Periodic Limb Movements In Sleep By Jeff Foster At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

PLMS or Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep is a symptom commonly associated with a different sleep disorder known as Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS).

While it has been getting a lot of attention in the press lately, RLS is a total separate health condition from PLMS. Also, it is important to remember that PLMS is a separate condition and you can be diagnosed with PLMS without ever being diagnosed with RLS. Both of these are considered to be sleep disorders.

While PLMS doesn’t necessarily cause or even exacerbate any other health conditions, it can certainly cause you to have a miserable night as you try to sleep. Of course, as we all know, interrupted sleep can cause a cacophony of health issues and must be dealt with sooner rather than later. Not to mention that with all the nighttime moving associated with PLMS can drive your bed partner completely nuts!

You don’t have to be a medical professional to determine the obvious symptoms of PLMS. Just like the names says, with this sleep disorder, you will often repeatedly and for varying periods of time will move your legs.

These movements occur while you are sleeping and look like sudden twitching or jerking movements. In some people the movements last for just a few minutes while others jerk and twitch for several hours in the night. Another unique thing to remember is that as soon as one movement stops, it usually takes less than 60 seconds for another movement to start.

With Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), you may experience a feeling of awkwardness, tingling, crawling or even a feeling of prickliness in your legs and sometimes in your arms.

The challenge with this condition is that sometimes you don’t even realize you a experiencing the movement since it occurs while you are asleep. Your bed partner may be the one to you what is going on, what your body is doing during the night.

Currently there is no definitive answer as to the primary cause of PLMS. Some researchers believe that it has something to do with your central nervous system functions but this is not clearly evident. Some healthcare professionals also find that PLMS may be a secondary manifestation of another more serious health condition such as anemia, sleep apnea, diabetes or even narcolepsy.

If you have been battling insomnia and have had no luck for determining the cause of your constant fatigue, then your healthcare provider might being to suspect PLMS. Often in order to definitively diagnose PLMS, your physician may ask that you undergo a sleep study so that your precise sleep patterns and behaviors can be observed.

Healthcare providers often have difficulty prescribing an adequate treatment for PLMS because there is currently no known root cause for the disorder.

Regardless, if you find yourself chronically fatigued and facing night after night of insomnia that has no other answer, then you should make an appointment to meet with your physician in order to determine if you have PLMS or even RLS. Both sleep disorders deserve your attention.

Wouldn’t you love to enjoy a full night’s sleep and waking up the next working so well rested that you don’t even recognize yourself?

Talk with your physician in order to get the proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

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