Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Health & Body › Restless Leg Syndrome
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Restless Leg Syndrome

post #1 of 15
10/7/10 at 3:37am
Thread Starter 
I type this as it's nearly two in the morning here in Chicago.

So...anybody else on SF have teh jimmy legz? Do you find anything in particular that helps?

I've heard so many different things that can cause it (deficiencies in potassium, magnesium, calcium, etc.) but nothing definitive. I usually run at night before I go to bed to try and calm the sensations down and take an older medication that's used to treat Parkinson's, but that's about it. Usually it does the trick enough for me to sleep but sometimes it really acts up (like tonight).

I hear green tea, salmon and anything containing high amounts of electrolytes also help on the cellular level for treating this annoying problem but I haven't had much luck even though I love tea, salmon and gatorade.

Any other RLS sufferers out there have any unique insights that have helped?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 15
10/7/10 at 8:42am
Last year my left leg started up with this, always in the evening around 8-9p. Really is an irritating and unnerving sensation. I figured it was related to my workouts and something nutritional. I also have a mild muscular neuropathy and, before I knew about RLS, I worried that it might be that worsening.

At any rate, about when I thought I should go to the doc, it stopped. And oddly enough I had just a mild twinge last night for the first time in a long while... Sorry I'm not any help but I'd be interested in hearing more from folks. Mine only was an issue lying down and was never so bad as to prevent sleep.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 15
10/7/10 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cary Grant View Post
Last year my left leg started up with this, always in the evening around 8-9p. Really is an irritating and unnerving sensation. I figured it was related to my workouts and something nutritional. I also have a mild muscular neuropathy and, before I knew about RLS, I worried that it might be that worsening.

At any rate, about when I thought I should go to the doc, it stopped. And oddly enough I had just a mild twinge last night for the first time in a long while... Sorry I'm not any help but I'd be interested in hearing more from folks. Mine only was an issue lying down and was never so bad as to prevent sleep.

Mine started in my mid-twenties and would just happen maybe once or twice a year at night, but as I got older, it definitely increased. Apparently it's common for it it get more severe, the older you get. At 33, I now experience it any time I am at rest. In the daytime when I'm sitting, I'm constantly tapping one leg or the other, which really annoys my wife but she understands why I do it.

The Parkinson's medication definitely helps it, and at $9 a month vs. the $65 for the Mirapex, I'll take it. I hope that as they learn more about the condition, they will be able to find a way to permanently treat it. I'm just grateful it's not anything more serious.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 15
10/7/10 at 1:58pm
I have heard that compression gear can help with it. The one thing is that you have to make sure to use the recovery compression gear and not the active compression gear if you are wearing it for long periods of time. I think Zoots is supposed to be the best brand out there.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 15
10/7/10 at 2:18pm
Burningbright- that's too bad, hope you get it figured out.
Mine is just this sudden, increasing mild burning/need to flinch. As soon as I do, it stops to either start again or not.

I do think that fatigue plays a role. I had a heavy leg workout two days ago and am paying for it.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 15
10/7/10 at 2:22pm
I've had this all my life, and my mother too. Mag Citrate seemed to help me more than anything. It's not something I worry about. My woman has it too, so we just tend to shake the bed together heh.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 15
10/7/10 at 8:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by javyn View Post
I've had this all my life, and my mother too. Mag Citrate seemed to help me more than anything. It's not something I worry about. My woman has it too, so we just tend to shake the bed together heh.

Well, if anything at least I'll be regular.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 15
10/8/10 at 1:59pm
Sometimes I get RLS -like symptoms in my fu**ing shoulder..yes..shoulder..amazingly insufferable...thankfully only a couple of times a year but when it does, I want to rip my arm off and jam a screwdriver into my socket.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 15
10/8/10 at 2:04pm
Starting at about 9 pm, I get an overwhelming sensation that my legs needs to be stretched, which is what I do. It doesn't hurt and isn't debilitating, just slightly annoying.

I don't try anything for it because it's not too bad. It never wakes me up, but sometimes makes falling asleep difficult.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 15
10/8/10 at 2:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. magoo View Post
Starting at about 9 pm, I get an overwhelming sensation that my legs needs to be stretched, which is what I do. It doesn't hurt and isn't debilitating, just slightly annoying.

I don't try anything for it because it's not too bad. It never wakes me up, but sometimes makes falling asleep difficult.

Glad to hear that is sounds like a mild case so far. I hope it stays that way.

For me, the sensation is almost like having a panic attack that is localized solely in your hips and legs and it always happens when all you want to do is sleep. This is why I have to go running at night, to try and get them to calm down. It rarely works with just the running alone, but the running/meds combo seems to do the trick.

And yes, I've read that there are cases where RLS is actually RAS, hitting the arms and shoulders. They're definitely in the minority but still present.

There's actually a doctor up in the Schaumburg, IL area that my friend was telling me about. Interesting story behind her (the doctor). She's super young, has a PhD in molecular biology and a PhD in medicine. Apparently a lot of high-profile people go to see her for various things, one name dropped was Bono. I guess she's unique because she addresses everything on the molecular level. According to my friend, she's had patients come to see her with RLS that are successfully treated for it and it never bothers them again.

Not sure whether to cry quackery or not. Regardless I doubt my insurance would even cover it and I know she's not cheap.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 15
10/9/10 at 1:09am
Its all just a bunch of nonsense there's nothing wrong with you, just consciously control it and it'll go away
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 15
10/9/10 at 7:10am
I just wiki'd it but I still don't understand what this RLS is all about, I guess one has to experience it to actually understand it.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 15
10/9/10 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slickman View Post
Its all just a bunch of nonsense there's nothing wrong with you, just consciously control it and it'll go away

Troll much?
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 15
10/9/10 at 9:37am
Some people describe it as having "itchy bones" in your legs - you get a itchy/tingly sensation in your legs, and you just have to move them / tense the muscles etc to reduce the sensation.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 15
10/9/10 at 1:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigt View Post
Some people describe it as having "itchy bones" in your legs - you get a itchy/tingly sensation in your legs, and you just have to move them / tense the muscles etc to reduce the sensation.

That's a pretty close description for my case.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Health & Body
Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Health & Body › Restless Leg Syndrome