Restless legs, hypnic jerks and health anxiety

[ACCx]

Hi, I have recently been getting restless legs every single night along with having hypnic jerks every night as I’m falling asleep. The kind of twitching/jumping feeling that wakes you back up. It’s concerning to me as they have started out of the blue and it is every night without fail. Does anyone know why this would just start up on its own? I suffer from health anxiety and have been stressed with it but I’m always stressed I’m just worried as to why it’s started now. Any one experience this?

When I had really restless legs I took iron tablets and vitamin C, and this cured it after a few weeks. I also get those hypnotic jerks sometimes, I think it could relate to a mineral imbalance.

Bar of soap in the foot of your bed. Psychologically and physiologically rocks. You just need to relax.

I get restless legs if I drink a lot of caffeine or consume a lot of sugar. The jerks thing happens to me when I'm overtired.

For me, this was always related to my menstrual cycle, and got worse in peri menopause.

I'm anaemic and restless legs is a sign that my iron levels have dipped.

Get your blood tested to check for the most obvious, easily treatable causes.

Hello,
Ive had this. The more you worry the worse it gets. I have no idea what caused it but I suspect it was a nutrient or vitamin deficiency of some sort.
I had heaps of mris and scans but did not stop worrying until i got the all clear from the neurologist. She diagnosed me with Benign
Fasciculation Syndrome. Google it and see if that fits what your symptoms. There are heaps of groups on facebook. Pm me if you want more info.
As i said, the more you worry, the worse it seems to get

@user1471499545 what were your symptoms if you don’t mind me asking? The thought of having scans and mri’s is very scary! Xx

It was between Christmas and New year a few years ago. I had been on a keto diet for the months prior and
I started to eat a lot of sugar and wheat during the previous weeks. I think my body went into shock.
So basically it started with the hypnic jerks, then i felt them during the day while awake.......weird. Then my hands started to tingle, my tongue and eyes twitched. I googled. Big mistake. I was convinced that i had MS or some other neurological disease. Then things got worse everytime i tried to sleep I would wake because of the jerking. Some nights i might have had an hour or less sleep. It was awful. The more tired I was the worse it became. I remember sitting in the drs office sobbing because i was sure i was going to die. I felt i was going crazy. I could feel water drips on my arms and legs and a buzzing in my knees.
I got a neuro appointment and had to get an MRI to take along. From the get go she knew what it was. I went home that night and slept like a baby. Yep i had the myclonus, but i did not care. Basically I was so stressed i made my symptoms worse. I occasionally get twitches or restless legs but they don't worry me any more.
Get some bloods done to check iron, b12 as deficiencies in these can cause issues.
Hope this helps 😊

Ahhh okay do you think the dr referred you just for your own peace of mind rather than the gp having serious concerns? I’m convinced my anxiety is making it worse. Last night I didn’t have the restless legs but I did have the jerks. No symptoms during the day so far other than I’m so scared to go sleep and anxious constantly. I always think there is something wrong with me. If it isn’t one thing it’s another it’s so draining.

Absolutely the doctor thought there were no concerns. I live in Australia and i begged to get a referral. I payed for a private neurologist so that made a difference.
The referral suggested that the GP had no other concerns apart from my mental health.

@user1471499545 ah thank you, that is reassuring to know that the dr didn’t have any concerns. To be honest I know deep down I’m being silly but when something happens that’s unexplained it’s like I need to get to the bottom of it. Although I’m one of those people with health anxiety that don’t like going for tests ect so I only usually feel better when the symptoms go away

How are you doing OP?

Just to say- jerks when you fall asleep is normal. But, I did get bad ones that got worse which was actually due to an antidepressant I had started taking. Mine started to get worse though and started to happen in the day. It can be a rare side effect . Just saying in case you notice them getting worse

@ACCx I get this but it is due to an underlying medical condition which comes with a lot of very obvious symptoms, it is always, always, always a million times worse when I am anxious.

I've found that no screens before bed, and doing something calming in those couple of hours plus yoga/stretching and a podcast or meditation really helps.

Magnesium supplements are also wickedly awesome fore stopping restless legs. I tend to use the spray, then jump in the shower thirty minutes after it's been on - it can get itchy otherwise if you leave it on.

Thank you! @user1471499545 I started taking magnesium vitamins about a week ago. The restless legs have improved I just feel like they ache a little when I’m in bed. The jerks are still there but don’t seem to be as much of a jerk now if that makes sense.
Thank you @Fishocado for your tips. I tried yoga to help with my anxiety and ended up pulling a chest muscle that caused a lot of pain. It put me off a bit but maybe I should try again. How long did it take for the magnesium supplements to kick in? I started about 6 days ago and so far it seems a little better, not 100%.
@Bumblesbumbles thank you for your reassurance . My doctor actually gave me some anti depressants but I haven’t tried them yet as I’m so worried about the side effects due to my health anxiety.