Restless Leg Syndrome sufferers?

[Jennasis]

Anyone here have or familiar with RLS? DH has been suffering for the last 3 nights with horrendous leg shaking/tremors. It prevents him from sleeping at all, even after he tried taking his high dose (as directed by his Dr) Xanax, thinking it was anxiety. Didn't help.

I made him go to the doctor today, and the doctor thinks it may be RLS (though he is stymied about the sudden onset). May be referring him to a nuerologist if either of the two meds he supplied DH with don't work. Nuerontin and Klonazepam.

I do not know much about RLS, but I had thought that people who had RLS felt compelled to move their legs due to odd sensations in their legs like tingling or crawling. DH said his legs were jerking involuntarily. But then this morning after seeing the doctor, he said it WASN'T involuntary, but that he felt like he HAD to move/jerk/shake them (and that he couldn't control the urge to move them).

I'm a-scared...

 

[HelenePA]

Nothing to be scared about it sucks a LOT. I am very lucky I only get it while pregnant (with boys not girls strange huh?) I did some reading on line and some people have found that eating foods high in potassium helps decrease the sensations. It did for me maybe it was just a placebo affect who knows. It is awful though. I hope your DH finds something that works for him.

 

[ChrizJen]

Yeah, I would say that it sounds like RLS to me. Especially if it's not involuntary, and he just feels the need to shake them. That's exactly how I describe it. It feels like your skin is crawling, and there's nothing you can do to make it stop. I usually have to reposition myself every couple of minutes, I get up and walk, I shake my legs, and nothing really helps. It's pretty miserable. But there's nothing to be scared about. It's not life-threatening in any way. It's just not fun.

I only suffer from my RLS occasionally (seems somehow related to my cycle) . I'm not on any type of medication for it. My doctor and I were able to narrow down that sugar and caffeine seemed to trigger it and make it worse. I've found that it helps for me if I cut out all caffeine and sweets after about 4pm. That cuts down on the severity of the symptoms. I still get it occasionally, but not as often since I cut back on those things.

If your DH does have RLS, there are medications that will treat it. I would recommend having him try cutting back on some of the stimulants in his diet first though. Could be as simple as that. Good luck!

 

[suejai]

I get this sometimes as well. I find that it is related to how long I've been sitting (usually DIS'ing ) and how much exercise I've gotten that day. Does your DH have a job where he is sitting a lot? Or, since it's just over the last 3 days is he usually very active and not so much in this time frame?

 

[lovemygoofy]

My mom has RLS something terrible. You could hear her legs moving all over the bed the entire night.

A couple months ago her doctor prescribed her a small dose pill to take for her RLS which has helped more than she ever thought. She stays still throughout the night now. She already takes an epileptic medicine and now this in addition to her anxiety meds, which also includes klonazapam. One thing that helps her is drinking half a bottle of water or gatorade before bed. I guess the electrolytes help with the moving around and the constant cramping of the legs.

 

[LJC1861]

I have RLS and my partner describes my movement during the night as "seizurelike." I have tried numerous medications including klonazepam, Mirapex and Requip. I have also tried, as others have posted cutting out all stimulants after dinner. I have found that since I have stopped drinking copious amounts of Coke and other caffienated and carbonated beverages my symptoms have not been as severe.

I am currently taking the generic version of Requip with great success.

For me, the tingling and restlessness generally begin about 9 p.m. and I simply cannot keep my legs and feet still. It is generally worse if I am REALLY tired, or have been on my feet more than usual throughout the day. There are times when I simply cannot keep my feet still and have to keep moving, or it hurts. It can be maddening.

Linda