Posted by Racer on September 4, 2005, at 13:48:48
In reply to Muscle twitches, why? Also Coffee and Insomnia, posted by Tom Twilight on September 4, 2005, at 11:26:32
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> Firstly I'm finding that I often experience minor muscle twitches, for no apparent reason, especially when I in bed (trying vainly to sleep)
> What could be causing this?I had a big problem with muscle twitches on certain medications -- the worse combo was Zoloft, Lamictal, Provigil, and Xanax for sleep. On that combo, I was twitching so much I couldn't sleep, and nearly punched my husband a couple of times. It was quite frightening, and very tiring. Once I stopped the meds, it took a while for everything to get back to normal, but the twitches themselves stopped within days.
My guess is that this is med-related for you, as well. What are you on?
> I've read that Magnesium, Calcium and Pottasium defficiency can cause muscle cramps/twitches?
> Which is most likely?
> I think Magnesium helps me with themThis is half-understood, and half-remembered, but I think that calcium and magnesium are close in atomic size, so if you are a bit off in the ratio between them, the calcium will replace the magnesium in your muscles and be used up faster than the magnesium. That means that you'll be more vulnerable to cramping, etc, because you'll run out of calcium. The ratio I've read is to take in about half as much magnesium as calcium, and then you'll be using the magnesium which is much more efficient in your muscle tissues.
Potassium, though, can be dangerous. It's part of your electrical system, and if it gets out of whack you can have major problems quickly. I've had some of the problems associated with low potassium, and that's not something you ever want to experience. On the other hand, too much can apparently trigger little problems like heart attacks and seizures and so on. Again, not what you want. The very first thing my nutritionist said was to throw away the potassium tablets I was taking -- tablets that were 3% of the RDA, so we're not talking a lot -- saying that even the tiny amounts were too much. She says that it's easy to get enough potassium in even a not great diet.
If you're really worried, instead of supplements in pill form, drink some Gatorade.
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> Secondly I've suddenly got really paraniod about coffee.
> I only drink it first thing in the morning. Could it still be affecting my sleep at night?
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> When I stopped drinking coffee for a few days I did sleep better, but I was also away from home, which could of had an effect.
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> I really don't want to face mornings without coffee, but I think I'll have to withdraw.
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> I think it does make the twitches worse
>Those are things to try out at home. If you sleep better at home without coffee, or your twitches are better without coffee, then it might be worth cutting it out. Also, do check the caffeine content of your diet the rest of the day.
Personally, I can't drink "real" coffee at all -- I get way too shaky, and usually throw up. Decaf has about half as much caffeine as regular coffee, so that might be a compromise for you.
Keep in mind that caffeine does have a strong withdrawal syndrome. Expect headaches -- really nasty headaches -- and probably some constipation if you try to quit cold turkey. Cutting back, though, should be OK if you're not drinking coffee by the pot. And, again, decaf is a quick and easy way to cut your caffeine consumption in half, while still enjoying your morning cup of java.
Hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:550578
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050901/msgs/550609.html