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violent jerking

My husband suffers from violent jerking of his legs and now his shoulders.  These symptoms are worse at night but it is increasingly happening during the day now too.

A bit of history.  He was in prison for a short time and while he was there they gave him a cocktail of haldol, geodon, prozac, depakote, remeron and cogentin all at one time.  He was on this cocktail for 12 months.  When released he no longer had the medications and had very bad withdrawals of intense tremors.  Of course these subsided but he has these episodes of violent jerking of his legs and shoulders.  When his legs kick, he does experience a painful heat sensation in his lower back.  There is no pain in his back when his shoulders jerk or when his neck clenches up.  As a note, he did not have any of these symptoms prior to his time in prison which is why I wonder about the effects of this cocktail.

He has no medical insurance and hasn't been able to see a neurologist.  A search on the internet of his symptoms is so confusing because so many different things seem to apply.  I have found similar symptoms in PLMS, tardive dykinesia, dytonia, myoclonus.  The list goes on and I dont know what to do for him.  Do you have any advice, please?
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I cannot tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

I am sorry to hear your husband is going through such a rough time.
Reviewing those medications, it appears that some of them are from a family called neuroleptics (the Haldol and Geodon). I am not sure how frequently or what dose and duration your husband was administered during his stay but those medications do have the potential of causing side effects of involuntary movements.

Among the side effects are
- Akathisia – inability to stay still. Extreme restlessness
- tremors
- Tardive dyskinesias – the affected patient may show repetitive, involuntary, purposeless movements often of the lips, face, legs, or torso. These tardive dyskinesias can persist even after the neurolpetic medication is stopped.  
- Dystonia - a neurological movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures

It is difficult to say what exactly your husband has without seeing the movements. I would advise seeing a neurologist somehow because depending on what kind of movement disorder he has developed, treatments are present, eg Botox injections for dystonia, anticholinergic medications for tremors, etc.

Also he may have some movement disorder unrelated to the medication side effects – like chorea or myoclonus.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.

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Avatar universal
Another note. He has been out of prison and off meds for 4 years and still jerks
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Avatar universal
I wanted to add that during my internet search, I found a video at kickinglegs.com that is very similar to the jerking he has at night during his more mild episodes but it doesnt explain the jerking during the day or the jerking in his shoulders, biceps or clenching of his neck muscles.
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