posted on August 18, 2001 12:33:36 AM new
It's after 2 a.m., I'm tired as hell and can't sleep - as usual. I've been TORTURED by restless legs since my mid-teens.
For anyone who doesn't know what that is: "Restless legs syndrome describes a condition in which uncomfortable sensations are experienced in the lower legs during periods of rest, especially before sleeping. These sensations include tingling, pulling, drawing, and prickly feelings that are accompanied by an overwhelming urge to move the legs to provide temporary relief." I hate it and wouldn't wish it on anyone!
Does anyone else experience this, and/or found anything that helps? I've found some reference to some drugs that will maybe work, but they are mostly for Parkinson's and can have awful side effects.
Mine comes and goes, I'll sleep great for a while and then Wham - it's back. Right now, I'm on my last leg (HA HA) and really need some help. Becoming quite bit*hy and irratible from lack of sleep - any advice will be appreciated.
posted on August 18, 2001 12:52:14 AM new
I've heard of this syndrome and don't know what definitely works, if anything. But I have used a relaxation/meditation type exercise for years that may help.
Lay in your most comfortable position---I believe on the back is considered to be the healthiest. Take huge, deep, slow breaths with a natural rhythum. Lay still, and in your mind tell your toes to relax, the heels, whole foot, etc. working your way up your whole body.
In your case become very specific with various muscles, tendons, or whatever. Develop a rhythum that works for you such as breathe in, then out, then say relax, or take two breaths before saying relax.
You will actually feel the release of tension.
Hope this works for you, I know you have to be miserable. Sorry.
posted on August 18, 2001 01:35:12 AM new
Hi Rhondalee I can fully understand what you are talking about because I too have suffered for a long time with this condition. It can be an extremely painful thing.
The one thing that I find helps me is to cool my legs down, I have freezer packs especially for me at night. If you can get those long flat ones, they are the best. Lay a towel across the end of the bed and put the ice pack on top of the towel and you can either put another towel on top or do what I do and simply lay your legs straight on top of the ice pack. This may not work for you but for me it is the only way I can get any rest. The other trick I have is to run water cold water in the bathtub and if my legs get too bad I go and sit on the side of the tub and soak my legs. One night I was so tired that I ended up with more of me in the tub then was meant to be.
I have found that medications do not do a thing for me personally, all they end up doing is making me want to be sick, so I have given up on them. I just try to relax by thinking of beautiful things and of course I use the ice packs.
posted on August 18, 2001 01:58:54 AM new
I knew someone who had that, pretty much exactly as you describe it. Some manifestation of neuritis I guess. He reduced it with jogging followed by strong muscle relaxers, and that helped most of the time. But he said that the most reliable fix that he ever found was rigging a strong bar on mounts bolted through his ceiling rafters and tying his feet together, hooking them to a cable from a chain hoist connected to the bar and hoisting himself up to hang upside down. He was able to sleep that way if, once up, he wrapped his arms around him secured inside a large canvas bag something like a cocoon. He said it worked good on his boat on long passages too because the wave action didn't effect him and of course it was impossible for him to be tossed from his bunk.
posted on August 18, 2001 02:10:27 AM new
Someone very close to me had this for a long time. They researched it online and discovered that the condition can be aggravated by certain over-the-counter allergy remedies like Sudafed. They stopped taking Sudafed and the symptoms abated.
posted on August 18, 2001 02:46:01 AM new
The sugar substitute in diet drinks, Aspartame (?) has been reported as contributing to the leg syndrome as well as a host of other things that are undesirable.
posted on August 18, 2001 04:54:47 AM new
The aspertame thing is worth a try. I was looking at a web site that claimed the sweetener was responsible for all sorts of things. They really did not sound reasonable about it and I would have discounted it as a bunch of lunies but one lady mentioned waking up with a headache behind her right ear every morning that lasted until about 10. That was SO specific and exactly what I had been suffering that I tried not using anything with the phena - whatever in it and in a couple days the headaches went away.
posted on August 18, 2001 05:25:16 AM new
Yes. A friend has had a number of health difficulties that he's been able to verify were sourced in his use of aspartame. Headache, irritability, interference with healing, and disruption of thought processes were amongst the problems alleviated after his cessation of the use of the stuff. I don't remember all of the complaints but I do know that It took quite a while before the problems began to resolve for him.
There's a lot of information on the net about the dangers of aspartame that are still surfacing.
posted on August 18, 2001 05:35:10 AM new
I'm bother by restless leg syndrome occasionally, so I've tried to figure out what I might have eaten or taken as medication that day - it's usually something like benadryl or another allergy pill that sets it off for me.
posted on August 18, 2001 06:50:33 AM new
My husband suffers from this. He has gotten worse over the years. It started with just his feet twitching, then progressed to his legs and now sometimes his whole body jerks. His doctor has prescribed a sleeping pill so he can sleep through all this movement...but alas, it does nothing to help ME! Look at www.rls.org, they have some good insight and information on this disorder.
[ edited by margot on Aug 18, 2001 06:51 AM ]
posted on August 18, 2001 06:53:19 AM new
I tried getting rid of aspartame in my diet and drinks, but for me it didn't really have any effect either way. Other people swear getting rid of the aspartame has helped eliminate chronic headaches and other problems.
Over time I tried almost every remedy I could track down. The only one that worked for me was increasing the amount of calcium and magnesium in my supplements.
Now, who's got cures for insomnia out there? I tend to get slightly witchy when I haven't had any sleep.
I really would rather not take any drugs, looking for natural remedies. Taking long walks during the day usually helps me sleep better but it's so hot out here day and night that long walks are almost impossible right now.
posted on August 18, 2001 06:59:50 AM new
I've tried every form of relaxation, doesn't work. While trying to medidate and relax my body, my legs are going "Yeah right...whatever!" I hate diet pop and the taste of aspartame, so I know that's not a cause or irritant. I've tried calcium and magnesium supplements, eating more bananas....
Spaz and saab - you are absolutely right about antihistamines, they make it alot worse. Nettak, I just might give the ice a try - I will try just about anything that might work.
My thanks to all for the advice and suggestions...please keep 'em coming!
Rhonda
[ edited by rhondalee65 on Aug 18, 2001 07:01 AM ]
posted on August 18, 2001 08:27:10 AM new
Oh, it's the most horrible feeling! I sometimes will get it in one of my arms too!
Anyway, a friend who also has it went to the doc (as she seems to do for every hangnail, but that's another show!) and he prescribed a med that's specific to precluding RLS. She says it works for her. Sorry, I forgot the name but I could get it if anyone wants me to. Your healthcare professional should have that info as well, tho.
posted on August 18, 2001 12:21:44 PM new
I get that too! It often wakes me up from sleep. I have discovered that in my case, the inner muscels on my arms or in the calves are tingling because they get cold. I use a heating pad on them and the sensations go away rather quickly. My mom has that sort of thing to, bursitus, I think, and the heating pad trick applied to the muscels helped to reduce the problem a lot so that she could sleep. Women seem to have more problems with getting cold in their extremities than men do, so you might want to try this trick and see if it helps you at all.
posted on August 21, 2001 04:49:58 PM newRhonda: I heard that it can be a vitamin deficiency. Specifically, Vitamin B (like B6, B12, B Complex). I don't know for sure, but that's what a friend discovered.
Good luck -- I can't imagine how annoying that must be!
posted on August 22, 2001 07:30:19 AM new
I like the B Vitamin theory...As many of them are integral to nerve-ending health. I'd get a B-100 supplement. Those usually have nice levels of all of them.
posted on August 22, 2001 01:38:46 PM new
Muriel & Triggerfish - Thank you for the vitamin B suggestion and advice. I will definitely try it, it can only be good for me, anyway.
margot - Thank you for the link, I didn't even know this site existed.
My dad suffers from this to a greater extent than even I do. I know that he drinks diet pop, I let him know what I learned from this thread - that aspartame may be aggravating his RLS. I hope that it helps him.
Thanks again to all for the kind words and advice! Rhonda
posted on August 22, 2001 03:03:08 PM new
I hope you'll find some help for this Rhonda. I think it's good advice to eliminate aspartame from your diet. There was a large study in Canada a few years back that showed that people are being incorrectly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis by an illness that closely mirrors M.S. and is believed to be caused by aspertame. These are the same symptoms I have. When I started having neurological problems two and a half years ago I eliminated aspartame from my diet 100%. My last MRI (brain) showed that the damage is no longer spreading and hasn't in the last two years. I'm not sure if it's related to my getting off the Aspertame but the few benefits it might offer are certainly not worth the risk.
