Hi! My son is 5 1/2. Every few months he has this weird twitching in his sleep. It happens all night long and usually stops in the early morning. About every 30 seconds it will happen. His knees would raise up to his chest and his arms would splay out and then he would relax again. He's sleeping the whole time but he does wake up 3 or 4 times whining because it's not a real restful sleep. I have talked to his pediatrician about this and she has ordered a sleep study on him. My concern is if we do the sleep study then it won't happen. That's how sporadic it is. My theory is he has"Periodic Limb Movement Disorder". The symptoms seem to fit the diagnosis. It seems to happen after a particularly busy day. This past Saturday we spent 5 hours at the pumpkin patch and Sunday we spent about 4 hours outside at a park. Anyone else experience this crazy night twitching? Thanks!
If you recognize that his twitching coincides with an active day, keep him very active the day of the sleep study. That way they will see what it is you are talking about. You may want to also mention the activity level to your doctor as the sleep study begins so they have the whole picture.
My dad, myself and my son all twitch in our sleep. I don't know why but sometimes it gets so bad we will actually like jump while still laying down. I have never talked to a doctor about it -- it just is.
use your cell phone and record him doing this. I think that the sleep study is a great idea. He may be having small seizures while he is sleeping and only some of them reach his body. I had a young man who had this type of seizure, they were in the brain stem and not in the actual brain. He would have a blow up temper for a few minutes then be totally a normal kid.
There are a lot of reasons this is happening and find the the ONE is going to be the challenge. I think that making an appointment with a pediatric neurologist might be in order too.
Yes, I've twitched at night and seen children do the same. The way it was explained to me is that it's caused by having tense muscles and it's the body's way of relaxing them. It's nothing to be concerned about.
I've never heard of periodic limb movement disorder. I looked it up on the Internet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_limb_movement_disorder
It does not sound like your son would have it. It cites that 4% of the population age 15 and above have it. It also goes on to say it's more common amongst the elderly. And it's common to have other disease processes along with it. It just does not sound like something that a 5 yo would have. I would not assume that he has this.
I also suggest that if this is only happening once in awhile it's not "plmd." If it doesn't happen during the study, I suggest that they will tell you that.
His twitching sounds normal to me based on my observations of many children and people. It's good to consult with his pediatrician since you are worried.
A friend's daughter had restless leg syndrome, which this sounds like except that his arms are also involved. Which is probably why the term periodic limb movement came about. There's a children's nutritional product which helps restore balance to the body - couldn't hurt, might help this, will certainly help overall wellbeing. If you want to talk to her, I can connect you.
You'd be surprised what can turn up in a sleep study. There can be small movements, slight breathing interruptions, and/or brain activity that can be recorded whether or not there's visible movement. It also can determine when in the sleep pattern this is occurring, which is actually useful information. I had 2 studies and was astounded at what they came up with.
Depends on whether you think this is urgent or not. No harm in getting the sleep study done if your insurance covers it.
But I don't think you should panic over possible seizures - it's really impossible for us to diagnose it from our vantage point. A cell phone video might be okay - it will record the movements although not necessarily give definitive clues about the cause.
definatley make sure he has an active day before the sleep study so hopefully they wil be able to see what youre seeing. My fiance totally spazes out in his sleep. ive noticed that it happens alot more when hes under a ton of stress. one day last week he had a job meeting the next day with his boss and the architect so he had a totally stressful day that day making sure that everything was going accordingly. all night he was kicking, arms were twitching, he was mumbling in his sleep, tossing and turning. At one point he kicked the windowsil next to our bed so hard with his big toe i honestly thought he broke it.. he mumbled ow! in his sleep but never actually woke up. On days when everything goes perfectly at work, he has a slow day, comes home drink a beer or two (you know when hes really relaxed) he doesnt move at all in his sleep.. he doesnt even do his usual "wake up in the middle of the night to smoke a cigarette, pee, and get a glass of milk" routine, he sleepr right through til the alarm goes off
It sounds like your son is having seizures. Just a possibility. I mean, extreme exertion during the day can cause sleep disturbance at night. You should video tape these episodes and see a Pediatric Neurologist. Then you'll know for sure.
Rather than a sleep study, it sounds like he needs an sleep deprived EEG, where you as a family have to keep him up ALL night long, then he can sleep during the EEG.
GL!
