Re: Re: Strange occurance

[Guest guest]

Cheryl,

I have experienced something like what you detail only when I start to fall

asleep I awaken suddenly....almost as if feeling like I might be " leaving "

this world. My doctor has suggested sleep center testing as she thinks it

may be sleep apnea??

Who knows....could just be nerves but it is a real freaky feeling!

(VA)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/5/2003 9:22:16 AM Eastern Standard Time,

troycheryl@... writes:

> The only thing I was on when I had these attacks

> before was the synthroid.

> Thanks

> Cheryl

>

Have youu had your thyroid checked lately. It sounds like you can possibly

need an adjustment.

Janet

[Guest guest]

If you said it was just the legs, I would say it was a very good description

of Restless Leg Syndrome. However, I have never heard of this syndrom

effecting anything other than the legs.

Ks Di

[ ] Re: Strange occurance

> I hope someone can help me with a problem. In the past few years, off and

> on, while I'm trying to go to sleep at night I have a feeling come over my

> arms and legs, and maybe chest, as though I can feel my blood moving

through

> my veins. It only happens when I am just about to fall asleep.

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for responding, Janet, Liz, Ron, and Ks Di.

O.k. Ron, I'll bite.... why would this strange occurance be reassuring to

me? The reason it's frightening is because it makes me think I'm having an

attack that comes with some horrible, hideous, neurological disease that

will someday cause my death because I will no longer be able to breath

because I will have no muscle control, and I'll end up drowning in my own

saliva. Is that a good enough word picture for why it's a frightening

occurance? (By the way, I am being facetious, mostly, well, a little.) No,

I guess I'm serious, that really is the reason it's frightening. Having P,

PA, and Hashimoto's, I'm afraid that there are many, and worse, other

diseases lurking in my body.

You're right Liz, misery does love company! If other people have this same

thing happening it makes it less scary.

Thanks for the suggestion, Janet. I will get my thyroid checked ASAP.

, I figured out that if I take Benadryl and then wait to go to bed

until I can't hold my eyes open, I don't have the " attacks " . Can you be any

more descriptive of your experience?

I guess I'll go to the cardiologist and see what he says.

Thanks again, and Ron, I look forward to hearing what's reassuring about

this!

Cheryl

[Ed. Note: Obviously nothing is or should be reassuring about it now that you've

explained it in those terms! Your comments made me think of a sensation I

sometimes get in my right leg that feels like something crawling underneath my

skin and almost causes a tremor in my right foot at times. I always assumed it

was because that's where my Ps is worst. I will also occasionally have some part

of my body (usually a leg or arm) involuntarily jerk rather violently -

fortunately it doesn't happen very often! I'm always afraid it will happen to my

right foot when I driving my automobile: " But officer, my right foot floored the

accelerator pedal all by itself - I'm innocent! " ;-) Thinking about this led me

to look up " Restless Leg Syndrome " and I found that both of these things are

classic symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome. A good web page that describes it is

at http://www.rls.org/frames/home_frame.htm and there is an interview with a

doctor about it at http://snurl.com/q33 On the latter web page, Dr.

Bouldin says " caffeine, nicotine and alcohol seem to make the restless leg

sensation worse in many people. Cutting back or quitting may help. Some

medications can make RLS worse too. Certain anti-depressants, anti-psychotics,

even antihistamines can worsen RLS in some patients. " The only things I've found

that help (aside from Vicodin and Valium of course) are Neurontin and a double

dose of Zanaflex. This may not be what you have, but it might be worth looking

into. Regards, Ron]

[ ] Re: Strange occurance

> > --- In , " Cheryl Samons "

> > <troycheryl@...: I hope someone can help me with a

> > problem. In the past few years, off and on, while I'm trying

> > to go to sleep at night I have a feeling come over my arms and

> > legs, and maybe chest, as though I can feel my blood moving

> > through my veins. ... It alarms me and I then am awake for hours

> > with this feeling coming on just as I am about to slip off into

> > dreamland.

>

>

> Cheryl,

>

> Why is the sensation frightening? I would think that if anything it

> would be reassuring (and no, I'm not being facetious).

>

> -- Ron

>

[Guest guest]

Cheryl,

I think Ron meant that it was good to have blood moving through your

veins...he is so funny ;-)! Anyway...you are right about Benadryl, sleep

pills, etc....when I take something to put me to sleep or when I am so very

tired that I fall right asleep I do not remember having any " occurrences " but

if I am not too sleepy or trying to fall asleep then I will have the feeling

as though....you know when you are falling asleep and someone says " hey " or

" boo " ;-) or whatever and you " jump " awake...it is sort of like that. An

abrupt startled awakening....scary.....anyway hope this gives you a better

idea. If not....email again and I will try to (bore) explain some better

way! (VA)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/6/03 4:27:49 PM Central Standard Time, lbf128@...

writes:

> I do not remember having any " occurrences " but

> if I am not too sleepy or trying to fall asleep then I will have the

> feeling

> as though....you know when you are falling asleep and someone says " hey " or

>

> " boo " ;-) or whatever and you " jump " awake...it is sort of like that

I've never experienced what could be described as restless leg syndrome, well

maybe I have and nobody was there to witness, but I have had jerks when

falling asleep. Is it possible that this is nothing more than active

dreaming? Orin

[Guest guest]

Ron,

I hope you didn't think I was responding in a nasty way to your suggestion

that my " occurance " might be reassuring. You can't exactly communicate tone

of voice in an email. I really was curious, (and amused), thought I might

be missing something. At any rate, you said one word that helped me

describe what is happening to me, " caffeine " . When I'm trying to go to

sleep at night I suddenly feel just like I feel when I've had way too much

caffeine. But it's a sudden attack that spreads from my arms throughout my

whole body and then goes away. It doesn't make me jerk, it just wakes me

up. I should note that I particularly avoid caffeine. Thanks for the

info - I'll look to see if there's anything helpful on the sights you

listed.

By the way, my husband has the feeling that you described in one of his

legs. His doctor told him it was anxiety. Do doctors get kick-backs from

the anti-depressant makers? I

Cheryl

______________Ed. Note (aka; Ron's Reply) _______________

Cheryl,

No, it never entered my mind that you might be responding in a " nasty " way. I

think people on this forum worry too much... lighten up, smile, be thankful for

all the options for treatments we have these days. Yes, our doctors are

incompetent, but with this forum and all the information available on the

Internet we can learn to lead our doctors by the hand in the right direction. Is

that hyperbole? Well maybe just a little, but not by much judging from some of

the horror stories people have told about their doctors on this forum.

In your example above about the doctor diagnosing " anxiety " , any doctor that

would dismiss a physical symptom such as " something crawling underneath one's

skin " as anxiety out-of-hand just because he is too lazy or ignorant to know or

try to find out what the real cause is, is a f*cking idiot and I would be happy

to tell him so to his face. Even *I* know that it's something neurological, like

nerves being stimulated by some infection or inflammation. In my case, it only

happens when the Ps on my ankle is angry and almost blood-red. It's really

peculiar, because since I've been on Remicade the psoriasis on my right leg

seems to flare up in periodic cycles. What happens is that when the skin starts

to crack and peel, it begins itching like crazy - so bad that it's impossible to

ignore. So what I do is cover it with a couple of wet paper towels and wrap

Saran wrap around the whole thing until the scales are soft enough to scrap off.

After I scrap them off the area is a bright, almost blood-red color, and it

begins to burn (probably because of the exposed raw flesh) and the itching

intensifies for a little while (three or four hours). During this period it's

virtually unbearable, and I take a couple of Neurontin, Zanaflex, and sometimes

a Vicodin. Then almost like a wound healing, it begins to calm down and the

burning and itching stop almost completely, and the area turns pale as the blood

recedes from the surface of my skin. This blissful state lasts for a day or two

until the dead skin builds up to the point that it begins to crack and peel off,

and the cycle starts again. It's only during the " raw flesh " period that I get

the " crawling underneath my skin " sensation and foot tremors. Before I started

Remicade, my psoriasis was pretty stable. It would itch a little all the time

and skin would flake off, but it didn't go through these extremes like it does

now. It's almost as if the psoriasis is " fighting back " against the Remicade.

The overall condition is getting better, but the road to improvement is rocky

and filled with potholes.

Some doctors wouldn't want to use up enough of their " precious " time to listen

to that story so they would have enough of an understanding of the condition to

make a more accurate diagnosis. Instead, the idiot doctors like the one you

describe would rather make some off-hand remark that it's " anxiety. " I have

nothing but contempt for doctors like that.

Anyhow, to get back on topic - what you're describing Cheryl, sounds to me like

an adrenalin rush. Fear or anger can cause an adrenalin rush, but if you're not

fearful or angry then perhaps there is something about PA inflammation that

somehow stimulates the adrenal gland(?) I don't know, but it sure would be nice

if you could find a doctor competent enough to want to find the true cause.

-- Ron

[Guest guest]

Thanks Ron, I'll mention this problem to my Endocrinologist at the next

visit. Your problem sounds absolutely painful! I hope your treatments

improve things quickly.

Cheryl