Insomnia & restless leg & hypnic jerks

[lillygxx]

I need help PLEASE 😭

since 27 weeks pregnant, I have been suffering with these jerks every single time I try to fall asleep. I am BEYOND exhausted. I’m now 32 weeks, so it’s been 5 weeks of literal torture. I don’t get a break, it’s every single night without fail. I’m exhausted and yawning by 8pm, I’ve tried going to bed then, I’ve tried going at 10 instead, no matter what time I go, I DO NOT sleep before 3am, when my body finally gives in and I drift off, where I get 2-3 hours depending on when my 2 year old wakes 😭 and then it’s up for the day parenting & working. I had this in my last pregnancy too from a similar time and it lasted until I gave birth, and as hellish as it was then, I could work from home and had nobody else to get up/look after. It’s totally different now 😭 when I say I have tried everything, I mean EVERYTHING, I see a psychiatrist who has looked into what more can be done, she’s given me sleeping pills that only make it 10 times because they make me even more drowsy and exhausted but my body fights it with jerks still it’s unbearable. I’ve bought expensive creams and lotions that are supposed to help, no effect. I take magnesium glyclate before bed, doesn’t help. I don’t go on my phone in the evenings so limit blue light, caffeine etc - no effect. I’ve tried napping in the day when my daughter sleeps to avoid over exhaustion as I heard that makes it worse, still not helping. Ive tried sleep meditation yogas & sleep hypnosis videos etc. I’ve even started basing every meal around what’s recommended aka oats with dark chocolate, avocado, banana, etc etc all into my diet to see if anything makes a difference, and also iron tablets even though my iron isn’t that low. It’s been 5 weeks now of 2-3 hours, NOBODY understands that this feels like pure torture and I genuinely am not understanding how I’m supposed to do another 8 weeks of this. I just want to cry every day (already on anxiety meds etc) is there ANYTHING that anybody can suggest 😭😭😭hot baths etc all of it i just don’t know what to do. Please pleeeeeeeeeease help. I’m likely having an elective c section and I feel like begging my consultant to take her out at 37 weeks if she can even though she’ll probably say no but I can’t bare this at all

Sorry to hear you are struggling with this, it is really tough. I never had it this bad but I tried coconut water / electrolytes as it is also meant to help. I would take a warm bath as close to bedtime as possible and then put a hot water bottle between my legs to get to sleep as I found the heat helped.

Hope you get some relief soon.

Oh that sounds miserable, OP. Poor you: Electrolytes will help. I like the sugar-free Liquid IV ones but they’re all pretty much the same. Do you have a heated mattress cover? If not, order one ASAP.

Magnesium can help. Try the spray and give your legs a gentle rub. Check whether you can take magnesium tablets.

Epsom Salts baths & a good magnesium supplement help. You have my sympathy, my restless legs were terrible when I was pregnant, luckily I got referred to a specialist pregnancy physio who did acupuncture which helped, my legs were even kicking during labour even though I had an epidural in place.

Take a multivitamin, you are short something.