Me Sleeping - For your viewing... er, pleasure

I've been waiting until I had access to high speed, so I could view this. Like others here, I have never seen anything like this. Thank you for your trust, in sharing this with us.

I was struck with the strength and power of the movements, and how exhausting it must be. I'm glad you've had some relief with treatment.

Katie, the odd thing about it is if you told me to lay down and and do leg lifts, I couldn't do it if my life depended on it. Sure wish I could understand the mechanics of how it can even happen. I am working on editing a video of what my movements look like now. It isn't nearly so entertaining, but is more representative of what is expected to be seen with PLMD.

jnk wrote:

kteague wrote: Am I out of line to find humor in this, or is everyone too polite to say it out loud if they found the video (not the disorder) funny?

I don't think it is at all out of line for you to find humor in it. I admire that about you. And I would not be offended for someone else to find humor in it, too, since you say it isn't that bad anymore.

But I would describe my reactions as I watched as follows, and in this order: Shocked, incredulous, amazed, fascinated, frightened, saddened, worried, admiring, respectful, touched.

Nothing approaching humor in my reaction. But hey, that's just me.

Couldn't express it better, Jeff.

I remember when Kathy let me see this some time ago. I had similar feelings, watching it. Absolutely could not imagine going through that, night after night after night.

Following my profound sorrow that anyone would have to endure such extreme sleep disturbances, and being aware of Kathy's amazingly intact sense of humor, I told her it was like watching a gymnast doing a pommel horse routine.

brazospearl wrote:
Kathy, thanks for posting this video. I am in awe of your good spirits and helpful insights for the rest of us here, given how exhausted you must be dealing with this disorder. You are a treasure!

Couldn't express that better, either!

Just want to thank you all for being so incredibly supportive about something that, in spite of my finding humor in it, is not something easily shared. I am very self conscious about it, for obvious reasons, and I have to remind myself daily that I am the same woman I have always been. I guess that's something anyone who faces health changes has to deal with within. It has certainly helped me have more compassion for those who have no choice but allow the public to witness their various conditions. In past situations transparency seemed to take away the power of those things that might secretly torment. I think in some way me sharing this is my attempt to force me to deal with some feelings. And maybe a bit because for so many years I've smiled and accepted being misunderstood when I wanted to scream, "But you don't understand!" Maybe this is my therapy. With me it can be hard to know when humor is an evasive measure or a valid coping mechanism. By the way, since so many have expressed the hope that things are better now, and to clarify what my PLMD looks like usually, I'm going to post a recent clip soon. No music or fanfare, just informative. Will let you know when that happens. Thank you all once again.

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward." - Kurt Vonnegut.

NotMuffy wrote:Given the frequency, I believe it would more appropriately be termed "Hypnagogic Foot Tremor" rather than Periodic Limb Movements:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2556903/

Whoops!

It looks like there's a movement (so to speak) underfoot (so to speak) to change nomenclature:

High Frequency Leg Movements

NotMuffy wrote:It looks like there's a movement (so to speak) underfoot (so to speak) to change nomenclature:

High Frequency Leg Movements

Good because "tremor" seemed to be the understatement of the year to describe Kathy's video.

Thanks for sharing that, NotMuffy. What I'm curious about is how many of those with HFLM were already on a dopamine agonist, and did not show the same frequency when not on the med. I doubt THAT study would be funded unless someone was trying to come up with a better med.

Yeah, SU, that's like calling a 6.0 earthquake a tremor.

P.S. No TENS Unit for a couple nights as I'm sleeping in the chair anyhow - rip roaring first-of-the-season cold. I rarely get them so I hope I'll have it out of the way.

All i can say is wow it is a wonder you could function at all after a night of sleep like that. I definitely did not find any humor in watching someone suffer. I can relate to your positive attitude on dealing with your ailements. I find that inspiring. I struggle with psoriatic arhtritis and apnea , allergies god knows what else. lol. I focus on what is good in my life and not on the negatives. I think you do to and I admire you for it and your courage in posting the video. I hope you are feeling much more rested these days and doing much better.