Insomnia is there a link to MS or not?

Hello everyone,

I have been suffering with insomnia for quite some time, however my sleep is interupted by Myclonic jerks and Spasms

could there be any problems with Insomnia as a symptom? . I have to take Zopiclone 7.5 mg to get past the insomnia

I don’t think insomnia is an official MS symptom but I reckon if you ask on these boards an awful lot of us would say that it should be.

It’s tricky to discern what causes it though because so many of us have symptoms that disrupt sleep and a lot of us sleep during the day which can interfere with night-time sleeping too. But I am convinced that it is a symptom all on its own and my neuro didn’t bat an eyelid when I told him I was struggling with it.

I would urge caution with the zopiclone. I used it for quite a long time in summer 2011 - when I realised that it was contributing to my stomach problems I came off it, but it took me an age to get back into a normal sleep routine as my body had sort of forgotten how to go to sleep without it :frowning: I do still use it occasionally to get my sleep back into a normal cycle and/or if I am not functioning after 2-3 nights of insomnia, but that is as far as I go these days.

Karen x

Hello Karen, I do know quite a lot about insomnia as I belong to a Insomnia CBT based group

www.sleepio.com of course napping during the day will disrupt the evening after sleep, and all

sleeping pills can cause rebound insomnia, I wasn’t sure whether it could be MS related, be nice to

know whether its because of the pain and jerks and spasms or something else

thank you

I have to take amitriptyline at night or I would never sleep.

As soon as I have nothing to distract me and I stop moving about I can feel everything buzzing,tightening and feeling like the blood supply has been cut off to various parts.

If I wake during the night I take a baclofen to try and loosen the stiffness so I can get back to sleep.

Pip

I found Magnesium supplements are good for insomnia as most insomniacs are deffeciant in that mineral, also it is recommended for cramps

hope this helps