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Twitches and Falls
Hi everyone,
I have a question regarding Twitches. My husband is the PWP here at age 60, 25 years dx.
Basically at night just when that in-between stage of awake and asleep he gets major jerks going on. He has actually had these on and off over the year apparently since an operation he had when he was 20 years old.As the PD has progressed since 1998 dx, now we are dealing with multiple falls each day. They are quite abnormal falls from what we are now being told by PD associations as they are immediate frontways, sideways, backwards… from normally a frozen gait… can’t get started situation. Walkers and sticks don’t work outside at all as it happens so fast. He is quite athletic bikes and exercises every day, so pretty fit.
We spoke today though about twitches and whether there is some link between twitches in the brain moreso, and falls that he has. We’re talking around 10 to 15 falls a day. He wears knee pads for protection which are great.
So the question is – does anyone find their PWP has these issues as well? or does anyone have any thoughts on what causes so many falls. His meds are stable. Do you think twitches are anything to do with falls in anyway… cause/effect? It’s a huge question really. Thanks again.
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10 Replies
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Hi JB……Well, I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV!! but………twitches seem to be a glitch in the nervous system for my husband. If his twitches are in his knees, he almost goes down. So if you have twitches, couldn’t the entire system go down? The neurogenic system just fails and down you go. The correct terms are failing me right now but it’s one of the side affects of this crappy disease. What a terrible thing for both of you. Whew. Our falls happen mostly at night getting to and from the bathroom. Let’s see who else can help us here!
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Thanks Carol, they certainly are a bizarre thing. Fairly common it seems.
It does make sense to me that also, the entire system could go down yes. That is what we wonder with the falls.Interesting again is as you say, the falls happen mainly at night getting to/from bathroom. He gets up quite a bit as well, but never does he fall at night. How bizarre it all is. 🙂 Thanks Carol
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I myself fall quite often, I have a 52 year old friend too with early onset PD too, we grew up together back in the day and both used to surf as good mates and young blokes together in the late 80s…I bought a machine as I was at the end of my teather with all the pills-drugs-meds etc I had to take…I live in Australia now and my mate Justin is still back in New Zealand suffering the same things as I did…long story short, being the very Pro-active never give up, never say DIE guy I am I bought this Machine and it changed my life within 3 weeks….I quickly told Justin about it too…he bought one as well, having the very same results as I did.
So guys there is HOPE…NEVER GIVE UP…NEVER SAY DIE…NEVER LOSE HOPE or give up on life and what GOD to do for you too by sending me his healing Advice in a dream that turned out to be the best thing-plan-idea I ever had and followed through with in my life…GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
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Hey there David, being a Kiwi myself, I actually chuckled (in a nice way) when you said your mate was in NZ. It’s interesting what you have said and I’m really glad you have found something that works for you.
We don’t live in NZ at the moment we are in Europe, it has crossed my mind that things have been worse since we have been here for his falls – maybe it’s a longitude / latitude thing – but surely not LOL.
My husband is like you, never gives up, but the falls are stealing his confidence and his brightness so I really hope I can help him with getting his leg and core strength up… we will see.
I am intrigued enough to ask you, what machine. I’m sure you were expecting the question and I’m not sure if it’s something you are selling. Understand if you would rather not mention though. Things work differently for everyone, but if it’s something easy to attain and try would love to know.
All the best and I hope you and your mate in NZ are doing well, it certainly sounds like it.
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I have PD (5 yrs post x) and routinely have both leg twitches and leg cramps every night. Fortunately, have not had any falls. Has your husband’s hearing been checked? Loss of balance and falls are often due to issues in the inner ear.
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Hi Rick,
Yes we actually both do regular medical checks, eyes, ears etc and he had his checked only last year and all fine. Needed it for drivers licence.BUT on saying that – I will actually get him to get re-checked just in case.. .Thanks for the good advice 🙂
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I’ve had PD since about 2005. I had one period of sudden falls, but then they went away–until just recently, five or more years later. I am trying to analyze my CDL dosage to see if that makes a difference. My working hypothesis is (1) underdose = weakness, upset stomach, tiredness, difficulty moving. (2) overdose = dyskenesia, nocturnal kicking.
I went through a period where I was kicking the bedposts hard enough to leave a scratch mark and occasionaly a blood wound. And I fell out of bed every so often. As a result, I now have to sleep alone, on the floor, with only a thin comforter or quilt on top of the carpet and a blanket on top of me. (I can’t fall out of bed anymore!!)
I fall unpredictably now, but it seems to be connected to getting into a tight space that my brain can’t do the necessary calculations to keep me from falling. My worst experience so far happened when I was walking down a sloped, uneven parking lot. Suddenly my feet began to accelerate and I began to step (small steps) faster and faster. I couln’t control my movements and could not slow down. I finally noticed a sort of turn-out and I thought that might work like one of those emergency run-away truck ramps: if I could turn aside into the area, I could stop. Instead, I fell frontwards and crashed into the asphalt.
So, I’m still thinking things over.
Blessings on you.
Bob
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I’ve been thinking Robert about what you said about underdose/overdose and how that affects the falls. I can totally agree with the overdosing causes dyskinesias, kicking out and the underdose is all sorts of issues… I’ve been charting for the past 2 years the falls and meds taking. In the past 2 months nothing is clear though as to what makes him fall.. typical isn’t it.
One thing is VERY clear from your post though. What you encounter in tight spaces is exactly what my husband has in shops/aisles/walking through doorframes to different rooms, hallways… but then the same thing happens in open space – like going through the lounge where he visually cannot see something he can fall onto or grab – it can set off a festering of the gait (the smaller steps) you talk about as well….. it’s crazy.
God your fall sounded like it was painful – I hope you are better from that now…. the downhill or uphill is also an issue for my husband…. he doesn’t consider the counter balance of needing to lean forward or backward to effect the feet and balance himself.
It’s like you say – now its unpredictable…. the last 3 days he has been fully ON and fully OFF at times and the falls have been worse, out of character backwards like he really is stuck in honey. I only just now caught him getting stressed to get out to a Parkinsons appointment for group physio and he just started falling backwards… luckily I was able to stop a heavy fall.
Nothing seems to work at present to get this better – but I firmly believe getting his quad strength and core strength up has to do something.
Thanks for sharing…..
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Bob, why not get a bed rail? My HWP uses one and it is a big help. He also has one that fits into his
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Hi Jules, have you tried something like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0UwnxthWeM&t=10s
You can see the before and after comparison, the shoe vibrates and you can choose at what step (heel off, stride etc), steps count, speed, step length etc. Magnes.ch
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