Periodic Limb Movement Disorder

Hi aureliorod,
Thanks for sharing your pain with me.
And 17 medications, wow that’s scary in itself. Was that through a number of different doctors? It’s great that Clonazepam works for you though and yeah I agree that’s a good addiction to have to have. How much better did your sleep feel and how long did it take to start working?
My younger sister started taking it last year for anxiety and it’s improved her sleep ( she just had trouble falling asleep). The interesting extra was that it cured her Raynauds syndrome also. I have it also so maybe I’ll get the double benefit also.
Sweet dreams

With Clonazepam, I just notice that when I decrease , or stop taking it, I get NO sleep, then end up dozing, all day, while I watch TV or read. I don't remember how many docs were involved, but they were good & I respected them.
Clonazepam started working as soon as I started taking it. I take it as I'm going to bed. Sometimes 20 minutes before, if I'm not really tired, but don't want to stay up late.

I wish you the best to find this journey and find relief.
The tablet buprenorphine has been the best prescribed to me, yet the dry mouth during the night is a problem. I use a dry mouth solution, and rinse during the night.
I continue to wake during the night, but always return to sleep within minutes.

During a recent sleep study, I was diagnosed with Periodic Leg Movement Disorder (PLMD). This disorder has been very detrimental to my sleep.

I have been dealing with this by reducing my daily dose of Lexapro from 20mg to 10mg and taking 600mg of Gabapentin.

Does anyone know if there is a home device to measure my leg movements during the night? It would be helpful if I had some measure of the impact of my Sleep Apnea, Lexapro and Gabapentin.

Thank you very much.

@johnbishop My test showed twitching once every MINUTE! I have intractable insomnia. Help!

@beejenigma Did your doctor suggest any treatments to help with the PLMD and insomnia?

@johnbishop Not the sleep study person but my old country doctor tried me on high doses of gaba. I backed off after not feeling any difference. Now I am using a cocktail of 300 gabapentin, 8 mg LDN, 10 mg indica THC and then if I wake up in the middle of the night, .25 of alpraz, Not that I like the chemicals. Any suggestions?

@beejenigma - Not sure if you saw this earlier in this discussion but it does mention suggestions for managing PLMD symptoms - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317911.

Not sure if you have done any research but I did see this Dec 2024 article on RLS that might be helpful - https://mghpsychnews.org/updated-guidelines-for-the-treatment-of-rls/.

@johnbishop Thank you. BTW, my sleep doctor told me that RLS is completely different than PLMD.

Hello! I have PLMD during wakefulness (PLMA). It's wreaking havoc on my legs. I already have a severe case of RLS. In an effort to stop this PLMA I've had an iron infusion. It helped with the RLS but not the PLMA. I had an MRI of my lumbar region to see if anything there is causing the PLMA - nope. It really hurts after a day of these movements, they feel like electric shocks running thru my legs. My neurologist just prescribed tizanidine, a muscle relaxant. Afraid it might trigger the RLS, but tonight if I'm in pain I'm going to take a pill. I'm 72, have had RLS all my life. I'm on a low dose opioid to treat the RLS and it does a decent job of it. My daughter found an article saying that opioids can cause myoclonus (jerking muscles basically) so I'm weaning myself off of the opioid as an experiment. But the PLMA started wayyyy before I began weaning off. I often sit on a seat in the bathtub and run hot water over my legs, then massage in a magnesium-rich shower soap, let it soak. Seems to help. I'm going to read thru these posts, I hope to find Hope.