Thread: restless leg syndrome RLS

i would take a hot bath! i have the same thing that you do or take an ibprouven that always helps me if you have any more questions just ask!

[QUOTE=Dewitback;683721]a lot of time at night I feel the symptoms of RLS. Where my legs are uncomfortable and I have to move them to flex them or get up and walk to get rid of the feeling, but its only temporary until the RLS comes back.
But does anyone know any non-medical remedies?

Originally Posted by little nemo

I've recently experienced faint twinges of RLS but only after I've had alcohol.

Originally Posted by Dewitback

Actually, I find myself getting RLS more often when I work on my legs all day!! i have jobs where I don't sit down all day, and I still get RLS! so obnoxious!!!

Originally Posted by DuB

I've had quite frequent problems with this ever since middle school when I had a handful of epileptic seizures.
I haven't tried any of the prescription medications or herbal remedies so I can't comment on those - I usually just wait it out and it eventually goes away (which can take a few hours). I have noticed that, at least for me, alcohol tends to help. But I wouldn't recommend that as a healthy way to cope.

Originally Posted by skysaw

I was diagnosed with RLS several years ago, and know quite a bit about it.
I have been taking a medication called Requip, which completely helps the RLS symptoms, but has side-effects I do not like: it makes me feel a little nausiated, and it knocks me out cold for about an hour.
I just saw a new doctor, and am trying a new promising drug. I don't remember the brand name, but the generic is Gabapentin. Requip does not have a generic. So far it is helping, but I'm still adjusting dosing.
Now as to all the other cures, here is what I have gathered from both experience and extensive reading:
Exercise and stretching can help somewhat, but not in the evening or near the time you lie down for rest, when it can make it worse. Walking can make the symptoms go away, but only while you're actually doing the walking. As soon as you stop, the symptoms return.
In general, meditation and relaxation do nothing. In some cases, it has actually been reported to worsen! Not that there aren't real benefits from meditation, but if you're feeling the RLS, it's not going to stop it.
RLS is a very serious problem. Even if you are asleep and not aware of the kicking you're doing at night, you will wake up more tired because you are not as deeply asleep as you should be. A very slight silver lining is that at the right level of kicking, it can actually aid in lucid dreaming! But it's not worth it... RLS flat-out sucks. I've had it for many, many years, but only in the last three or four has it gotten absolutely unbearable. Medication is the only reasonable solution for me.

Originally Posted by Lunica

I have been experiencing like my whole body shaking when falling to sleep.. Its like theres an earthquake but it stops when I move around abit. It seems to be coming from my legs and goes all over my body.. but Im not physically moving.. it feels like something to do with my balance. like when you get drunk and things spin.. like that but shaking.(

Originally Posted by reesespieces

i would take a hot bath! i have the same thing that you do or take an ibprouven that always helps me if you have any more questions just ask!

I am sorry I discovered this thread so late while I could have helped ages ago!
Firstly, RLS is caused by structures seated deep inside the brain itself. If you are tired because of exercise or because of exams, it will worsen the symptoms.
Most medication that work on the central nervous system eventually aggravates it. Alcohol works initially because it can cause you to sleep deeply, but when your blood sugar drops and you are sleeping lighter in the morning, you may wake up in a worse condition.
You do NOT have RLS WHILE asleep. It only keeps you from sleeping. But a large proportion of persons suffering from severe RLS also have a condition known as Periodic Leg Movements, and even other movement disturbances during sleep, which commonly do result (unknowing to him or her) in sleep deprivation.
The dopaminergic system is responsible for this dysfunction. Treatment for Parkinson's may help, but has side-effects. Since the sensory part of the "reflex" is partially dependent upon the condition of the muscle and nerves in the legs, anti-inflammatories or anti-epileptics (acting as nervous membrane stabilizers) may also assist some individuals, but this is highly variable.
First line of advice is to get your iron levels checked out and perhaps take regular iron supplements. This is often a problem, or it help even if it seems medically normal in the blood tests. Be careful with B-vitamins, they tend to aggravate it, often dramatically. But sometimes it can be low sugar or electrolyte imbalances that plays a role in triggering the attack.
Lastly, Lunica's experience is known as hypnagogic myoclonus and is medically considered completely innocent. It is part of a brain that struggles a bit to switch off its motor system as it starts to play around with impulses we do not even remember what they are about. Sometimes we dream we step over something, and trip. It is EXTREMELY common. Mostly people just do not wake up because of it.
One day when I am big I would like to start a big forum where these things can be available for everybody. They are just so much, I cannot do it alone and I know the facts are thinly spread even inside medical literature.

Thanks for all that info

I looked hypnagogic myoclonus up on google. Is that when the person physically moves? Because I don't actually move. More feels like my room and bed is shaking.. and making me shake. But I tested last night and I'm not moving at all

I think I will get a blood test. Because I don't think I get much iron. Maybe thats it?

Thank you :]

Lunica: Are you AWAKE when it happens?? During drowsiness / early sleep you will not be able to check yourself, you dream (or hallucinate, whatever way you look at it). You will need to ask someone to check for you. Sleep paralysis is when you believe you are awake, try to move but cannot (are paralyzed), and sometimes you may feel you cannot breathe either, because your chest is too heavy. Hypnagogic hallucinations are more often something you hear or see, but I am not certain that it cannot be movement like yours also.
Paracetamol should not make you more sleepy, neither should ibuprofen, unless you are taking alcohol or something to make you sleep. They may both make you more drunk because they interfere with the liver's ability to clear the alcohol from your blood. Some medicines may also work like that, so check with your doctor.
You mention you have apnea: is it under control? It may cause selective REM-sleep deprivation and secondarily REM-sleep onset. This may be a reason for hypnagogic hallucinations that is very important not to ignore!