Page 1 of 1

Vein blockage and leg spasms at night

Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:13 pm
by JCB
Need some help from the experts on this forum.

Not long after I was diagnosed with PPMS, my right leg started spasming at night. It only happens when I am trying to sleep or am sleeping. My right leg doesn't do much all day except for being dragged around all day by my left leg. I asked my Neuro about why this would be happening and got the "we don't know" and another prescription.

I am thinking that it has to do with dainage differences when I'm laying down. Possible Azygous stenosis? I am scheduled for treatment on the 13th of Sept. This is one symptom I hope to lose. So does my wife. :)

Any thoughts?

Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:43 pm
by Cece
Could it be Restless Legs Syndrome? I think there is increased incidence of RLS in MS due to CNS demyelination.

Or could it be that your right leg is overworked? Even being dragged around might be more than its physical limits and so its spasming.

Whatever it is, I second your hopes that it vanishes on the 13th of September.

Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:32 am
by costumenastional
I am not an expert.
I can only share some thoughts. There are some new symptoms following my procedure on the 3rd of May.Nothing alarming but the fact that they started right after my veins were "widened" is more than enough for me to make the connection.
My (visible by MRI) demyelination is in my cervical spine. And some of my symptoms like weakness, spasms and numbness (mainly affecting my arms and legs) should be attributed to these damaged nerves in my neck.
After my procedure, i am experiencing mild tickling and spasms in places that pre op there weren't any.
At this point, i can only imagine that these nerves are affected by altered blood flow in the small veins that drain the spinal cord nearby. While nothing is to be taken for granted it seems to me that there might be a relation between blood flow and already damaged neurons. This could well explain why some of us get worse in some aspects post op.
On the other hand, my brain issues (which are the most debilitating in my case) there is some kind of improvement.
All in all, angioplasty should be done as soon as possible, before too much damage occurs cause in this case the procedure could make some of us feel even worse.

If CCSVI stands, it should help slowing or even halting progression. But try to see this like this:
One of two lesions in my spinal cord is fairly big. If it has been formatted because of reflux in the small veins that drain blood in that exact spot it simply means that now the blood circulates in different patterns and demyelinated nerves behavior may be affected in various ways. All these are far from proven but speculations is all we can do i am afraid.

Having said all the above, you are not the only one whose body behaves differently when sleeping. Same goes for me and for many others. And if this has nothing to do with blood flow then honestly i don't have a clue what else is going on. I cant imagine nerves causing problems because they don't like beds for instance.

BTW are there any lesions in your spine?

Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 5:28 am
by tzootsi
My wife, who has a mild case of ms, also had severe charley horse type leg spasms while sleeping. She would get them about 2-3 times a week in the middle of the night. They pretty much went away once she started on the MS Recovery Diet, and began taking magnesium, calcium, vitamin D, B12 & fish oil. Since then, she has had ballooning for two blocked jugulars, which has helped many of her other symptoms like l'hermittes, weak arm, etc.

Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 5:46 am
by Ali888
I have suffered from similar spasms for at least the past 2 years. My legs seem fine until evening andthen are particularly bad when I go to bed at night (both legs). It makes it almost impossible to sleep. I had both my juglars and azygos veins ballooned on July 9th. I still have the spasms, but not as often nor as bad.l

As I understand it, Restless Leg Syndrome causes you to actually feel like moving your legs. In my case, the spasms are completely involuntary.

I hope they go away entirely...I wont miss them at all!!! :lol:

Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 5:58 am
by JCB
There are lesions in my spine.

I don't think it is "restless leg syndrome". In my pre-MS life I was very active, competing in Triathlons, etc. I would have twitchy legs if I didn't get enough excersize. I would have muscle cramps if I had a chemical imbalance from to much exercise. This is something completely foriegn to those things. I did not have these before my MS diagnosis.

It does not correspond to activity level. Somewhere there is a link, just don't know what it is. Thanks for your input.