body jerking while sleeping

Pam BH

My DH has started having jerking motions with his arms, hands, legs, head, or body while sleeping, not all at the same time but for about 3 to 4 hours some part of his body is moving.  Some are minor but some are pretty strong.  If his arm is around me and his arm jerks, sometimes it will have enough force for me to be glad it didn't break a rib. His hands move like they're trying to grasp something.  No wonder he sleeps a lot during the day. He doesn't have the jerking then.  Anyone else experienced this?

lqadams

You may want to mention to doctor. My husband's leg jerking at night was the first indication that he has Lewy Body dementia and not Alzheimers

gonegirl40

Same here....my dad was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and passed away in 2013. He moved in with us and I would hear him knocking stuff off his nightstand while he was asleep and grasping at things there weren’t there and the Dr said it was REM sleep disorder and it was textbook LBD. My DH has been having some cognitive issues over the last few years but his dad had early Alzheimer’s so I assumed it was that, but now over the last year or so he has started twitching all night in his sleep, just like clockwork every 20-25 seconds keeping me up all night and shaking the whole bed and is making this weird shrieking noise instead of snoring like he used to.  I have done tons of internet research and keep coming back to PLMD but can’t figure out if that is technically considered a REM Sleep behavior disorder or not. I do know that paranoia has begun and he’s constantly fighting with people at work who are out to get him and make him do projects that “they know he doesn’t understand”-so def a hallmark sign, but of course could be any of the dementias. I will say that for sure LBD was a quick, tough road for my dad so I am sorry to hear that for you. But at least it will be over quickly and won’t drag out for 15 years. Please keep us updated. I was literally getting on here randomly today after my DH had a particularly bad cognitive day coupled with tons of twitching and jerking all night, so thanks for posting! Will not address the obvious questions surrounding the odds of my dad and my DH living in the same house and both potentially having LBD. Might send us all into a terrifying place. Have an autopsy report on my dad, so confirmed one...stay tuned for DX on my DH. Crazy thing the brain is.

Gone girl 

shardy

Jim does this. He will jerk, sometimes just his shoulders, sometimes his legs will kick, sometimes his entire body will get in on it. 

When his paranoia and anger levels got high he was started on seroquel and that helped tamp down the night tremors. His Dr said the citalopram caused them to increase and we increased the seroquel to off set that increase.

 Btw, as to length of time, he was diagnosed 8 years ago and can still have times when people can't tell there is anything wrong.

Pam BH

Thanks everyone for the info.  He was diagnosed by family doctor with AD and VD, and I hadn't even thought about Lewy Body Dementia but it sure sounds like it.  

GoneGirl40, it sounds like we're experiencing a lot of the same things with the jerking and then the infidelity accusations.  Those are the worst because I still don't have a clear idea how to handle it - can't agree with him and when I disagree it causes more anxiety.  Since he's been on memantine the accusations aren't as frequent or severe but now just get passing comments about it so it's always on his mind.

gonegirl40

Yes it most certainly does sound like we are in the same boat!. Feel free to inbox message me and we can chat further. I get so frustrated because I am constantly trying to figure out what is going on in his head because he is super clingy and follows me around and is always staring at me like I am out to get him- but his ability to express his thoughts has started to break down as well, so that doesn't help. I know it sounds terrible, but I actually welcome some of the physical symptoms I see, such a this Raynaud's syndrome he has started having where his hands turn ghostly white randomly and the constipation and ED and twitches at night and soft voice, for some reason it helps me and is a reminder that I am in fact not imagining things and that he is having some major cognitive difficulties and there is something wrong here. I would be interested if you are seeing any other physical symptoms of your DH and what led you to dx and is he aware of his issues or in denial?

Thanks,

gg

Pam BH

GoneGirl40, All of the same things you mentioned plus some. Agnosia, lack of empathy, balance problems, vulgar language, sex fixation, hallucinations of people and animals, delusions, false memories, some short-term and long-term memory problems.  Because of his infidelity accusations he goes with me everywhere, even to my doctor's appointments, and monitors my phone calls, texts, emails.  I understand your feeling of being relieved when other symptoms occur because he's so normal most of the time that it surprises me when the behavior problems pop up out of nowhere and I'm not prepared to handle them like I should. Thank goodness they don't last long.  They are progressing, though.  I just did a spreadsheet of different symptoms for AZ, VD and LBD to see which he has, and it's a mixed bag, some of all three. He sees the doctor in a couple of weeks so I'm going to alert him beforehand since DH doesn't admit to any problems when he's there.