching for a month though he's been on the medication for two months.

      But best not to stop immediately. Antidepressants can have bad withdrawal effects, both physical and mental. (Which is why I always advise people to avoid going on them if they possibly can!) He should consult his doctor as to withdrawal and/or replacements.

  • lily65668
    lily65668 M1234

    Posted

    I'd advise starting with a general medical check-up if he hasn't already had one - especially a basic neuro examination and a full blood test. This should determine whether there's any treatable medical condition causing the twitching. If all this comes up negative, try pushing for him to be referred to a sleep clinic. If you're in the UK, getting a referral may depend on what part of the country you're in - the so-called "post-code lottery" - but it's worth a try.

    There are medications that will control this, but the side-effects, and especially withdrawal effects if you decide you want to stop, can be worse than the original condition. That's why it's preferable to check first whether there's an underlying medical condition that might be easily treated.

    • M1234
      M1234 lily65668

      Posted

      Hi Lilly, thanks. Yea I think he'll have to go to the doctors and get checked out cause it seems to be getting worse and really affecting both our sleeping and daily routines.
  • Mr_shapes
    Mr_shapes M1234

    Posted

    YEAH A PREVIOUS PARTNER TALKED ABOUT MY SLEEP TALKING AND MY INVOLUNTARY KICKING AND DRAGGING AND PULLING IT WAS NOTED IN MY TESTS AT THE SLEEP CLINIC. SOMETIMES I AWAKE AND I'M SURE IT'S SPRITUAL AS WELL AS MEDICAL? ANYONE FEEL THAT WAY?
    • RobertT
      RobertT Mr_shapes

      Posted

      If it's to do with dopamine, then mood, psychological state, may play a part, even if it's not the root cause, along with genetics, trauma (nerves, blood vessels), autoimmunity or physical environment including diet.
    • M1234
      M1234 Mr_shapes

      Posted

      I don't think he feels it's spiritual, it's more like his body can't relax when he's sleeping it's constantly jerking and twitching
    • Mr_shapes
      Mr_shapes RobertT

      Posted

      I changed my diet for a healthier one more iron more veg camomile tea I was wondering does anyone know any herbal medicine remedies cause the progablin chlipmophrane and modafinill rte killing me slowly (sideaffects)
    • Mr_shapes
      Mr_shapes M1234

      Posted

      That happens to me awake and when I sleep but sometimes I have weird dreams where I question did 8 actually do it. Sounds crazy how I'm. Saying but I do feel out of body sometimes
  • lisalisa67
    lisalisa67 M1234

    Posted

    Have his magnesium levels checked. Its a quick bloodtest and ask if its related to medications in any way.
    • M1234
      M1234 lisalisa67

      Posted

      Thanks Lisa, he's been taking magnesium and zinc vitamin supplements. But yea maybe it's worth it to get his magnesium levels checked.
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.