I'll try the epsom salts. Thanks. I think the salts might dry my skin out too much, however. I live in a very dry climate and have to put on thick lotion every day, all over, sometimes twice a day.
One other thing I have to do, in regard to the night jerks, is to self-massage the knots out of my legs. this can take as much as 45 minutes if they are bad, which I can do while reclining on the couch and watching TV. It takes a lot of arm effort to do this, but I find my arms and hands have strengthened by doing it. The arms and hands have always been weak, but are stronger since I started doing the self-massage. My pcp's PA suggested I do this. She has always been helpful with practical things. I get incredibly bad knots in the muscles of both lower and upper legs, and I guess this is spasticity. It varies a lot from time to time. One has to really rub like mad to get these things to say "Uncle."

Epsom salts actually hydrate the skin
And make it softer .

Don't use hot water and don't use
Too much at a time.

There is a lotion form at WalMart now
Called Morton Epsom lotion... Inexpensive
And wonderful .. We use it every day.

Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Morton-Epsom-L...n+epsom+lotion

Mrs. D and Kitty, could you list the ingredients in this Morton Epsom cream? I went to Amazon and they didn't have a list of ingredients. They will only send it as an "Add on" to a 25 dollar order. I am not too anxious to order supplements from Amazon, as 2 out of the 5 items I ordered in the supplement range were defective, and it took a month to get a replacement and get money back after the second replacement was also defective. I would rather order from my regular vitamin source and be sure of quality or, in extremely rare cases, quick replacement.
My closest Wal-Mart is 40 miles roundtrip in the hot summer sun to which I am sensitive.
I never go that way on other trips to the dentist or doctor, so it would be a special hot trip which might even make me sick. I'll see if one can order Wal-Mart stuff on line.
It sounds like a great idea if it works.

Hi Mariel,

I couldn't find the ingredients either but did find this in the comments section:

"I hope Morton creates a non-paraben, chemical free version for people that prefer organic products.
I get a hormone imbalance if use the paraben version too often."

So it appears that at least one ingredient besides the Epsom salt is paraben. If you react to that, I would think that it wouldn't be too difficult to dissolve some Epsom salts in hot water and then add it to a non-oil based lotion that you don't react to for a home made product though.

You can also make a poltice solution by dissolving 4 cups of Epsom salts in a gallon of water (you have to heat it on the stove to get it to dissolve) and then the solution could be kept in the fridge.

When you need it, just soak a wash cloth with it, apply to the body area and cover that with a towel to hold in the body heat. If your skin is sensitive, you could wash the area off afterwards and apply a lotion.

With love, Erika

Search Morton's Epsom lotion on Google.
Their website lists ingredients.

I am on an iPhone and can't link while
On vacation.

Epsom salts will be absorbed from compresses
And soaking. But do not use hot water
Or too much or it will sting just like
Salt does on the skin.

Thanks Mrs. D.

Hope that you are having a wonderful vacation.

Unfortunately a Google search (even on Morton's website) doesn't have an ingredient list for this product...at least not in the first 6 Google pages.

Maybe someone who has a bottle of it can summarize the ingredient list from the package.

The product reveiws all seem positive and I haven't found any negative reveiws with respect to skin irritation though .

I'm certainly going to try it.

With love, Erika

I have developed those jerks, too, over the past year. One time my head and shoulders jerked so hard it rocked the recliner I was in. Now its my arms and legs - jerk, jerk, jerk....

I started taking tons of vitamins, magnesium included, 4 days ago. And today I have felt nothing, yet... wow, they may be gone - yes!

I think a lot of people have those... I know before MS Dx I would have a leg that would just jump for no reason....scared the hell out of me.. Sometimes an arm and a finger would move around on it's own.

However it seems those jerks are more violent these days. The other day I jerked so bad that I bounced on the sofa cushion I was sleeping on.

Thanks for the information on the Morton's Epsom Salt. No, I wouldn't want to use a paraben product. I may try to get in the bathtub with Epsom salts. I don't have bars on the walls, which makes it not too safe to get in and out of the tub. I take a shower.

I am having such bad trouble with legs tonight that they are twisting on their own. I have knots in both my thighs and my calves. I rub the knots out. But I'm up sitting at the computer in the middle of the night because it's just too miserable to lie there jerking and twisting. I just started to get the actual twisting of the calf recently. I guess it's all related to neuropathy. My feet are worse too, so I can't walk as much...the type of walk being an outdoor walk of a mile or so, which I'm used to, although I must rest a lot afterwards and can't do it nightly. But I have painful toes from Erythromelalgia, which can be a part of my other disease, Polycythemia Vera. I am hoping the pain goes down so I can takes walks again. I could take a low dose of demerol to make the pain low enough to allow me to walk. That sounds like what athletes do in the NFL, take pain killers so they can do physical activities, and I hate to be like them. But I suppose I have only a few years left so perhaps I can be comfortable more frequently by taking a little demerol. Maybe this cycle will depart when we have cooler weather. I have come to hate summer, although I used to love it and we took most vacations in Hawaii. But I did develop the optic neuritis while in Hawaii in the sun.