Jul 10 2008
the sleeping “twitch”
I’m only three days post op and i’ve already had this “sleeping twitch” twice….which not only hurts but scares the crap out of me. While sleeping my foot/leg with “jump” or “twitch” causing my foot to move, achilles to stretch and me to wake up in pain. Anyone else suffer from this problem? It is concerning to me since I’m not far from having surgery and I’m worried about rerupture or pulling out the staples…
It is not something I can control ( i don’t think at least ), so i’m just hoping it doesn’t happen often or make the injury any worse.
I also experienced about 10 or so “jumps” right before I fall into a deep sleep pre op and post op. I lived… but they scare the sh$t out of you…. And extreme sudden pain. I’ve seen others post about it too although I can’t remember at what stage. I am 14 days post op and they have stopped…not sure why. Out there fellow ATRs do u get this later too? Ok
i cannot offer any scientific reason for them, either, but i can say that i had them too. they are painful and scary, but they do eventually go away. perhaps nerves get damaged in the injury? that’s all i can really think, as well as it’s pretty traumatic so perhaps the body is simply responding.
no worries i had them the first week post op … yes they do scare the crap out of you but not had them since ….4 weeks gone … it will stop ,take care x
Yes, think its normal for the first few days.
Nothing to worry about.
Annie
I agree with everyone above, the twitch goes away after a little bit….Very Normal
I also had similar “twitches” during sleep. I woke up many times with the pain…
I think that these “twiches” are not sufficient to do any damage…
I didn’t have the twitches that much in the beginning, but when I went to the hard cast, I had them almost everynight. I thought it might have been because the swelling finally went down and my leg/foot were finding each other again. Hang in there - I like to think that they were good twitches of healing!
FYI guys….I still get them. I’m about 11 weeks post op. They don’t hurt as bad once you’re out of a cast, and have ROM to stretch/flex it a bit. Leg cramps are kinda scary too. Had one the other night. Haven’t had one of those since I was post injury but pre-op. (they were so bad the doc gave me valium for muscle relaxer).
It gets so much better but still so frustrating. As athletes its hard to kill the all-or-nothing attitude. That’s been my biggest struggle.
damacar
I’m a bit relieved to read some of the other responses. I had a similar “twitch” in my calf/achilles area a few days ago as I was waking up & it scared the crap out of me. It wasn’t painful but it felt like the tendon or muscle moved an inch … very weird. Good luck with your recovery … & go Sox!
Thanks to everyone who wrote back. Glad to hear that it isn’t just me. It’s been over a week since my operation now. When eleveated, my leg is in basically no pain and i’m not getting as many hurtful “twitches” anymore. I know I have a LONG way to go, but i’m just glad to be out of the pain associated with the first week after surgery.
…and go sox is right…they’re about the only thing keeping me sane (sometimes) at this point.