Friday, January 07, 2005
Surprise diagnosis....
The sleep study did show a problem, but it wasn't anything the doc or I were expecting. I have no signs of sleep apnea and none of narcolepsy.
Instead, they found I have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. Not only that, but it's quite severe. They counted up to 98 twitches in a single hour, and my sleep was disrupted up to 44 times in an hour!
The doc said they measured almost no Stage 4 sleep at all. So even when I'm in bed for 10 or 12 hours, very little of that is restorative sleep. That is why I doze off all day long.
The reason they wanted a look at my latest blood tests was to make sure my iron levels and some other things were correct. I'm going to have ferritin levels checked and do a 2-hour glucose tolerance test next week.
We talked about my supplements to make sure I don't have a deficiency somewhere. I take magnesium glycinate, calcium citrate, and a B-complex multi-vitamin with iron on a daily basis, so I'm ok there.
I've known for quite some time that I twitch at night....these muscle spasms started eight years ago as a bad reaction to an anti-depressant, and have never stopped. But a sleep study in 1999 and an EEG in 2002 didn't pick up the twitches. My opinion is that they have grown worse over time.
Since my initial reaction to Paxil, I've had increased spasms from Prozac, Trazodone, Zanaflex, Reglan and Domperidone. Each time, I would initially jump around like a marionette both night and day, and it would slow down over the course of two weeks or so. But each incident would eventually leave me a little worse off than the time before.
Because of the severity of the problem, we're going to try Parkinson's meds. I tried Sinemet in 1998 with no luck, so we're going to start with a different med. Can't recall the name of it right now.
We're hoping to cut down on the twitches so I can get some stage 4 sleep. That in turn should make me more alert during the day and should allow me to think more clearly. Maybe I could even experience a decrease in my pain level.....who knows?
I'm hoping I can tolerate this new medication. I'm starting at a small dose because I'm so sensitive to meds. If I do ok on it, I can raise the dose per the doc's instructions.
It's about time I got a break.
Oh, and the weather is warming up, so I'll be a little more mobile by the weekend. Yay!
Pain level: 7
Fatigue level: 7
Instead, they found I have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. Not only that, but it's quite severe. They counted up to 98 twitches in a single hour, and my sleep was disrupted up to 44 times in an hour!
The doc said they measured almost no Stage 4 sleep at all. So even when I'm in bed for 10 or 12 hours, very little of that is restorative sleep. That is why I doze off all day long.
The reason they wanted a look at my latest blood tests was to make sure my iron levels and some other things were correct. I'm going to have ferritin levels checked and do a 2-hour glucose tolerance test next week.
We talked about my supplements to make sure I don't have a deficiency somewhere. I take magnesium glycinate, calcium citrate, and a B-complex multi-vitamin with iron on a daily basis, so I'm ok there.
I've known for quite some time that I twitch at night....these muscle spasms started eight years ago as a bad reaction to an anti-depressant, and have never stopped. But a sleep study in 1999 and an EEG in 2002 didn't pick up the twitches. My opinion is that they have grown worse over time.
Since my initial reaction to Paxil, I've had increased spasms from Prozac, Trazodone, Zanaflex, Reglan and Domperidone. Each time, I would initially jump around like a marionette both night and day, and it would slow down over the course of two weeks or so. But each incident would eventually leave me a little worse off than the time before.
Because of the severity of the problem, we're going to try Parkinson's meds. I tried Sinemet in 1998 with no luck, so we're going to start with a different med. Can't recall the name of it right now.
We're hoping to cut down on the twitches so I can get some stage 4 sleep. That in turn should make me more alert during the day and should allow me to think more clearly. Maybe I could even experience a decrease in my pain level.....who knows?
I'm hoping I can tolerate this new medication. I'm starting at a small dose because I'm so sensitive to meds. If I do ok on it, I can raise the dose per the doc's instructions.
It's about time I got a break.
Oh, and the weather is warming up, so I'll be a little more mobile by the weekend. Yay!
Pain level: 7
Fatigue level: 7
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