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Can't sleep well - muscle twitches

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Bob

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I have a record of HA by the way, including being on medication for General Anxiety a few years ago which I weened myself out of. I'm a 40 year old guy.

But in the last few days I have noticed random muscle twitches. None of them are severe, just little movements, usually in my arms but sometimes legs or neck. I don't notice them during the day but at night this is a problem because when I'm drifting off to sleep even the slightest twitch brings me back awake and upsets me. So now I've worked myself up so much I'm literally afraid to try to sleep :(

I really don't know what to do. I know if I go to a GP about this they will look at me weird and tell me to cut back on the caffeine (which I have). But I'm really worried I have MS or something.
 
matisworried

matisworried

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this is not MS-related.

i get muscle twitches as well. mine are mostly triggered by my anxiety (though caffeine can definitely be a culprit, too.)

also, try to remember that even completely normal, healthy adults experience this from time to time. during my MS/ALS fears, i mentioned muscle twitches to my sister-in-law, who's an RN and her response was "well, if muscle twitching means you have MS, i guess i have it too."
 
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Bob

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Thanks, I should clarify though...I'm not sure if "twitch" is the right word. Maybe muscle jerks. Like I'll be lying in bed and my arm will move a small amount by itself. I dunno maybe I'm just tensing up.
 
bin_tenn

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Bob said:
Thanks, I should clarify though...I'm not sure if "twitch" is the right word. Maybe muscle jerks. Like I'll be lying in bed and my arm will move a small amount by itself. I dunno maybe I'm just tensing up.
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Sounds like the typical involuntary movements / jolts that happen to everyone. I get these from time to time. I'm not sure if they're exacerbated by anxiety, but they happen to everyone with or without anxiety.
 
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Bob

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Yeah you may be right. In fact this all started a few nights ago when I got one of those horrible sleep start things. You know when you are drifting off to sleep and your entire body jerks. Ever since then I've been worrying about this but until that moment I hadn't noticed anything.
 
matisworried

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is it possible you've always experienced this but for one reason or another your brain's only paying attention to it now? i ask because after your clarification, i think what you're describing in completely normal and something everyone experiences. if it's happening while you're falling asleep, it's due to your body transitioning from "awake" to "asleep."
 
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Hurt&Hopeful

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Have you ever done a sleep study to see if maybe you have sleep apnea? But I agree with others - we all get the weird night jerks and twitches. It's muscle tension, nervous system acting out, and can definitely be triggered by anxiety.
 
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Bob

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THis is not getting better - in fact it is getting worse. I didn't get to sleep until around 5am last night and had to get up for work 6:20am. I am a zombie. I must have had 100 of these things, every single time i starting falling asleep. What kind of sick mind forces you awake when you are exhausted.

I have an appointment at a sleep clinic tomorrow - although just with the nurse this time around. I hope they can help me because this will be the end of me if it keeps happening. No way I can work long term like this.
 
Jgriffin

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Bob said:
I have a record of HA by the way, including being on medication for General Anxiety a few years ago which I weened myself out of. I'm a 40 year old guy.

But in the last few days I have noticed random muscle twitches. None of them are severe, just little movements, usually in my arms but sometimes legs or neck. I don't notice them during the day but at night this is a problem because when I'm drifting off to sleep even the slightest twitch brings me back awake and upsets me. So now I've worked myself up so much I'm literally afraid to try to sleep :(

I really don't know what to do. I know if I go to a GP about this they will look at me weird and tell me to cut back on the caffeine (which I have). But I'm really worried I have MS or something.
Click to expand...
When they started did you happen to have alot of things on your mind. At the height of my anxiety I got those constantly. My arm would twitch for a few second, then my leg, etc...little muscle twitches..went on for about 2 months. Anytime I'd relax I'd get em constantly.
 
JustMe

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I had this happen about a month or 2 ago. After my anxiety got really bad. I was twitching all over i mean every second even my toungue was twitching. Sometimes I also felt idk maybe like nerve pain in a spot in a muscle like my calves or feet, hand, neck everywhere that would last a few seconds. I was for sure I had ms or something worse but they did a cat scan and everything is fine. I'm still feeling slight twitches here and there but NOTHING like before and no more random zapping pains.
 
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