Falling asleep issues

Symptoms Physical
#1

So if i don’t take a sleep aid and try to fall asleep naturally, what happens is i start having twitches, some in my leg, some in arm then when I’m half way asleep my body jerks up in a crazy fashion and wakes me up and i will be having heart palpitations. Sometimes i will also be gasping for air when this happens, but this hasn’t happened recently. Then i will try to go back to bed and the same thing will happen again. I used to be able to sleep on Zquil, now thats not strong enough, now i need a benzo but I’m trying not to do that since they can be addictive.

Anyone else have this problem with their body when they try to fall asleep?

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#2

I’ve tried natural supplements i haven’t had much success with them.

#3

Yes, I have this issue. Be carefull with Benzo. They worked well for sleep initially but increased my anxity in the long run and stopped working for sleep. I have been using ambian cr. I have managed to get 2 nights of sleep in the last 5 months without anything. Others have been useing remeron.

http://www.propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9424&p=85701&hilit=Lunesta#p85701

#4

i have this issue too but this particular issue started after mirtazapine and amytriptyline. im not sure which triggered it but i think it was amytriptyline.

be careful with mirtazapine, it will exacerbate this.

i am still trying to figure out WHY this happens.

im not sure what is going on…after more than one year of reading, researching and trial and error, i’m left with these:

  • high norepinephrine or adrenaline…increased to counter histamine released by mast cells either due to excess estrogen or some allergy to food or to some excipient of medication…
  • low dopamine caused by increased serotonin either from meds or something else, leading to Periodic Limb Movement Disorder or some form of it
  • low dopamine caused by acetylcholine imbalance
  • low GABA
  • Inflammation on nerves
  • some problem at androgen level

I think the problems lies most probably at the dopamine level because when I was a kid I took Metoclopramide (an antidopaminergic) for a stomach ache, only once, and it triggered epilepsy the very same night. I’m sure they were epileptic fits as I have the wave pattern EEG on paper indicating epilepsy. I have since 14 been med free,asymptomatic, and EEG has been fine (repeated 2 years ago) , but now I have insomnia and these very same reactions you post: brain zaps, waking up with rapid heart beat and a jolt as i drift of to sleep, finger moving, finger twitching, as i drift off to sleep.

Do you have the results of any exams you did??

If you find a solution for this, or a reason, please come back and post it!! this is killing me.

#5

I got these twitches about a year post-crash. They occurred when I was in that drift off, 1/2 in and 1/2 out of sleep phase. At first they were bad, like in my neck where my whole head would jerk forward or my ankles would twitch my feet all of a sudden. Now, I get them, but less frequently and less severely … mainly in my wrists or fingers. My POS sleep specialist said its nothing to be concerned about.

I still get a rapid heart beat when I have my middle of the night awakenings (every night). But like the twitches, it’s usually not too severe, and I can often fall back asleep.

I don’t take anything for sleep, so I don’t know, if that would help or not.

#6

i think its a GABA problem. Im sure other things too, but GABA plays a role, in my opinion. I haven’t had any tests done besides bloodwork for hormones and everything was normal in in range.

#7

yep, i get the middle of the night wake up with heart palpitations and sometimes with gasping for air. The twitches just like you happen when I’m 1/2 in and 1/2 out of sleep mode when I’m close to falling asleep. Its really ridiculous. I really wonder what is going on with this and why this happens. I wonder if there is a way to figure out what could possibly cause this, not the whole PFS but just the sleeping part.

I wonder how you can get a good night rest if you don’t take any sleeping meds? For me if i don’t take anything i feel awful the next day.

#8

I have also recorded with sleep as android, a few sleep nights, with the mobile next to me.
Every few minutes it would record me moving!
Im not sure this is gaba related but being muscle relaxer, clonazepam has helped me. Other benzos sometimes triggee paradoxical reactions and exarcebate thebproblemm…
I think this is plmd, has any of you tried pramipexole?

#9

Sleep was one of my first and worst noticeable sides, going back 2 years ago, right before my crash. At its worst, I got a max 2 hrs of sleep, then had to work an 8 hr. Day, managing 5-6 people all day.

Today, it still pisses me off to wake up 2-3 times a night, but usually I can fall back asleep. The good news is, I can usually piece together 6-7.5 hours of sleep, albeit broken, but with no meds. The strongest thing I ever tried was Trazedone. But that didn’t seem to do much good. I think I’ve baselined with my sleep … Not getting any better, but not getting much worse. And most days, I feel fine, mentally and physically.

Hope your sleep gets better with time, because I don’t think benzos and other common sleep meds are what we need.

#10

Anyone else waking up with an arm moving up?!
Just happened last night!
Whatever i have seems to have triggered plmd

#11

I currently have this

As I’m just about to fall asleep I get this quick panicking gasp for air and it feels like my heart stopped
No idea what this is however extremely troubling

#12

@sg8627 Hi, im experiencing this since i crashed from taking avodart 3 weeks ago. I wake Up gaspering for Air when im about to fall asleep. Do u still have this trouble? Thanks so much and sry for my english.

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#13

Im sorry to hear of this
With time it should ease hopefully
Explain to me in your own words what your experiencing is exactly

I do not have this problem anymore
UNLESS I eat something that aggravates my symptoms

If I eat clean or cleanish I’m fine
If I have certain foods that affect me personally it will happen and I’ll have to knock myself out with Benadryl and a bit of Ativan

But like I said for the most part it’s fine