Restless leg syndrome?

[leebee]

This is an offshoot from the "separate bedrooms" thread, but it started me thinking.... What are the symptoms of restless leg syndrome? DH is always waking me at night because his foot/leg seems to be bouncing up and down... or it would be if he were sitting at the dinner table. It's like "shakeshakeshakeshakeshakeshakeshake....." on and on for a couple of minutes, enough to shake the bed and wake me, but he stays asleep. Any ideas if this is RLS, or what might it be?

 

[mom2maggie]

I have RLS, and my mom does too - I always just thought it was annoying, but I've been reading recently that it can be caused by iron deficiency, so I'm going to get my iron checked soon. I know I was anemic during pregnancy (not uncommon), so its possible that I generally have low iron.

 

[jcano]

Sounds like it. My DH has it as did his grandfather (they just didn't know what it was). There is an OTC called Restful Legs in the vitamin aisle that works on mild nights, but he does have a prescription now when it gets bad.

 

[jcano]

I have RLS, and my mom does too - I always just thought it was annoying, but I've been reading recently that it can be caused by iron deficiency, so I'm going to get my iron checked soon. I know I was anemic during pregnancy (not uncommon), so its possible that I generally have low iron.

Interesting....

 

[kathie859]

OP...does you DH KNOW he's doing this? I have RLS and wish I could sleep thru my episodes! I think RLS is more obvious to the person who has it than those around him/her. I usually get out of bed to walk around when I'm having an episode...since I can't sleep anyhow, I usually end up reading or watching TV until my legs calm down and I can try sleeping again. It's a very annoying syndrome.

 

[leebee]

OP...does you DH KNOW he's doing this? I have RLS and wish I could sleep thru my episodes! I think RLS is more obvious to the person who has it than those around him/her. I usually get out of bed to walk around when I'm having an episode...since I can't sleep anyhow, I usually end up reading or watching TV until my legs calm down and I can try sleeping again. It's a very annoying syndrome.

No, he stays asleep, but the shaking wakes me up. If it's not the shaking leg/feet, it's the snoring. Good thing we have a comfy couch, otherwise I'd never get any sleep!

 

[HelenePA]

I had it VERY bad with only my boys pregnancies... strange but anyway... I was reading one day it could be linked to low potassium, I took a supplement and it did seem to help

 

[AKL_Megs]

I had a mild case during pregnancy. When I would lay in bed, my leg would want to jump jump jump, or I'd feel like I constantly had to move my legs for some reason.

 

[phamton]

My husband did a sleep study and they labelled it as periodic limb movement disorder. The major difference is that restless legs syndrome occurs while patients are awake and aware of the leg movements; PLMD occurs while the patient is asleep and unaware of what's going on. In my case, my husband's PLMD disrupts my sleep not his sleep.

 

[maelstrom]

He may just have a case of annoying-husband-who-fidgits-too-much, as my husband does.

 

[HsvTeacher]

My DH used to do the same thing until he was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Like the OP said, if it wasn't the snoring that was waking me up, it was the leg bouncing.

He now uses a bi-pap machine, and both the snoring and the leg movement have gotten a lot better. The only time he was a problem with it is when his "mask" isn't seated properly on his face.

 

[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed]

My wife has it ... first time she told me I thought that she said "Wesley Snipes Syndrome" so we always refer to it as such.

 

[leebee]

He may just have a case of annoying-husband-who-fidgits-too-much, as my husband does.

Well, yes, this too....

 

[Jennasis]

DH had this for a while (I think he was under s lot of stress at the time) and the doctor prescribed Neurontin.

 

[nancycg56]

My DH has it and it makes me crazy. He is topped out on meds for it so this is as good as it's going to get. He also has the twitching component and the whole bed shakes. Some nights I make him get up and go downstairs it's so bad. He usually sleeps right through it...