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Restless Leg Syndrome Question--way off topic

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Posted 9/3/2008 1:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone.

I just have a quick (hopefully) question for some of you.  We believe my husband has restless leg syndrome/periodic limb movement disorder (yes, it really is a disorder :O).  We share a queen size bed.  My husband jerks, kicks, and thrashes every 20-30 seconds for most of the night, especially in the earlier stages of sleep.  It drives me crazy.  Just when I initially fall asleep, one of this spasms will wake me up and cause my heart to race like crazy.  This goes on for hours.  Then I feel guilty because I know he can't help it.  We are exploring alternative sleeping arrangements--like two separate beds.  I'm not liking this idea too much--seems like only old couples sleep in separate beds--but then it would be nice to get some sleep once in while.  Have any of you ever dealt with this?  Do you have RLS/PLMD?  Or does your partner?

I'm very tired these days, and of course, that has a negative impact on my AI issues.

Thanks for any information at all.

Elcamino

Posted 9/3/2008 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
I believe there are easy remedies for your husbands condition. I would start by having him see his doctor and find out what options there are. It's probably disturbing his deep sleep as well as yours...nice if you could save two peoples sleep rather than just yours and save the price of a bed besides! Cheers,
Posted 9/3/2008 4:12 PM (GMT 0)
Elcamino,

I have RLS and my DH and my previous H both suffered from lack of sleep because of it. I went through a sleep study that told us how many times an hour I kicked, (jerked, thrashed) and as a result I was prescribed Neurontin (1200 mg at bedtime). I was finally able to reach restful REM sleep and my sweet DH was finally able to enjoy sleeping in the same bed with me. I highly recommend that your DH see a specialist about his RLS. There's no reason for both of you to suffer when there is a solution to this problem.

Good luck!

Pat

P.S. I cannot tell you how much better I felt after I started sleeping better. Without REM sleep, I was exhausted all the time. That should motivate your DH to get something done.
Posted 9/3/2008 4:56 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks for the replies.  My dh has an appointment set up with a new primary in November.  He'll ask the new doctor about that.  I guess he would have to submit to a sleep study, though.  He swears that it does not disturb his sleep, but I can't help but think that it does.  He's not aware that he's doing it.  Interestingly enough, discussions with his siblings reveals similar issues with his entire family.  They are also raging ADHDers (husband is the only one medicated for it), and have been since children.  Wonder if there's any connection?  I would hate for dh to go on medication for this, but if it helps him with better quality sleep it's probably worth it.  As it stands, he usually ends up on the couch (his choice, not mine), which is not the most comfortable place to sleep.

El

Posted 9/3/2008 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
oh, i sympathize with all the adhd in the family. My oldest son is now 20 but when he was little we had to wrap a sheet around him and the chair so he would sit through dinner. (not tight, just a reminder to stay) we also had to set an alarm clock for him from the time he was 4. we would set it for 5 am and other than going to the bathroom, he was not aloud out of bed until the alarm clock went off. I think 'i slept with one eye open for 15 years! he would not be "bad" just into everything with no "what bad can happen in this situation" filter in his brain!
Posted 9/4/2008 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
El,

I didn't think I had a problem sleeping either. What I didn't know was that I wasn't getting good REM sleep. Your hubby may not be getting his either but he may not realize it. It's worth finding out.
Posted 9/4/2008 2:27 PM (GMT 0)

thanks for the ideas everyone.  I talked to dh last night, and he does NOT want to go to the doctor for it.  He already takes medication for his ADHD, so he doesn't want anymore meds (Can't blame him there).  He has agreed to get separate beds.  I guess if he starts feeling the effects of the fatigue more significantly, he may reconsider going to doctor about it.  I did manage to get him to take some tylenol pm.  thought it might at least relax him so he can go to sleep.  It worked--but he woke me up around 4 am with his thrashing.  I suspect that the tylenol pm simply postponed the thrashing?

Elcamino

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