Rhythmic Movement Disorder, Can't take it anymore

[suziecue40]

Hello,

Is there anyone, I mean anyone, out there that has rhythmic movement disorder? I have been violently thrashing my body and head, laterally while asleep or mostly somewhat asleep since I can remember. I am 30 now. It use to consume maybe an hour or two a night but now it is getting drastically worse. I find myself doing it or am told that I, "rock", 4-5 hours a night. Apparently kids grow out of this and the remainder that carry this disorder into their adult lives are autistic or mentally challenged, which I am neither. My doctor prescribed me clonazepam, which does not work and I'm not taking an addictive, benzodiazepine for the rest of my life.
Does anyone relate to my problem and if so what treatments have worked for you? I'm going to go insane!

[BigLeslie]

Hi there, i am 53 and i have been "body  rocking " myself to sleep for as long as i remember. I am married and my husband works odd hours so many nights i have the bed to myself.  I enjoy body rocking and do it for anywhere from 1-2 hrs then fall to sleep.  It relaxes me and calms my mind.  When we do sleep together i dont rock myself to sleep but its very hard to relax and fall asleep without it.  I have no idea if i do it in my sleep while my husband is beside me, he has never mentioned it but maybe he just wants to save me the embarassment?  My son has ADD and through his diagnosis, i feel i am ADD too (i exhibited all the same behaviors as a child asnhe is experiencing now -poor concentration, hard to stay on task, poor self esteem, not many friends, impulsivity).  I still see alot of these traits in me as an adult but can better manage them now.    As a child i also suffered from epilepsy which I outgrew.  Only had seizures sporadically for a year or two, and maybe it's was just a symptom of having ADD (if it is a symptom). We were very poor and i was the youngest of 6 kids and very well may have been neglected somewhat.  My father strapped us regularly but I dont know if that has anything to do with it ... Thats just how their generation disciplined. I dont see body rocking as a big PROBLEM, it's just who i am. Anyway, accept and love yourself...you are wonderful and unique.

[flap_jack]

I was in tears when I read these replies. I was moved to find out that I wasn’t alone. I am a 25 year old university student and have been rocking for as long as I can remember. It is a nightly ritual before I sleep. A previous poster mentioned music, and I to listen to music and will sway to the tempo. As I child I told one friend who slept over and was ridiculed, and have told no other person sense. I recently moved in with my girlfriend and for the first few months it was hard to sleep next to her. I loved her so much and didn’t want to keep her up, or was afraid she would think I was to strange to be with me. Over the course of the next few months it was easier to fall asleep but I will find myself doing it when she is not around or before a nap (alone). She walked in on me once and just made her presence known. It was the single most embarrassing thing to happen.  

One night I found myself doing it while she was away on a trip. I was terrified at the thought that I would be very old doing it, and it causing me bodily harm to my muscles or brain. After finding these post I have the courage to find medical help to stop this addiction.

My thought over the years are that it’s an OCD tic. I know don’t NEED to do it but i get anxious if I don’t. I have not sought help because I am too stubborn to admit that it’s a real problem. After living with my girlfriend I can say now that it’s a problem and that now more than ever I want this problem no longer.
I promise every person here that when I find a cure or treatment I will make it known. My mother was addicted to prescription medication and I hate the thought that I will need to be medicated to solve this problem.

Thank you to every poster and I wish all of you the best of luck. And to all the parents and significant others who read this please know that this is harder on the person then you could ever imagine. Just love them and be there for them.

[DAVIDRH]

I am 67 and have been rolling my head to relax and go to sleep since I was a baby.  I did grow out of it to an extent, however, every once in a while I "have" to do it just to relax.  I am a university professor, a conductor and a internationally known composer.  Obviously this "affliction" didn't turn me into a lump of intimate flesh.  Don't worry.  

[oxyneo]

Hi everyone,
I have also had this problem for over 50 years.
I have found a cure but most Doctors wont believe it.
I found that being on oxyneo in my case i need 80 mg once a day and one at night.
If I take them at exactly 8 am and 8 pm it totally disappears.
My doc has reduced my oxy with concerns of addiction, but i would rather some one think i was an addict than live with this awful condition for another day.
I am going to a sleep lab soon to prove my findings.
I know it works and i have it as bad as any of you.
I came across this when I originally toke this med for pain and realized it completly cured my RMD. honest.
Ask to try a lower dose just an hour before bed and i garrantee you will notice a difference.
Got to go now, if any one wants to talk to me more, i can understand you wanting to find relief from this terrible disorder.
Later

[rockinthenightaway]

Stumbling upon this thread has made my day. I am 25 and have always "rocked" before I go to bed and when I awaken. It's so great to hear that so many others rock as well! BellaPrunella, I included your name in my comment because I wanted to let you know that I also have a brother who rocks every night, just like me. I think that the origin of the rocking is most often caused by some not-so-fun childhoods. The fact that both my brother and myself rock reinforces my belief.
I hear a lot of scared people commenting on this thread; I especially feel for the young adults who are afraid of being rejected throughout life because of the rocking. But know this: I am married, and we do just fine. We went into the mattress store and explained to the salesman that I am "extremely restless" at night, and the salesman guided us to an extra firm mattress. We also don't use a bed frame, as my rocking always destroyed those in childhood. Plus, my rocking would always make the bed creak incessantly--any empathizers?. My wife occasionally nudges me, lets me know that I'm rocking a little hard, and asks me why I'm stressed. I take that as my cue to slow down a little.
What was scarier than letting my wife in on my rocking was going to Army Basic Training. Throughout childhood, I would always avoid sleepovers, and dread any activities where I would have to share a room; I even shelled out extra money for my own dorm room in college. At first, I tried to hide my rocking at Basic, telling only my bunk mate. By the end of Basic, I think most of my battle buddies were on to me, and get this: I wasn't the only one in my Company who did it! The other guy was even more of a thrasher than I, and freaked out the Drill Sergeants one morning when they stumbled on him half-awake and rocking. But guess what, not even the Drill Sergeants made fun of him.
I guess my points are that a. the right woman/man is not going to care, and you and your significant other will find techniques to make bedtime tolerable, b. if a Company of infantry soldiers can be understanding about rocking, then ANYONE can, and c. none of us are alone with this problem!
I personally find the rocking to be therapeutic; I have a hunch that the origin of most RMD cases is childhood stress-management, and in my opinion, if you still have RMD as an adult, then you have an awesome tool to help cope with all the stresses of adult life.

ROCKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!!

[RacheJane1234]

The Problem: I'm 15 yrs old and would like to stop rocking before I get at least 18 or 21 years of age because if I don't I might get full grown with it.
Strange: iHave my Dad's ear on the left side and my Mom's ear on the right side of my head.
Finding: iThought that would have something to with it cuz maybe whatever they are that could've got me into RMD.
How: iSleep on the left side of the bed, move my right leg, right arm under the pillow, rocking my right side of my body, and left hand under left leg.
Unhealthy: iDon't think RMD is a healthy thing to do. 'Cuz one time a few days back I felt something behind my rib felt really strange like it was moving against my rib while I was rocking - strangely. But I didn't care cuz I rocked myself anyway half asleep I think it was in the morning.
Worn: Sometimes after I get tired of sleeping I put my right leg close to my upper body and fall asleep also a few times I laid on my stomach with left arm under me and my right arm beside me then I just go to sleep from being worn out.
Old: I also listened to music over night and now it's getting old and tired of it cuz I stay awake early in the morning of the night like at 12, 1, 2, 3, and 4 am but once it was 4am cuz I was listening to music.
Addict: iDidn't like and didn't want to listen to music during the night cuz it waste power and I like music and like listening to it. Music might be addicting.
Prepared: On School nights I went to sleep at 12 or 1am mostly 12am though and got in bed at 11pm to gather my clothes for school in the morning in case I'll get late.
Rule: Suppose to be in bed by 10pm or at least off the computer. Now it's off the computer by 11pm so at least 11pm I do the dishes since I don't have a job.
Concentrate: iCan't concentrate in school with any kind of noise, I can't concentrate with people sitting around me in the class room, and I can't concentrate with anyone in the room I guess.
Slow: I've been slow doing things as young as I can remember like in 3rd grade working on my Westest a teacher was alone with me it was lunch time and I guessed at my last answer(s) and ran out to catch up with the others.
An embarrassment: It's embarrassing for people to see me as coming up last.
Alone: Being slow just makes me feel like a loser and I've felt like that my whole life more and likely cuz my grades are at least a C freshman year I took my school work home cuz I can't think or concentrate at school.
Friend: When a friend was mad at me I did't feel comfortable about it and I didn't know what she was mad about then she told our friend and she didn't want me to know why she was mad at me so freshman year we didn't hang out.
Mistake: iDon't even know if were even friends but she was being mean to me and on some cases I thought she was joking I think I accidentally got her in trouble at After School time we were kidding with the teacher he got aggravated and he isn't even an old person. It's a giggling teacher sometimes. AH, Ridiculous.
Hurt: Anyway when the times that I felt she was being mean to me I didn't know what else to do. I followed our friend around and she seemed not to like it but I didn't know that. I was wanting to hang out with our friend and she asked me if I was gay I said no.
Big Deal: Isn't that what friends are for to hang out with them and be a friend. Some people get mad for no reason.
Past: I miss her cuz she was funny, cool, beautiful, confident, and yeah I just got mad at our friend but I got over it I'm still talking to the girl who said I was following her but whatever.
iDon't care about the past right?: Things happen for a reason cuz what is mean't to be is mean't to be right.