Restless Legs Syndrome

[Deb in IA]

Well my DH just started with it, I think. All of a sudden his leg kicks in his sleep. Doesn't bother him, he doesnt wake up, but the bed shakes! Baboom, baboom... it is timed perfectly too! Weird! He has knee surgery, I think this is when it started?

Probably NOT RLS, then. Could be Periodic Limb Movement Disorder.

A criteria of RLS is that the patient complains of uncomfortable sensations in the legs that wakes them up.

 

[MickeysMommy]

My mother and I both have this and are both on medication for it. It's horrible at times. There are nights when I am in bed that I could go crazy and there are times when I am sitting in my chair watching TV that I can't keep them still. Drives you

 

[tinkerrn]

My mother and SIL both have it. SIL is an MD and put my mother on Nuerontin. It helped but her GP switched her to Requip, and has gotten much better results. It is a new drug and I have very little info about it. SIL also suggested an old wives tale, putting a bar of soap between the sheets at night. She said a lot of people do this and report relief. I figure it couldn't hurt to try it. Has fewer side effects than drugs.

 

[MNmom2]

I had it while pregnant and on a rare occasion still get it - drives me nutty! Can't imagine going thru that every day!! :\

 

[vettechick99]

I have this, too! I only get it occasionally, but it's almost always on a Sunday night. I can't figure that one out at all, but it's super annoying. I don't get it often enough to warrant a doctor's visit or Rx, but knowing that Tylenol Arthritis works is great! I'll get some next time I'm at the store. RLS is soo annoying!

 

[dcentity2000]

Sounds a bit like Tardive Dyskinesia?



Rich::

 

[Kaycee]

I have this too. I've had it since I was a teenager. I didn't know there was a name for it, or that what I had was even a "real" problem, until I was talking with my doctor about something else entirely and just happened to ask him about it. I started out with "you're going to think I'm crazy but..." then described what it felt like. He said not only was I not crazy, what I had actually had a name. I thought he was teasing me when he first said it was called restless leg syndrome but the name describes how it feels perfectly. I've tried to describe it as an itch, or a crawling sensation, deep in my legs. But restless is the best way to describe it - you just can't sit still, and moving around relieves it.

I'm one of the lucky ones that is not bothered by this when I am sleeping. It usually bothers me in the evenings when I'm reading or watching TV. It only happens every once in a while, when I'm really tired, as others have said. I've learned to just go to bed when it starts.

Mine isn't bad enough to require treatment, but it's nice to know that the treatment is there if it ever gets worse.

 

[Blondie]

Count me in, I have it occasionally too!

My first experience with RLS was during my first pregnancy. I just thought maybe I wasn't walking enough so the next day I walked several miles! Didn't work!

I suffer with it on and off during the year, but I don't think I have it enough to warrent taking medication for it. My mother and grandmother have RLS too.

I think some people confuse RLS with NLS (Nervous Leg Syndrome) which is when a person's legs jump in their sleep.

For me RLS is a creepy crawling sensation, like caterpillars are crawling under my skin! It's awful!

What I have found that works is temperature change. I'll place cold compresses on my upper thighs and that seems to stop RLS. I've read that it is a neuro transmiter disorder.

One night I had it so bad that I swear I could feel an eletronic pulse originate in my upper back and then shoot down both legs.

They seem to be having good results with Requip.

 

[mommaU4]

I've tried to describe it as an itch, or a crawling sensation, deep in my legs. But restless is the best way to describe it - you just can't sit still, and moving around relieves it.

I'm one of the lucky ones that is not bothered by this when I am sleeping. It usually bothers me in the evenings when I'm reading or watching TV. It only happens every once in a while, when I'm really tired, as others have said. I've learned to just go to bed when it starts.

Mine isn't bad enough to require treatment, but it's nice to know that the treatment is there if it ever gets worse.

I agree it's hard to describe what it feels like. It's not painful at all so those who are saying that it hurts I think might have something different. You just have to move. It's not an involuntary jerking or anything. I can sit still while it's happening but it makes me crazy. I usually get up and walk for a bit and that helps. I also suffer from a lack of iron so that would make sense as that is one of the causes.
For those who want more info here is a great website that talks about it in more detail.
http://www.rls.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?&pid=178&srcid=-2

Hope this helps all those who may have to deal with this.

 

[DisneyStar006]

I also get this occasionally, usually when I'm overtired or on a long car or plane journey. I have also experienced it in my arms and hands, when its in my hands I have the urge to stretch out all my fingers

Anyone find that if you try and fight the urge to stretch your legs they give a sudden jolt (or kick?)

to those who have to go through it everyday

 

[Deb in IA]

Sounds a bit like Tardive Dyskinesia?



Rich::

Not really. They are both loosely categorized as movement disorders, but are very different.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

mommau4, I see that pain was not listed in the website you linked, but as you can see here http://www.webmd.com/content/article/105/107675.htm it can be one of the symptoms of RLS (everyone's experience is unique to them).

I've read that it is a neuro transmiter disorder.

Blondie, if you read through the above link, you will see you're right in that they are looking at it as a neuron/neurotransmitter problem.

 

[HOGFAN]

DH has this but refuses to do anything about it. Thats why we have separate bedrooms. That and the snoring.

 

[mommaU4]

mommau4, I see that pain was not listed in the website you linked, but as you can see here http://www.webmd.com/content/article/105/107675.htm it can be one of the symptoms of RLS (everyone's experience is unique to them).


Blondie, if you read through the above link, you will see you're right in that they are looking at it as a neuron/neurotransmitter problem.

Thanks for the other info. I have never experienced pain but obviously that is not the same for all. For me it's painfully annoying and can make me crazy but not actually painful thank goodness.

One of the hardest things about it is the lack of sleep that is sometimes a result from it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

One of the hardest things about it is the lack of sleep that is sometimes a result from it.

Yes, and interestingly enough in the WebMD article, it is classified under the heading of Sleep Disorders.

 

[IvyandLace]

Oh, yeah! Since I have chronic back/leg pain and continual muscle spasms, I thought at first it was just a side effect of my condition. However, now that all this info is coming out, I have realized that this is, indeed, just one more part of my pain. I think my restless leg syndrome gets worse when my back/leg pain is worse which in turn makes my muscle spasms worse.

Add to this that I move constantly in my sleep, thrashing, kicking, even "jogging" as my husband likes to call it. I just found the disorder described as Periodic Limb Movement Disorder from earlier in the thread which is probably what I'm doing when I'm asleep. My restless legs occur before sleep while my movement is completely unconscious.

I've tried Requip and neurotin without success.
IVY

 

[jedi_librarian]

I'm so glad that this was brought up. I was trying to tell my family that this is what I have and they look at me like I'm nuts! I used to get it a lot, and only in the mornings, when I'd have to wake up for work. I'd wake up an hour or two before I had to and then not be able to rest well and fall back asleep because my legs were "restless". It stopped but started up recently and after doing research, I read that it can be caused by antidepressants. That makes sense in my case because I was off them and until a month or two ago, I had to go back on them, which is when I noticed that happening to me. I thought it was maybe anxiety, but it only happens in the morning.