Foot jerks when falling asleep--what is this?

I too experience the hypnic jerks now and then, and they feel very different from when I wake during a PLM. They are an abrupt brief jerk. One of my older sleep studies reported something like over 300 PLM's during a 45 minute period of wakefulness. Something similar was on another one. However, these were both during the time I was adversely affected by the medication that was supposed to help them. One sleep doctor explained to me that they don't usually report these as they are only reporting on what happened during sleep, not while awake. I had asked them to go back and review the study as I KNEW my legs were wild and crazy, but the study didn't report it. It was explained to me that having the movements while feeling semi asleep yet still aware, I was technically awake, and this unusual activity was likely caused by the medication. One report said something like "the movements intrude into patient's wake time". Reducing that med resolved the PLM's while aware, though not fully awake. If I came fully awake, they'd stop mid-movement. Never had any while awake with my eyes open, as opening my eyes stopped them abruptly too. I just wonder if movements that are a medication side effect break the rules of the customary disorder.

Julie wrote:You don't distinguish between them - your MD does. I think you need to talk to him or her and they can decide.

I think her doctor is too busy reviewing her medications.

-SWS wrote:Also, the ICSD differential diagnosis for hypnic jerks is outlined on PDF page 86 of 208 here:
http://www.esst.org/adds/ICSD.pdf

While the overall ICSD covers PLMS and PLMD, they don't discuss PLMWs...

As a side note I experience minor hypnic jerks as well... Mine tend to present as slight and few upper body and arm movements.



(on edit: Adobe "PDF page 86 of 208" works out to be page 156 in the above ICSD document)

Excellent link, as is usual for SWS.

In particular, this, on p. 85 of the pdf,

Sleep starts are an essentially universal component of the sleeponset
process, although they often are not recalled. A prevalence of 60% to 70%
has been reported.

was new to me and basically reassuring for anyone concerned about the phenomenon.

For as long as I can remember, I have had the occasional full-body jerk or spasm while falling asleep, following by a moment of increased wakefulness, followed promptly by sleep. I have also had infrequent restless legs, with the creepy-crawly feeling, about one night a month. However, I have not experienced either in the 2.5 weeks since starting CPAP. In fact, the first night, I felt a pleasant warmth and slight pleasant tingling in my extremities, as if the increased airflow was getting more oxygen into and warming my arms and legs as I fell asleep. So far, the CPAP seems to make me a more passive sleeper, except for the occasional mask adjustment and turning onto one side or the other.