Posted by Nickengland on September 4, 2005, at 15:33:34
In reply to Muscle twitches, why? Also Coffee and Insomnia, posted by Tom Twilight on September 4, 2005, at 11:26:32
Hi Tom
I've had the muscle twitches at night before going to sleep aswell, basically when i'm just about to drop off to sleep and suddenly `jolt" or I jerk ~ Myoclonic Jerks is the correct medical term I think, and i've read that its common with people in epilepsy to have these and in those cases they often have them upon waking. It happens to normal healthy people though without epilepsy or mental illness so in some respects..it is normal.
That said i've had them more often when I changed to the medication i'm taking now and the jerks have been very severe to say the least! like i'm being hit with a huge electrical stun gun or something lol I couldn't understand it as i'm taking 2 anticonvulsants, until I read that Gabapentin can actually make Myoclonic seizures worse with people with eplilepsy. I never had the jerks when I took the drug by itself, but since I now take it with Topiramate, I've had them. (didnt have them with topiramate when I took that by its self either) The best i've found to reduce them and actually stop them is the timing of when I take the gabapentin ~ I now take it at least 5-6 hours before I go to sleep and usually theres no problem.
I can only suggest that its the medication your taking, based on my experience ~ and from what I know alot of antidepressants lower the seizure threshold.... You could try changing the timing of when you take your medication ~ as in don't take just before you go bed?...what time do you take your medication?
I think clonazepam and sodium valproate are 2 drugs that are pretty good for treating Myoclonic Jerks..
With the coffee, I used to love that myself and used to have quite alot of sugar in my diet, but i've cut it out now, for the past 3 or 4 months and feel better for it. Not to scare you off coffee as I know people love it their coffee! lol... according to a book I have caffeine is a powerful drug, it acts directly upon the centeral nervous system. It gives you the boost and clearer thoughts and lessons fatigue...it also stimulates the release of stored sugar from the liver, which accounts for the "lift" coffee, cola and chocolate give. The benefits may be far outweighed by the side effects though..
The release of stored sugar places heavey stress on the endocrine system. Heavy coffee drinkers often develop nervousness or become jittery.
Theres lots of other information (I have the book in front of me) it says excessive intake of methylzanthines (active chemicals in caffeine) can cause benign breast disease and prostate problems.
It goes on to says more information and also says people who drink five cups of coffee daily have a 50 percent greater chance of having heart-attacks than non coffee drinkers!...according to a British Medical Journal.
I guess one daily cup of coffee in the morning isn't so bad though! Quiting coffee can be like, well it is withdrawing from a drug, in my case I loved fresh coffee, but now I've been free from it I do feel better for it..
Hope that helps
Kind regards
Nick
poster:Nickengland
thread:550578
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050901/msgs/550629.html